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1996 SESSION
960782364Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 28.2-613 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 28.2-613. Duration of lease.
Each assignment of general oyster-planting ground shall continue in force for
twentyten years from the date of assignment, unless the
assignment is terminated. New or initial assignments made after July 1,
1980, shall continue in force for a ten-year term. The interest in such
ground is chattel real.
Upon the death of the renter, testate as to the lease, it shall vest in the named beneficiary subject to the rights of creditors, if he is a resident of this Commonwealth, provided that he files an application for transfer with the Commission within eighteen months after the date of death. If the named beneficiary is not a resident he shall have eighteen months after the date of death to transfer the lease to a qualified holder.
Upon the death of the renter, intestate as to the lease, the lease shall vest in the personal representative, who shall transfer the lease to a qualified holder within eighteen months.
If there is no qualification on the renter's estate within one year of his death, the Commission may within six months thereafter transfer the lease to a qualified holder upon receipt of a transfer duly executed by all of the lawful heirs of the renter.
If there is no transfer under any of the above, the ground shall become vacant and open to assignment.
Upon expiration of the initial or any subsequent term of the assignment, the
Commission shall, on application of the holder, renew the assignment for an
additional ten-year term. The Commission shall not renew or extend an
assignment where there has been neither no
significant production of oysters or clams, nor
no reasonable plantings of oysters, clams or cultch or no
significant oyster or clam aquaculture operation,
during any portion of the ten-year period immediately prior to the
application for renewal, unless the Commission finds that (i) there
was good cause for the failure to produce or plant oysters, clams or
cultch; (ii) the lack of production is attributable
to low survival rates of
wild, planted or aquaculture
oysters or clams; or finds
that (iii) the assignment is directly related to and
beneficial to the production of oyster-planting grounds immediately adjacent to
the assignment.