7 U.S.C. § 4907 — Permissive terms in plans

Page 1733 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 4907 and 557 of such title, to reflect significant changes in the 5-year average yield per acre of watermelons produced in the United States. (i) Submission of programs or projects; approval by Secretary The plan shall provide that the Board, subject to the provisions of subsections (e), (f), and (g), shall develop and submit to the Secretary, for the Secretary’s approval, any research, develop- ment, advertising, or promotion program or project, and that a program or project must be approved by the Secretary before becoming ef- fective. (j) Contract authority The plan shall provide the Board with author- ity to enter into contracts or agreements, with the approval of the Secretary, for the develop- ment and carrying out of research, development, advertising, or promotion programs or projects, and the payment of the cost thereof with funds collected under this chapter. (k) Recordkeeping; accounting and audit reports The plan shall provide that the Board shall (1) maintain books and records, (2) prepare and sub- mit to the Secretary such reports from time to time as may be prescribed for appropriate ac- counting with respect to the receipt and dis- bursement of funds entrusted to it, and (3) cause a complete audit report to be submitted to the Secretary at the end of each fiscal period. (l) Certification The plan shall provide that the Board shall have the authority to establish rules for certi- fying whether a person meets the definition of a producer under section 4902(5) of this title. (Pub. L. 99–198, title XVI, § 1647, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1624; Pub. L. 103–189, §§ 4–7, 8(d)–(f), (k)(4), 9(b), Dec. 14, 1993, 107 Stat. 2260–2262, 2264.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1993—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–189, §§ 4, 8(d), designated existing provisions as par. (1), substituted ‘‘other mem- bers of the Board’’ for ‘‘producer and handler members of the Board’’ in second sentence, and added pars. (2) and (3). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 103–189, §§ 5(1), 6, substituted ‘‘pay- ment of the assessments to the Board.’’ for ‘‘collection of the assessments by the Board’’ and inserted at end ‘‘In fixing or changing the rate of assessment pursuant to the plan, the Secretary shall comply with the notice and comment procedures established under section 553 of title 5. Sections 556 and 557 of such title shall not apply with respect to fixing or changing the rate of as- sessment.’’ Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 103–189, § 8(k)(4)(A), substituted ‘‘the following:’’ for ‘‘that—’’ in introductory provi- sions. Subsec. (g)(1). Pub. L. 103–189, §§ 5(2), 8(k)(4)(B), sub- stituted ‘‘Funds received’’ for ‘‘funds collected’’ and a period for semicolon at end. Subsec. (g)(2). Pub. L. 103–189, § 8(k)(4)(C), substituted ‘‘No’’ for ‘‘no’’ and a period for semicolon at end. Subsec. (g)(3). Pub. L. 103–189, §§ 5(2), 8(k)(4)(D), sub- stituted ‘‘No’’ for ‘‘no’’, ‘‘received’’ for ‘‘collected’’, and a period for ‘‘; and’’ at end. Subsec. (g)(4). Pub. L. 103–189, § 8(e)(1), substituted ‘‘Assessments’’ for ‘‘assessments’’ and inserted ‘‘in the case of producers and handlers’’ after ‘‘such assess- ments’’. Subsec. (g)(5). Pub. L. 103–189, § 8(e)(2), added par. (5). Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 103–189, §§ 7, 8(f), designated exist- ing provisions as par. (1), substituted ‘‘Except as pro- vided in paragraph (2), the’’ for ‘‘The’’, inserted ‘‘(or importer who is subject to the plan)’’ after ‘‘or han- dler’’ the first two places appearing, substituted ‘‘, handler, or importer paid the assessment’’ for ‘‘or handler paid the assessment’’, and added pars. (2) and (3). Subsec. (l). Pub. L. 103–189, § 9(b), added subsec. (l). § 4907. Permissive terms in plans (a) Description of terms and provisions; prohibi- tion Any plan issued under this chapter may con- tain one or more of the terms and provisions de- scribed in this section, but except as provided in section 4906 of this title no others. (b) Exemptions The plan may provide for the exemption, from the provisions of the plan, of watermelons used for nonfood uses, and authority for the Board to establish satisfactory safeguards against im- proper use of such exemption. (c) Designation of different handler payment and reporting schedules for assessments The plan may provide for the designation of different handler payment and reporting sched- ules with respect to assessments, as provided for in sections 4906 and 4908 of this title, to recog- nize differences in marketing practices and pro- cedures used in different production areas. (d) Advertising and sales promotion programs or projects The plan may provide for the establishment, issuance, effectuation, and administration of ap- propriate programs or projects for the adver- tising and other sales promotion of watermelons and for the disbursement of necessary funds for such purposes. Any such program or project shall be directed toward increasing the general demand for watermelons, and promotional ac- tivities shall comply with the provisions of sec- tion 4906(g) of this title. (e) Marketing objectives of research and devel- opment projects and studies The plan may provide for establishing and car- rying out research and development projects and studies to the end that the marketing and use of watermelons may be encouraged, expanded, im- proved, or made more efficient, and for the dis- bursement of necessary funds for such purposes. (f) Reserve funds; limitation The plan may provide authority for the accu- mulation of reserve funds from assessments col- lected under this chapter, to permit an effective and continuous coordinated program of re- search, development, advertising, and promotion in years when watermelon production and as- sessment income may be reduced, except that the total reserve fund may not exceed the amount budgeted for two years