106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4788

AN ACT

To amend the United States Grain Standards Act

to extend the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to collect fees to cover the cost of servicesperformed under that Act, extend the authorization of appropriations for that Act, and improvethe administration of that Act, to reenact theUnited States Warehouse Act to require the licensing and inspection of warehouses used tostore agricultural products and provide for theissuance of receipts, including electronic receipts,for agricultural products stored or handled in licensed warehouses, and for other purposes.

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4788

AN ACT

To amend the United States Grain Standards Act to extend

the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to collect

fees to cover the cost of services performed under that

Act, extend the authorization of appropriations for that

Act, and improve the administration of that Act, to reenact the United States Warehouse Act to require the

licensing and inspection of warehouses used to store agri-
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cultural products and provide for the issuance of receipts,

including electronic receipts, for agricultural products

stored or handled in licensed warehouses, and for other

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Grain Standards and Warehouse Improvement Act of

6 2000’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—GRAIN STANDARDS

Sec. 101. Sampling for export grain.

Sec. 102. Geographic boundaries for official agencies.

Sec. 103. Authorization to collect fees.

Sec. 104. Testing of equipment.

Sec. 105. Limitation on administrative and supervisory costs.

Sec. 106. Licenses and authorizations.

Sec. 107. Grain additives.

Sec. 108. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 109. Advisory committee.

Sec. 110. Conforming amendments.

Sec. 111. Special effective date for certain expired provisions.

TITLE II—WAREHOUSES

Sec. 201. Storage of agricultural products in warehouses.

Sec. 202. Regulations.

9 TITLE I—GRAIN STANDARDS

10 SEC. 101. SAMPLING FOR EXPORT GRAIN.

11 Section 5(a)(1) of the United States Grain Standards

12 Act (7 U.S.C. 77(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(on the
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1 basis’’ and all that follows through ‘‘from the United

2 States)’’.

3 SEC. 102. GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES FOR OFFICIAL AGEN4 CIES.

5 (a) INSPECTION AUTHORITY.—Section 7(f) of the

6 United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(f)) is

7 amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the fol8 lowing:

9 ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES FOR OFFICIAL

10 AGENCIES.—Not more than one official agency des11 ignated under paragraph (1) or State delegated au12 thority under subsection (e)(2) to carry out the in13 spection provisions of this Act shall be operative at

14 the same time in any geographic area defined by the

15 Secretary, except that, if the Secretary determines

16 that the presence of more than one designated offi17 cial agency in the same geographic area will not un18 dermine the policy stated in section 2, the Secretary

19 may—

20 ‘‘(A) allow more than one designated offi21 cial agency to carry out inspections within the

22 same geographical area as part of a pilot pro23 gram; and

24 ‘‘(B) allow a designated official agency to

25 cross boundary lines to carry out inspections in
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1 another geographic area if the Secretary also

2 determines that—

3 ‘‘(i) the current designated official

4 agency for that geographic area is unable

5 to provide inspection services in a timely

6 manner;

7 ‘‘(ii) a person requesting inspection

8 services in that geographic area has not

9 been receiving official inspection services

10 from the current designated official agency

11 for that geographic area; or

12 ‘‘(iii) a person requesting inspection

13 services in that geographic area requests a

14 probe inspection on a barge-lot basis.’’.

15 (b) WEIGHING AUTHORITY.—Section 7A(i) of the

16 United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79a(i)) is

17 amended—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘(i) No’’ and inserting the fol19 lowing:

20 ‘‘(i) UNAUTHORIZED WEIGHING PROHIBITED.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No’’;

22 (2) by striking the second sentence; and

23 (3) by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES FOR OFFICIAL

25 AGENCIES.—Not more than one designated official
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1 agency referred to in paragraph (1) or State agency

2 delegated authority pursuant to subsection (c)(2) to

3 carry out the weighing provisions of this Act shall be

4 operative at the same time in any geographic area

5 defined by the Secretary, except that, if the Sec6 retary determines that the presence of more than

7 one designated official agency in the same geo8 graphic area will not undermine the policy stated in

9 section 2, the Secretary may—

10 ‘‘(A) allow more than one designated offi11 cial agency to carry out the weighing provisions

12 within the same geographical area as part of a

13 pilot program; and

14 ‘‘(B) allow a designated official agency to

15 cross boundary lines to carry out the weighing

16 provisions in another geographic area if the

17 Secretary also determines that—

18 ‘‘(i) the current designated official

19 agency for that geographic area is unable

20 to provide the weighing services in a timely

21 manner; or

22 ‘‘(ii) a person requesting weighing

23 services in that geographic area has not

24 been receiving official weighing services
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1 from the current designated official agency

2 for that geographic area.’’.

