1995 US Code
Title 7 - AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 77 - HONEY RESEARCH, PROMOTION, AND CONSUMER INFORMATION
Sec. 4606 - Required terms of order

View Metadata

§4606. Required terms of order (a) Terms and conditions of order

Any order issued by the Secretary under this chapter shall contain the terms and conditions described in this section and, except as provided in section 4607 of this title, no others.

(b) National Honey Nominations Committee; composition; nominations; terms; Chairman; compensation; meetings; voting

(1) Such order shall provide for the establishment and appointment by the Secretary of a National Honey Nominations Committee which shall consist of not more than one member from each State, from nominations submitted by each State association. If a State association does not submit a nomination, the Secretary may provide for nominations from that State to be made in a different manner, except that if a State which is not one of the top twenty honey-producing States in the United States (as determined by the Secretary) does not submit a nomination, such State shall not be represented on the Committee.

(2) Members of the Committee shall serve for three-year terms with no member serving more than two consecutive three-year terms, except that the initial appointments to the Committee shall be staggered with an equal number of members appointed, to the maximum extent possible, to one-year, two-year, and three-year terms.

(3) The Committee shall select its Chairman by a majority vote.

(4) The members of the Committee shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses incurred in performing their duties as members of the Committee.

(5) The Committee shall nominate the members and alternates of the Honey Board and submit such nominations to the Secretary. In making such nominations, the Committee shall meet annually, except that after the first annual meeting, when determined by the Chairman, the Committee may conduct its business by mail ballot in lieu of an annual meeting. In order to nominate members to the Honey Board, at least 50 per centum of the members from the twenty leading honey producing States must vote. A majority of the National Honey Nominations Committee shall constitute a quorum for voting at an annual meeting. In the case of a mail ballot, votes must be received from a majority of the Committee.

(c) Honey Board; membership; terms; alternates; compensation; powers; duties

(1) The order described in subsection (a) of this section shall provide for the establishment and appointment by the Secretary of a Honey Board in accordance with this subsection.

(2) The membership of the Honey Board shall consist of—

(A) seven members who are honey producers appointed from nominations submitted by the National Honey Nominations Committee, one from each of seven regions of the United States which shall be established by the Secretary on the basis of the production of honey in the different areas of the country;

(B) two members who are handlers of honey appointed from nominations submitted by the Committee from recommendations made by industry organizations representing handler interests;

(C) two members who are either importers or exporters, of which at least one shall be an importer, appointed from nominations submitted by the Committee from recommendations by industry organizations representing importer and exporter interests;

(D) one member who is an officer or employee of a honey marketing cooperative appointed from nominations submitted by the Committee; and

(E) one member selected by the Secretary from the general public.

The Committee shall also submit nominations for an alternate for each member of the Honey Board described in subparagraphs (A) through (D), and the Secretary shall appoint an alternate for the member described in subparagraph (E). Such alternates shall be appointed in the same manner as members are and shall serve only whenever the member is absent from a meeting or is disqualified. However, no producer-packer who, during any three of the preceding five years, purchased for resale more honey than such producer-packer produced shall be eligible for nomination or appointment to the Honey Board as a producer described in subparagraph (A) or as an alternate to such producer.

(3) Members of the Honey Board shall serve for three-year terms with no member serving more than two consecutive three-year terms except that the initial appointments to the Honey Board shall be staggered with an equal number of members appointed, to the maximum extent possible, to one-year, two-year, and three-year terms.

(4) In the event any member of the Honey Board ceases to be a member of the category of members from which the member was appointed to the Honey Board, such person shall be automatically replaced by an alternate, except that if, as a result of the adjustment of the boundaries of the regions established under paragraph (2)(A), a producer member or alternate is no longer from the region from which such person was appointed, such member or alternate may serve out the term for which such person was appointed.

(5) The members of the Honey Board shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses incurred in performing their duties as members of the Honey Board.

(6) The powers and duties of the Honey Board shall be to—

(A) administer any order, issued by the Secretary under this chapter, in accordance with its terms and provisions and consistent with the provisions of this chapter;

(B) prescribe rules and regulations to effectuate the terms and provisions of such an order;

(C) receive, investigate, and report to the Secretary, accounts of violations of such an order;

(D) make recommendations to the Secretary with respect to amendments which should be made to such order; and

(E) employ a manager and staff.

(d) Budget; administration of order

The Honey Board shall prepare and submit to the Secretary, for the Secretary's approval, a budget (on a fiscal period basis) of its anticipated expenses and disbursements in the administration of the order, including probable costs of research, promotion, and consumer information.

(e) Assessment; collection; rate; exemption; effect of exemption on referendum voting status

(1) The Honey Board shall administer collection of the assessment provided for in this paragraph to finance the expenses described in subsections (d) and (f) of this section. The assessment rate shall be .01 per pound, with payment to be made in the manner described in section 4608 of this title.

(2)(A) Honey that is consumed at home by the producer or importer or donated by the producer or importer to a nonprofit, government, or other entity, as determined appropriate by the Secretary, rather than sold shall be exempt from assessment under the order, except that donated honey that later is sold in a commercial outlet by a donee or a donee's assignee shall be subject to assessment on such sale.