operation. (g) Foreign market sales The plan may provide for the use of funds from assessments collected under this chapter, with the approval of the Secretary, for the develop- ment and expansion of sales of watermelons in foreign markets. Page 1734 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 4908 (h) Other terms and conditions The plan may contain terms and conditions incidental to and not inconsistent with the terms and conditions specified in this chapter and necessary to effectuate the other provisions of the plan. (Pub. L. 99–198, title XVI, § 1648, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1625.) § 4908. Assessment procedures (a) Persons responsible for remittance of assess- ments; recordkeeping; equal and unitary as- sessments (1) Each handler required to pay assessments under a plan, as provided for under section 4906(f) of this title, shall be responsible for pay- ment to the Board, as it may direct, of the as- sessments. A handler also shall collect from any producer, or shall deduct from the proceeds paid to any producer, on whose watermelons a pro- ducer assessment is made, the assessments re- quired to be paid by the producer. The handler shall remit producer assessments to the Board as the Board directs. Such handler shall main- tain a separate record with respect to each pro- ducer for whom watermelons were handled. Such records shall indicate the total quantity of wa- termelons handled by the handler, including those handled for producers and for the handler, the total quantity of watermelons handled by the handler that are included under the terms of the plan, as well as those that are exempt under the plan, and such other information as may be prescribed by the Board. To facilitate the collec- tion and payment of assessments, the Board may designate different handlers or classes of handlers to recognize differences in marketing practices or procedures used in any State or area. The handler shall be assessed an equal amount as the producer. No more than one as- sessment on a producer nor more than one as- sessment on a handler shall be made on any wa- termelons. (2)(A) If importers are subject to the plan, each importer required to pay assessments under the plan shall be responsible for payment of the assessment to the Board, as the Board may direct. (B) The assessment on imported watermelons shall be equal to the combined rate for domestic producers and handlers and shall be paid by the importer to the Board at the time of the entry of the watermelons into the United States. (C) Each importer required to pay assessments under the plan shall maintain a separate record that includes a record of— (i) the total quantity of watermelons im- ported into the United States that are in- cluded under the terms of the plan; (ii) the total quantity of watermelons that are exempt from the plan; and (iii) such other information as may be pre- scribed by the Board. (D) No more than 1 assessment shall be made on any imported watermelon. (b) Inspection of records Handlers and importers responsible for pay- ment of assessments under subsection (a) shall maintain and make available for inspection by the Secretary such books and records as re- quired by the plan and file reports at the times, in the manner, and having the content pre- scribed by the plan, to the end that information and data shall be made available to the Board and to the Secretary that is appropriate or nec- essary to the effectuation, administration, or enforcement of this chapter or of any plan or regulation issued under this chapter. (c) Confidentiality of information; disclosure au- thority; general or violation statements; pen- alties; removal from office All information obtained under subsections (a) and (b) shall be kept confidential by all officers and employees of the Department of Agriculture and of the Board, and only such information so furnished or acquired as the Secretary deems relevant shall be disclosed by them, and then only in a suit or administrative hearing brought at the direction, or on the request, of the Sec- retary, or to which the Secretary or any officer of the United States is a party, and involving the plan with reference to which the informa- tion to be disclosed was furnished or acquired. Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to prohibit— (1) the issuance of general statements based on the reports of a number of handlers or im- porters subject to a plan if such statements do not identify the information furnished by any person; or (2) the publication by direction of the Sec- retary of the name of any person violating any plan together with a statement of the par- ticular provisions of the plan violated by such person. Any such officer or employee violating the pro- visions of this subsection shall be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, and shall be re- moved from office. (Pub. L. 99–198, title XVI, § 1649, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1626; Pub. L. 103–189, § 8(g), Dec. 14, 1993, 107 Stat. 2262.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1993—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–189, § 8(g)(1), designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–189, § 8(g)(2), inserted ‘‘and im- porters’’ after ‘‘Handlers’’. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 103–189, § 8(g)(3), inserted ‘‘or importers’’ after ‘‘handlers’’. § 4909. Petition and review (a) Any person subject to a plan may file a written petition with the Secretary, stating that the plan or any provision of the plan, or any obligation imposed in connection therewith, is not in accordance with law and praying for a modification thereof or to be exempted there- from. The person shall be given an opportunity for a hearing on the petition, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary. After the hearing, the Secretary shall make a ruling on the petition, which shall be final if in accord- ance with the law. (b) The district courts of the United States in any district in which the person is an inhab-