3 SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION TO COLLECT FEES.

4 (a) INSPECTION AND SUPERVISORY FEES.—Section

5 7(j)(4) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7

6 U.S.C. 79(j)(4)) is amended in the first sentence by strik7 ing ‘‘2000’’ and inserting ‘‘2005’’.

8 (b) WEIGHING AND SUPERVISORY FEES.—Section

9 7A(l)(3) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7

10 U.S.C. 79a(l)(3)) is amended in the first sentence by strik11 ing ‘‘2000’’ and inserting ‘‘2005’’.

12 SEC. 104. TESTING OF EQUIPMENT.

13 Section 7B(a) of the United States Grain Standards

14 Act (7 U.S.C. 79b(a)) is amended in the first sentence

15 by striking ‘‘but at least annually and’’.

16 SEC. 105. LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPER17 VISORY COSTS.

18 Section 7D of the United States Grain Standards Act

19 (7 U.S.C. 79d) is amended—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘2000’’ and inserting ‘‘2005’’;

21 and

22 (2) by striking ‘‘40 per centum’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘30 percent’’.
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1 SEC. 106. LICENSES AND AUTHORIZATIONS.

2 Section 8(a)(3) of the United States Grain Standards

3 Act (7 U.S.C. 84(a)(3)) is amended by inserting ‘‘inspec4 tion, weighing,’’ after ‘‘laboratory testing,’’.

5 SEC. 107. GRAIN ADDITIVES.

6 Section 13(e)(1) of the United States Grain Stand7 ards Act (7 U.S.C. 87b(e)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘,

8 or prohibit disguising the quality of grain,’’ after ‘‘sound

9 and pure grain’’.

10 SEC. 108. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 Section 19 of the United States Grain Standards Act

12 (7 U.S.C. 87h) is amended by striking ‘‘2000’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘2005’’.

14 SEC. 109. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

15 Section 21(e) of the United States Grain Standards

16 Act (7 U.S.C. 87j(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘2000’’ and

17 inserting ‘‘2005’’.

18 SEC. 110. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

19 (a) OBSOLETE STUDIES AND REPORTS.—Section 8

20 of the United States Grain Standards Act of 1976 (7

21 U.S.C. 79 note; Public Law 94–582) is amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘(a)’’; and

23 (2) by striking subsection (b).

24 (b) TEMPORARY AUTHORITIES AND STUDY.—Sec25 tions 23, 24, and 25 of the United States Grain Standards
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1 Act of 1976 (7 U.S.C. 87e–1, 7 U.S.C. 76 note; Public

2 Law 94–582) are repealed.

3 (c) TRANSITIONAL PROVISION.—Section 27 of the

4 United States Grain Standards Act of 1976 (7 U.S.C. 74

5 note; Public Law 94–582) is amended by striking ‘‘; and

6 thereafter’’ and all that follows and inserting a period.

7 SEC. 111. SPECIAL EFFECTIVE DATE FOR CERTAIN EX8 PIRED PROVISIONS.

9 The amendments made by sections 103, 105, 108,

10 and 109 shall take effect as if enacted on September 30,

11 2000.

12 TITLE II—WAREHOUSES

13 SEC. 201. STORAGE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS IN

14 WAREHOUSES.

15 The United States Warehouse Act (7 U.S.C. 241 et

16 seq.) is amended to read as follows:

17 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

18 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘United States Ware19 house Act’.

20 ‘‘SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

21 ‘‘In this Act:

22 ‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT.—The term ‘ag23 ricultural product’ means an agricultural commodity,

24 as determined by the Secretary, including a proc25 essed product of an agricultural commodity.
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1 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—The term ‘approval’ means

2 the consent provided by the Secretary for a person

3 to engage in an activity authorized by this Act.

4 ‘‘(3) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’

5 means the Department of Agriculture.

