(2) Application for registration shall be made on a form furnished by the department. The registration shall cover each colony of bees owned by the applicant, and shall give the address and telephone number of the owner and the name, address and telephone number of the person in charge if the person in charge is not the owner. The registration shall be made before June 1 of each year for all colonies. Each registrant shall furnish an address to which any notice required by this chapter to be given may be sent, and shall agree that any notice sent by the department to such address shall be deemed to be notice in fact.

(3) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, the application for registration shall be accompanied by a fee not to exceed $10 per application and $0.50 per colony. For each registration after July 1, the fee shall not exceed $20 per application and $0.50 per colony. The department shall establish the fees by rule, not to exceed the maximum limits prescribed in this subsection.

(4) There is no per application fee or per colony fee to register a nucleus colony. However, this subsection does not cancel or reduce any fee under subsection (3) of this section payable by a person for the registration of other colonies.

(5) When the ownership of colonies that are subject to a fee under subsection (3) of this section is changed, the department shall transfer the registration to the new owner without charges. However, if the colony has not been previously registered, the new owner shall pay any registration fee due under subsection (3) of this section without penalty.

(6) The department shall maintain records of registered beekeepers and the number of colonies registered. [Amended by 1953 c.400 §7; 1961 c.177 §6; 1963 c.65 §2; 1989 c.354 §1; 1991 c.633 §1; 1993 c.350 §3; 2015 c.744 §2; 2017 c.52 §3]