(B)(i) A producer, producer-packer, or importer who produces or imports during any year less than 6,000 pounds of honey shall be eligible for an exemption in such year from paying an assessment on honey such person distributes directly through local retail outlets, as determined by the Secretary, during such year.

(ii) In order to claim an exemption under this subparagraph, a person shall submit an application to the Honey Board stating the basis on which the person claims the exemption for such year.

(iii) If, after a person claims an exemption from assessments for any year under this subparagraph, such person no longer meets the requirements of this subparagraph for an exemption, such person shall file a report with the Honey Board in the form and manner prescribed by the Board and pay an assessment on or before March 15 of the subsequent year on all honey produced or imported by such person during the year for which the person claimed the exemption.

(3) If a producer, producer-packer, or importer does not pay any assessments under this chapter due to the applicability to such person of the exemptions from assessments provided in paragraph (2), then such producer, producer-packer, or importer shall not be considered a producer or importer for purposes of voting in any referendum conducted under this chapter during the period the person's exemption from all assessments is in effect.

(f) Funds; use of; reimbursement; Secretary

Funds collected by the Honey Board from the assessments shall be used by the Honey Board for financing research, promotion, and consumer information, other expenses as described in subsection (d) of this section, such other expenses for the administration, maintenance, and functioning of the Honey Board as may be authorized by the Secretary, any reserve established under section 4607(5) of this title, and those administrative costs incurred by the Department of Agriculture pursuant to this chapter after an order has been promulgated under this chapter. The Secretary shall be reimbursed from assessments collected by the Honey Board for any expenses incurred for the conduct of referenda.

(g) False or unwarranted claims or statements

No promotion funded with assessments collected under this chapter may make any false or unwarranted claims on behalf of honey or its products or false or unwarranted statements with respect to the attributes or use of any competing product.

(h) Influencing governmental policy or action

No funds collected through assessments authorized by this chapter may, in any manner, be used for the purpose of influencing governmental policy or action, except for making recommendations to the Secretary as provided for in this chapter.

(i) Plans or projects; contracts

The Honey Board shall develop and submit to the Secretary, for approval, plans for research, promotion, and consumer information. Any such plans or projects must be approved by the Secretary before becoming effective. The Honey Board may enter into contracts or agreements with the approval of the Secretary for the development and carrying out of research, promotion, and consumer information, and for the payment of the cost thereof with funds collected pursuant to this chapter.

(j) Books and records; reports

The Honey Board shall maintain books and records and prepare and submit to the Secretary such reports from time to time as may be required for appropriate accounting with respect to the receipt and disbursement of funds entrusted to it and cause a complete audit report to be submitted to the Secretary at the end of each fiscal year.

(k) Honey Board; property interests

Any patent on any product, copyright on any material, or any invention, product formulation or publication developed through the use of funds collected by the Honey Board shall be the property of the Honey Board. The funds generated from any such patent, copyright, invention, product formulation, or publication shall inure to the benefit of the Honey Board.

(Pub. L. 98–590, §7, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 3117; Pub. L. 101–624, title XIX, §§1983, 1984(a), Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3905.)

Amendments

1990—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 101–624, §1983(1)(B), (C), in concluding provisions, substituted “submit nominations for an alternate” for “nominate an alternate or alternates” and inserted at end “However, no producer-packer who, during any three of the preceding five years, purchased for resale more honey than such producer-packer produced shall be eligible for nomination or appointment to the Honey Board as a producer described in subparagraph (A) or as an alternate to such producer.”

Subsec. (c)(2)(C). Pub. L. 101–624, §1983(1)(A), added subpar. (C) and struck out former subpar. (C) which read as follows: “two members who are importers appointed from nominations submitted by the Committee from recommendations made by industry organizations representing importer interests;”.

Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 101–624, §1983(1)(D), inserted before period at end “, except that if, as a result of the adjustment of the boundaries of the regions established under paragraph (2)(A), a producer member or alternate is no longer from the region from which such person was appointed, such member or alternate may serve out the term for which such person was appointed”.

Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 101–624, §1984(a)(1), substituted new second sentence for “For the first year in which the plan is in effect, the assessment rate shall be .01 per pound, with payment to be made in the manner described in section 4608 of this title. After the first year, the Honey Board may submit to the Secretary a request for an increase in the assessment rate not to exceed 0.5 cent per year, but at no time may the total assessment rate exceed .04 per pound.”

Subsec. (e)(2), (3). Pub. L. 101–624, §1984(a)(2), added pars. (2) and (3) and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: “A producer or producer-packer who produces, or handles, or produces and handles less than six thousand pounds of honey per year or an importer who imports less than six thousand pounds of honey per year shall be exempt from the assessment. In order to claim such an exemption, a person shall submit an application to the Honey Board stating that their production, handling, or importation of honey shall not exceed six thousand pounds for the year for which the exemption is claimed.”

Subsec. (k). Pub. L. 101–624, §1983(2), added subsec. (k).

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 4602, 4608, 4611 of this title.