6 ‘‘(4) ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT.—The term ‘elec7 tronic document’ means a document that is gen8 erated, sent, received, or stored by electronic, opti9 cal, or similar means, including electronic data inter10 change, electronic mail, telegram, telex, or telecopy.

11 ‘‘(5) ELECTRONIC RECEIPT.—The term ‘elec12 tronic receipt’ means a receipt that is authorized by

13 the Secretary to be issued or transmitted under this

14 Act in the form of an electronic document.

15 ‘‘(6) HOLDER.—The term ‘holder’ means a per16 son that has possession in fact or by operation of

17 law of a receipt or any electronic document.

18 ‘‘(7) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means—

19 ‘‘(A) a person (as defined in section 1 of

20 title 1, United States Code);

21 ‘‘(B) a State; and

22 ‘‘(C) a political subdivision of a State.

23 ‘‘(8) RECEIPT.—The term ‘receipt’ means a

24 warehouse receipt issued in accordance with this

25 Act, including an electronic receipt.
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1 ‘‘(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means

2 the Secretary of Agriculture.

3 ‘‘(10) WAREHOUSE.—The term ‘warehouse’

4 means a structure or other approved storage facility,

5 as determined by the Secretary, in which any agri6 cultural product may be stored or handled for the

7 purposes of interstate or foreign commerce.

8 ‘‘(11) WAREHOUSE OPERATOR.—The term

9 ‘warehouse operator’ means a person that is lawfully

10 engaged in the business of storing or handling agri11 cultural products.

12 ‘‘SEC. 3. POWERS OF SECRETARY.

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall have exclu14 sive power, jurisdiction, and authority, to the extent that

15 this Act applies, with respect to—

16 ‘‘(1) each warehouse operator licensed under

17 this Act;

18 ‘‘(2) each person that has obtained an approval

19 to engage in an activity under this Act; and

20 ‘‘(3) each person claiming an interest in an ag21 ricultural product by means of a document or receipt

22 subject to this Act.

23 ‘‘(b) COVERED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.—The

24 Secretary shall specify, after an opportunity for notice and
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1 comment, those agricultural products for which a ware2 house license may be issued under this Act.

3 ‘‘(c) INVESTIGATIONS.—The Secretary may inves4 tigate the storing, warehousing, classifying according to

5 grade and otherwise, weighing, and certifying of agricul6 tural products.

7 ‘‘(d) INSPECTIONS.—The Secretary may inspect or

8 cause to be inspected any person or warehouse licensed

9 under this Act and any warehouse for which a license is

10 applied for under this Act.

11 ‘‘(e) SUITABILITY FOR STORAGE.—The Secretary

12 may determine whether a licensed warehouse, or a ware13 house for which a license is applied for under this Act,

14 is suitable for the proper storage of the agricultural prod15 uct or products stored or proposed for storage in the ware16 house.

17 ‘‘(f) CLASSIFICATION.—The Secretary may classify a

18 licensed warehouse, or a warehouse for which a license is

19 applied for under this Act, in accordance with the owner20 ship, location, surroundings, capacity, conditions, and

21 other qualities of the warehouse and as to the kinds of

22 licenses issued or that may be issued for the warehouse

23 under this Act.

24 ‘‘(g) WAREHOUSE OPERATOR’S DUTIES.—Subject to

25 the other provisions of this Act, the Secretary may pre-
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1 scribe the duties of a warehouse operator operating a

2 warehouse licensed under this Act with respect to the

3 warehouse operator’s care of and responsibility for agricul4 tural products stored or handled by the warehouse oper5 ator.

6 ‘‘(h) SYSTEMS FOR ELECTRONIC CONVEYANCE.—

7 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS GOVERNING ELECTRONIC

8 SYSTEMS.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), the

9 Secretary may promulgate regulations governing one

10 or more electronic systems under which electronic

11 receipts may be issued and transferred and other

12 electronic documents relating to the shipment, pay13 ment, and financing of the sale of agricultural prod14 ucts may be issued or transferred.

15 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary shall not

16 have the authority under this Act to establish—

17 ‘‘(A) one or more central filing systems for

18 the filing of financing statements or the filing

19 of the notice of financing statements; or

20 ‘‘(B) rules to determine security interests

21 of persons affected by this Act.

