7 U.S.C. § 2625 — Amendment procedure

Page 1520 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 2624 under this title [probably means title III of Pub. L. 91–670 which is classified to this chapter] shall not be deemed to invalidate the plan.’’ § 2624. Suspension or termination of plans (a) Duty of Secretary The Secretary shall, whenever he finds that a plan or any provision thereof obstructs or does not tend to effectuate the declared policy of this chapter, terminate or suspend the operation of such plan or such provision thereof. (b) Referendum The Secretary may conduct a referendum at any time and shall hold a referendum on request of the board or of 10 per centum or more of the potato producers, or of the total number of pro- ducers and importers when importers are sub- ject to a plan, to determine if potato producers and importers favor the termination or suspen- sion of the plan, and he shall terminate or sus- pend such plan at the end of the marketing year whenever he determines that such suspension or termination is favored by a majority of those voting in a referendum, and who produce and import more than 50 per centum of the volume of the potatoes produced and imported by those voting in the referendum. (c) Limitation The termination or suspension of any plan, or any provision thereof, shall not be considered the issuance of a plan within the meaning of this chapter. (Pub. L. 91–670, title III, § 315, Jan. 11, 1971, 84 Stat. 2047; Pub. L. 101–624, title XIX, § 1945, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3868.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (c), was in the original ‘‘this part’’, and was translated as reading ‘‘this title’’, meaning title III of Pub. L. 91–670, which enacted this chapter, as the probable intent of Con- gress, because title III does not contain parts. AMENDMENTS 1990—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–624, § 1945(1), inserted ‘‘, or of the total number of producers and importers when importers are subject to a plan,’’ after first ref- erence to ‘‘potato producers’’, ‘‘and importers’’ after second reference to ‘‘potato producers’’, and ‘‘and im- port’’ after ‘‘produce’’, and substituted ‘‘and imported by those voting in the referendum’’ for ‘‘by the potato producers voting in the referendum’’. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–624, § 1945(2), added subsec. (c). § 2625. Amendment procedure The provisions of this chapter applicable to plans shall be applicable to amendments to plans. (Pub. L. 91–670, title III, § 316, Jan. 11, 1971, 84 Stat. 2047.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries AMENDMENT PROCEDURE Pub. L. 101–624, title XIX, § 1946, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3869, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any provision of the Potato Research and Promotion Act [7 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.] (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘Act’), the procedure specified in this section shall apply if a producer or a producer organization requests the Secretary of Agriculture (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘Secretary’) to amend the plan in ef- fect under that Act (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘plan’) to— ‘‘(1) subject importers to the terms and conditions of a plan, and ‘‘(2) eliminate provisions for refunds of assessments for those not in favor of supporting the research and promotion program as provided under that Act. The procedure under this section shall apply only in the case of the first such request received after the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 28, 1990]. ‘‘(b) PUBLICATION OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary shall publish for public comment such pro- posed amendments to the plan within 60 days. ‘‘(c) ISSUANCE OF FINAL AMENDMENTS.—Not later than 150 days after publication of such amendment, and after notice and opportunity for public comment, the Sec- retary shall issue the amendments to the plan, as de- scribed in subsection (a), if the Secretary has reason to believe that such amendments will tend to effectuate the declared policy of this subtitle [see Short Title of 1990 Amendment note set out under section 2611 of this title]. ‘‘(d) REFERENDUM.—Not later than 24 months after the date of issuance of such amendments to the plan, the Secretary shall conduct a referendum among pro- ducers and importers who, during a representative pe- riod determined by the Secretary, have been engaged in the production or importation of potatoes. The amend- ments shall be continued only if the Secretary deter- mines that the amendments to the plan have been ap- proved by a majority of the total number of producers and importers voting in the referendum. ‘‘(e) REFUNDS.—The board shall— ‘‘(1) establish an escrow account to be used for as- sessment refunds, and place funds in such account in accordance with paragraph (2) during the period be- ginning on the effective date of the amendments to the plan issued under subsection (c) and ending on the date of the referendum on the amendments to the plan; ‘‘(2) place in the account established under para- graph (1), from assessments collected under the plan during the period referred to in paragraph (1), an amount equal to the product obtained by multiplying the total amount of assessments collected during such period by 10 percent; ‘‘(3) subject to paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), provide that for the period referred to in paragraph (1) any producer or importer shall have the right to demand and receive from the board a one-time refund of as- sessments collected from such producer or importer during such period if— ‘‘(A) such producer or importer is responsible for paying such assessments; ‘‘(B) such producer or importer does not support the program established under the plan; and ‘‘(C) the amendments to the plan to eliminate provisions for refunds of assessments are not ap- proved pursuant to a referendum conducted under subsection (d); ‘‘(4) require such demand to be made in accordance with regulations, on a form, and within a time period prescribed by the board; ‘‘(5) require such refund to be made on submission of proof satisfactory to the board that such producer or importer paid the assessment for which refund is demanded; and ‘‘(6) if the amount in the escrow account required to be established by paragraph (1) is not sufficient to refund the total amount of assessments demanded by all eligible producers and importers under this sub- section, prorate the amount of such refunds among all eligible producers and importers who demand such refund. ‘‘(f) TERMINATION.