Any individual registered with the Department as a beekeeper may apply to the Department for no more than three basic beehive units per year per household. The Department shall establish guidelines setting forth the components of a basic beehive unit and the general requirements for qualifying for such unit. The Department shall accept applications for beehive units during an application period of not less than 15 days. The Department shall select individuals receiving beehive units at random from the completed eligible applications received during the application period. In the event that funds are not available in the Beehive Grant Fund established pursuant to § 3.2-4415 (the Fund), the Department shall notify individuals who submitted applications but were not selected to receive beehive units that the funds available for that fiscal year have been exhausted. The Department shall not be required to carry forward pending applications to the next fiscal year in which funds are available in the Fund.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 3.2-4416

  • Department: means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.

The Department may use funds from the Fund to pay for the costs of purchasing, building, or distributing the beehive units and for the costs of administering the beehive distribution program. The Department may work cooperatively with the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service and Agricultural Experiment Station Division, established pursuant to Article 2 (§ 23.1-2608 et seq.) of Chapter 26 of Title 23.1, to carry out the provisions of this section.

2012, cc. 412, 473; 2018, c. 192; 2020, c. 407.