22 ‘‘(i) EXAMINATION AND AUDITS.—In addition to the

23 authority provided under subsection (l), on request of the

24 person, State agency, or commodity exchange, the Sec-
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1 retary may conduct an examination, audit, or similar ac2 tivity with respect to—

3 ‘‘(1) any person that is engaged in the business

4 of storing an agricultural product that is subject to

5 this Act;

6 ‘‘(2) any State agency that regulates the stor7 age of an agricultural product by such a person; or

8 ‘‘(3) any commodity exchange with regulatory

9 authority over the storage of agricultural products

10 that are subject to this Act.

11 ‘‘(j) LICENSES FOR OPERATION OF WAREHOUSES.—

12 The Secretary may issue to any warehouse operator a li13 cense for the operation of a warehouse in accordance with

14 this Act if—

15 ‘‘(1) the Secretary determines that the ware16 house is suitable for the proper storage of the agri17 cultural product or products stored or proposed for

18 storage in the warehouse; and

19 ‘‘(2) the warehouse operator agrees, as a condi20 tion of the license, to comply with this Act (includ21 ing regulations promulgated under this Act).

22 ‘‘(k) LICENSING OF OTHER PERSONS.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On presentation of satisfac24 tory proof of competency to carry out the activities
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1 described in this paragraph, the Secretary may issue

2 to any person a Federal license—

3 ‘‘(A) to inspect any agricultural product

4 stored or handled in a warehouse subject to this

5 Act;

6 ‘‘(B) to sample such an agricultural prod7 uct;

8 ‘‘(C) to classify such an agricultural prod9 uct according to condition, grade, or other class

10 and certify the condition, grade, or other class

11 of the agricultural product; or

12 ‘‘(D) to weigh such an agricultural product

13 and certify the weight of the agricultural prod14 uct.

15 ‘‘(2) CONDITION.—As a condition of a license

16 issued under paragraph (1), the licensee shall agree

17 to comply with this Act (including regulations pro18 mulgated under this Act).

19 ‘‘(l) EXAMINATION OF BOOKS, RECORDS, PAPERS,

20 AND ACCOUNTS.—The Secretary may examine and audit,

21 using designated officers, employees, or agents of the De22 partment, all books, records, papers, and accounts relating

23 to activities subject to this Act of—

24 ‘‘(1) a warehouse operator operating a ware25 house licensed under this Act;
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1 ‘‘(2) a person operating a system for the elec2 tronic recording and transfer of receipts and other

3 documents authorized by the Secretary; or

4 ‘‘(3) any other person issuing receipts or elec5 tronic documents authorized by the Secretary under

6 this Act.

7 ‘‘(m) COOPERATION WITH STATES.—The Secretary

8 may—

9 ‘‘(1) cooperate with officers and employees of a

10 State who administer or enforce State laws relating

11 to warehouses, warehouse operators, weighers, grad12 ers, inspectors, samplers, or classifiers; and

13 ‘‘(2) enter into cooperative agreements with

14 States to perform activities authorized under this

15 Act.

16 ‘‘SEC. 4. IMPOSITION AND COLLECTION OF FEES.

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall assess per18 sons covered by this Act fees to cover the costs of admin19 istering this Act.

20 ‘‘(b) RATES.—The fees under this section shall be set

21 at a rate determined by the Secretary.

22 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF FEES.—All fees collected under

23 this section shall be credited to the account that incurs

24 the costs of administering this Act and shall be available
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1 to the Secretary without further appropriation and with2 out fiscal year limitation.

3 ‘‘(d) INTEREST.—Funds collected under this section

4 may be deposited in an interest-bearing account with a

5 financial institution, and any interest earned on the ac6 count shall be credited under subsection (c).

7 ‘‘(e) EFFICIENCIES AND COST EFFECTIVENESS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall seek to

9 minimize the fees established under this section by

10 improving efficiencies and reducing costs, including

11 the efficient use of personnel to the extent prac12 ticable and consistent with the effective implementa13 tion of this Act.

14 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall publish an

15 annual report on the actions taken by the Secretary

16 to comply with paragraph (1).

17 ‘‘SEC. 5. QUALITY AND VALUE STANDARDS.