—If such amendments to the plan are not approved, the Secretary shall terminate the Page 1521 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 2655 amendments and the plan shall continue in effect with- out the amendments. ‘‘(g) AMENDMENT TO INCLUDE THE 50 STATES.—Not- withstanding any provision of the Act, the Secretary shall, upon request of a producer or a producer organi- zation, issue an amendment to the plan to include the 50 States of the United States. Such amendment shall not be subject to a referendum.’’ § 2626. Separability If any provision of this chapter or the applica- tion thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this chapter and of the application of such pro- vision to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby. (Pub. L. 91–670, title III, § 317, Jan. 11, 1971, 84 Stat. 2047.) § 2627. Authorization There is hereby made available from the funds provided by section 612c of this title such sums as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter: Provided, That no such sum shall be used for the payment of any expenses or ex- penditures of the board in administering any provision of any plan issued under authority of this chapter. (Pub. L. 91–670, title III, § 318, Jan. 11, 1971, 84 Stat. 2047.) CHAPTER 59—RURAL FIRE PROTECTION, DEVELOPMENT, AND SMALL FARM RE- SEARCH AND EDUCATION SUBCHAPTER I—RURAL COMMUNITY FIRE PROTECTION Sec. 2651 to 2654. Repealed. 2655. Rural firefighters and emergency medical service assistance program. SUBCHAPTER II—RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND SMALL FARM RESEARCH AND EDUCATION 2661. Statement of purposes and goals. 2662. Programs authorized. 2662a. Repealed. 2663. Funding. 2664. Cooperating colleges and universities. 2665. Withholding funds. 2666. Definitions. 2667. Regulations. 2668. Omitted. 2669. Pilot projects for production and marketing of industrial hydrocarbons and alcohols from agricultural commodities and forest products. 2670. Repealed. 2671. Establishment of technical assistance pro- gram. SUBCHAPTER I—RURAL COMMUNITY FIRE PROTECTION §§ 2651 to 2654. Repealed. Pub. L. 95–313, § 16(a)(6), formerly § 13(a)(6), July 1, 1978, 92 Stat. 374; renumbered § 16(a)(6), Pub. L. 101–624, title XII, § 1215(1), Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3525 Section 2651, Pub. L. 92–419, title IV, § 401, Aug. 30, 1972, 86 Stat. 670; Pub. L. 91–524, title VIII, § 816(a), as added Pub. L. 93–86, § 1(27)(B), Aug. 10, 1973, 87 Stat. 240, related to purpose and findings for provisions relating to rural community fire protection assistance. Section 2652, Pub. L. 92–419, title IV, § 402, Aug. 30, 1972, 86 Stat. 670; Pub. L. 95–113, title XV, § 1504, Sept. 29, 1977, 91 Stat. 1021, related to terms and conditions, funding requirements, etc., for cooperative agreements with State officials. Section 2653, Pub. L. 92–419, title IV, § 403, Aug. 30, 1972, 86 Stat. 671, related to reporting requirements for Secretary of Agriculture. Section 2654, Pub. L. 92–419, title IV, § 404, Aug. 30, 1972, 86 Stat. 671; Pub. L. 91–524, title VIII, § 816(b), as added Pub. L. 93–86, § 1(27)(B), Aug. 10, 1973, 87 Stat. 240; amended Pub. L. 95–113, title XV, § 1505, Sept. 29, 1977, 91 Stat. 1021, related to authorization of appropriations for assistance. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF REPEAL Repeal effective Oct. 1, 1978, see section 17 of Pub. L. 95–313, set out as an Effective Date note under section 2101 of Title 16, Conservation. § 2655. Rural firefighters and emergency medical service assistance program (a) Definition of emergency medical services In this section: (1) In general The term ‘‘emergency medical services’’ means resources used by a public or nonprofit entity to deliver medical care outside of a medical facility under emergency conditions that occur as a result of— (A) the condition of a patient; or (B) a natural disaster or related condition. (2) Inclusion The term ‘‘emergency medical services’’ in- cludes services (whether compensated or vol- unteer) delivered by an emergency medical services provider or other provider recognized by the State involved that is licensed or cer- tified by the State as— (A) an emergency medical technician or the equivalent (as determined by the State); (B) a registered nurse; (C) a physician assistant; or (D) a physician that provides services similar to services provided by such an emergency medical services provider. (b) Grants The Secretary shall award grants to eligible entities— (1) to enable the entities to provide for im- proved emergency medical services in rural areas; and (2) to pay the cost of training firefighters and emergency medical personnel in fire- fighting, emergency medical practices, and re- sponding to hazardous materials and bioagents in rural areas. (c) Eligibility To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an entity shall— (1) be— (A) a State emergency medical services of- fice; (B) a State emergency medical services as- sociation; (C) a State office of rural health or an equivalent agency; (D) a local government entity;