18 ‘‘If standards for the evaluation or determination of

19 the quality or value of an agricultural product are not es20 tablished under another Federal law, the Secretary may

21 establish standards for the evaluation or determination of

22 the quality or value of the agricultural product under this

23 Act.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 6. BONDING AND OTHER FINANCIAL ASSURANCE RE2 QUIREMENTS.

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receiving a li4 cense or approval under this Act (including regulations

5 promulgated under this Act), the person applying for the

6 license or approval shall execute and file with the Sec7 retary a bond, or provide such other financial assurance

8 as the Secretary determines appropriate, to secure the per9 son’s performance of the activities so licensed or approved.

10 ‘‘(b) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—To qualify as a suitable

11 bond or other financial assurance under subsection (a),

12 the surety, sureties, or financial institution shall be subject

13 to service of process in suits on the bond or other financial

14 assurance in the State, district, or territory in which the

15 warehouse is located.

16 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL ASSURANCES.—If the Secretary de17 termines that a previously approved bond or other finan18 cial assurance is insufficient, the Secretary may suspend

19 or revoke the license or approval covered by the bond or

20 other financial assurance if the person that filed the bond

21 or other financial assurance does not provide such addi22 tional bond or other financial assurance as the Secretary

23 determines appropriate.

24 ‘‘(d) THIRD PARTY ACTIONS.—Any person injured by

25 the breach of any obligation arising under this Act for

26 which a bond or other financial assurance has been ob-
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1 tained as required by this section may sue with respect

2 to the bond or other financial assurance in a district court

3 of the United States to recover the damages that the per4 son sustained as a result of the breach.

5 ‘‘SEC. 7. MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS.

6 ‘‘To facilitate the administration of this Act, the fol7 lowing persons shall maintain such records and make such

8 reports, as the Secretary may by regulation require:

9 ‘‘(1) A warehouse operator that is licensed

10 under this Act.

11 ‘‘(2) A person operating a system for the elec12 tronic recording and transfer of receipts and other

13 documents that are authorized under this Act.

14 ‘‘(3) Any other person engaged in the issuance

15 of electronic receipts or the transfer of documents

16 under this Act.

17 ‘‘SEC. 8. FAIR TREATMENT IN STORAGE OF AGRICULTURAL

18 PRODUCTS.

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the capacity of a

20 warehouse, a warehouse operator shall deal, in a fair and

21 reasonable manner, with persons storing, or seeking to

22 store, an agricultural product in the warehouse if the agri23 cultural product—
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1 ‘‘(1) is of the kind, type, and quality custom2 arily stored or handled in the area in which the

3 warehouse is located;

4 ‘‘(2) is tendered to the warehouse operator in a

5 suitable condition for warehousing; and

6 ‘‘(3) is tendered in a manner that is consistent

7 with the ordinary and usual course of business.

8 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION.—Nothing in this section prohibits

9 a warehouse operator from entering into an agreement

10 with a depositor of an agricultural product to allocate

11 available storage space.

12 ‘‘SEC. 9. COMMINGLING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A warehouse operator may com14 mingle agricultural products in a manner approved by the

15 Secretary.

16 ‘‘(b) LIABILITY.—A warehouse operator shall be sev17 erally liable to each depositor or holder for the care and

18 redelivery of the share of the depositor and holder of the

19 commingled agricultural product to the same extent and

20 under the same circumstances as if the agricultural prod21 ucts had been stored separately.

22 ‘‘SEC. 10. TRANSFER OF STORED AGRICULTURAL PROD23 UCTS.

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with regulations

25 promulgated under this Act, a warehouse operator may
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1 transfer a stored agricultural product from one warehouse

2 to another warehouse for continued storage.

3 ‘‘(b) CONTINUED DUTY.—The warehouse operator

4 from which agricultural products have been transferred

5 under subsection (a) shall deliver to the rightful owner of

6 such products, on request at the original warehouse, such

7 products in the quantity and of the kind, quality, and

8 grade called for by the receipt or other evidence of storage

9 of the owner.

10 ‘‘SEC. 11. WAREHOUSE RECEIPTS.

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the depositor

12 of an agricultural product stored or handled in a ware13 house licensed under this Act, the warehouse operator

14 shall issue a receipt to the depositor as prescribed by the

15 Secretary.

16 ‘‘(b) ACTUAL STORAGE REQUIRED.—A receipt may

17 not be issued under this section for an agricultural prod18 uct unless the agricultural product is actually stored in

19 the warehouse at the time of the issuance of the receipt.

20 ‘‘(c) CONTENTS.—Each receipt issued for an agricul21 tural product stored or handled in a warehouse licensed

22 under this Act shall contain such information, for each

23 agricultural product covered by the receipt, as the Sec24 retary may require by regulation.
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1 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON ADDITIONAL RECEIPTS OR

2 OTHER DOCUMENTS.—

3 ‘‘(1) RECEIPTS.—While a receipt issued under

4 this Act is outstanding and uncanceled by the ware5 house operator, an additional receipt may not be

6 issued for the same agricultural product (or any por7 tion of the same agricultural product) represented

8 by the outstanding receipt, except as authorized by

9 the Secretary.

10 ‘‘(2) OTHER DOCUMENTS.—If a document is

11 transferred under this section, no duplicate docu12 ment in any form may be transferred by any person

13 with respect to the same agricultural product rep14 resented by the document, except as authorized by

15 the Secretary.

16 ‘‘(e) ELECTRONIC RECEIPTS AND ELECTRONIC DOC17 UMENTS.—Except as provided in section 3(h)(2), notwith18 standing any other provision of Federal or State law:

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may promul20 gate regulations that authorize the issuance, record21 ing, and transfer of electronic receipts, and the

22 transfer of other electronic documents, in accordance

23 with this subsection.

24 ‘‘(2) ELECTRONIC RECEIPT OR ELECTRONIC

25 DOCUMENT SYSTEMS.—Electronic receipts may be
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1 issued, recorded, and transferred, and electronic doc2 uments may be transferred, under this subsection

3 with respect to an agricultural product under, a sys4 tem or systems maintained in one or more locations

5 and approved by the Secretary in accordance with

6 regulations issued under this Act.

7 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF HOLDER.—Any person

8 designated as the holder of an electronic receipt or

9 other electronic document issued or transferred

10 under this Act shall, for the purpose of perfecting

11 the security interest of the person under Federal or

12 State law and for all other purposes, be considered

13 to be in possession of the receipt or other electronic

14 document.

15 ‘‘(4) NONDISCRIMINATION.—An electronic re16 ceipt issued, or other electronic document trans17 ferred, in accordance with this Act shall not be de18 nied legal effect, validity, or enforceability on the

19 ground that the information is generated, sent, re20 ceived, or stored by electronic or similar means.

21 ‘‘(5) SECURITY INTERESTS.—If more than one

22 security interest exists in the agricultural product

23 that is the subject of an electronic receipt or other

24 electronic document under this Act, the priority of
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1 the security interest shall be determined by the ap2 plicable Federal or State law.

3 ‘‘(6) NO ELECTRONIC RECEIPT REQUIRED.—A

4 person shall not be required to issue in electronic

5 form a receipt or document with respect to an agri6 cultural product.

7 ‘‘(7) OPTION FOR NON-FEDERALLY LICENSED

8 WAREHOUSE OPERATORS.—Notwithstanding any

9 other provision of this Act, a warehouse operator not

10 licensed under this Act may, at the option of the

11 warehouse operator and in accordance with regula12 tions established by the Secretary, issue electronic

13 receipts and transfer other electronic documents in

14 accordance with this Act.

15 ‘‘(8) APPLICATION TO STATE-LICENSED WARE16 HOUSE OPERATORS.—This subsection shall not

17 apply to a warehouse operator that is licensed under

18 State law to store agricultural commodities in a

19 warehouse in the State if the warehouse operator

20 elects—

21 ‘‘(A) not to issue electronic receipts au22 thorized under this subsection; or

23 ‘‘(B) to issue electronic receipts authorized

24 under State law.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 12. CONDITIONS FOR DELIVERY OF AGRICULTURAL

2 PRODUCTS.

3 ‘‘(a) PROMPT DELIVERY.—In the absence of a lawful

4 excuse, a warehouse operator shall, without unnecessary

5 delay, deliver the agricultural product stored or handled

6 in the warehouse on a demand made by—

7 ‘‘(1) the holder of the receipt for the agricul8 tural product; or

9 ‘‘(2) the person that deposited the product, if

10 no receipt has been issued.

11 ‘‘(b) PAYMENT TO ACCOMPANY DEMAND.—Prior to

12 delivery of the agricultural product, payment of the ac13 crued charges associated with the storage of the agricul14 tural product, including satisfaction of the

15 warehouseman’s lien, shall be made if requested by the

16 warehouse operator.

17 ‘‘(c) SURRENDER OF RECEIPT.—When the holder of

18 a receipt requests delivery of an agricultural product cov19 ered by the receipt, the holder shall surrender the receipt

20 to the warehouse operator, in the manner prescribed by

21 the Secretary, to obtain the agricultural product.

22 ‘‘(d) CANCELLATION OF RECEIPT.—A warehouse op23 erator shall cancel each receipt returned to the warehouse

24 operator upon the delivery of the agricultural product for

25 which the receipt was issued.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 13. SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF LICENSES.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—After providing notice and an

3 opportunity for a hearing in accordance with this section,

4 the Secretary may suspend or revoke any license issued,

5 or approval for an activity provided, under this Act—

6 ‘‘(1) for a material violation of, or failure to

7 comply, with any provision of this Act (including

8 regulations promulgated under this Act); or

9 ‘‘(2) on the ground that unreasonable or exorbi10 tant charges have been imposed for services ren11 dered.

12 ‘‘(b) TEMPORARY SUSPENSION.—The Secretary may

13 temporarily suspend a license or approval for an activity

14 under this Act prior to an opportunity for a hearing for

15 any violation of, or failure to comply with, any provision

16 of this Act (including regulations promulgated under this

17 Act).

18 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT HEARINGS.—The

19 agency within the Department that is responsible for ad20 ministering regulations promulgated under this Act shall

21 have exclusive authority to conduct any hearing required

22 under this section.

23 ‘‘(d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

24 ‘‘(1) JURISDICTION.—A final administrative de25 termination issued subsequent to a hearing may be
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1 reviewable only in a district court of the United

2 States.

3 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.—The review shall be con4 ducted in accordance with the standards set forth in

5 section 706(2) of title 5, United States Code.

6 ‘‘SEC. 14. PUBLIC INFORMATION.

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may release to the

8 public the names, addresses, and locations of all persons—

9 ‘‘(1) that have been licensed under this Act or

10 that have been approved to engage in an activity

11 under this Act; and

12 ‘‘(2) with respect to which a license or approval

13 has been suspended or revoked under section 13, the

14 results of any investigation made or hearing con15 ducted under this Act, including the reasons for the

16 suspension or revocation.

17 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Except as otherwise pro18 vided by law, an officer, employee, or agent of the Depart19 ment shall not divulge confidential business information

20 obtained during a warehouse examination or other func21 tion performed as part of the duties of the officer, em22 ployee, or agent under this Act.

23 ‘‘SEC. 15. PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.

24 ‘‘If a person fails to comply with any requirement of

25 this Act (including regulations promulgated under this
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1 Act), the Secretary may assess, on the record after an op2 portunity for a hearing, a civil penalty—

3 ‘‘(1) of not more than $25,000 per violation, if

4 an agricultural product is not involved in the viola5 tion; or

6 ‘‘(2) of not more than 100 percent of the value

7 of the agricultural product, if an agricultural prod8 uct is involved in the violation.

9 ‘‘SEC. 16. JURISDICTION AND ARBITRATION.

10 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL JURISDICTION.—A district court of

11 the United States shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any

12 action brought under this Act without regard to the

13 amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties.

14 ‘‘(b) ARBITRATION.—Nothing in this Act prevents

15 the enforceability of an agreement to arbitrate that would

16 otherwise be enforceable under chapter 1 of title 9, United

17 States Code.

18 ‘‘SEC. 17. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

19 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

20 as are necessary to carry out this Act.’’.

21 SEC. 202. REGULATIONS.

22 (a) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90

23 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec24 retary of Agriculture shall publish in the Federal Register
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1 proposed regulations for carrying out the amendment

2 made by section 201.

3 (b) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary

5 shall promulgate final regulations for carrying out the

6 amendment made by section 201.

7 (c) EFFECTIVENESS OF EXISTING ACT.—The United

8 States Warehouse Act (7 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) (as it existed

9 before the amendment made by section 201) shall be effec10 tive until the earlier of—

11 (1) the date on which final regulations are pro12 mulgated under subsection (b); or

13 (2) August 1, 2001.

Passed the House of Representatives October 10,

2000.

Attest:

Clerk.