103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2500

AN ACT

To enable producers and feeders of sheep and imposes. research, and information, and for other pur- program for sheep and sheep product promotion, finance, and carry out a nationally coordinated porters of sheep and sheep products to develop,
103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2500

AN ACT

To enable producers and feeders of sheep and importers

of sheep and sheep products to develop, finance, and

carry out a nationally coordinated program for sheep

and sheep product promotion, research, and information,

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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sheep Promotion, Re5 search, and Information Act of 1994’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

3 (1) sheep and sheep products are important

4 goods;

5 (2) the production of sheep and sheep products

6 play a significant role in the economy of the United

7 States in that sheep and sheep products are pro8 duced throughout the United States and used by

9 millions of people throughout the United States and

10 foreign countries;

11 (3) sheep and sheep products must be high

12 quality, readily available, handled properly, and mar13 keted efficiently to ensure that consumers have an

14 adequate supply of sheep products;

15 (4) the maintenance and expansion of existing

16 markets and development of new markets for sheep

17 and sheep products are vital to the welfare of sheep

18 producers and persons concerned with marketing,

19 using, and producing sheep and sheep products, as

20 well as to the general economy of the United States,

21 and necessary to ensure the ready availability and

22 efficient marketing of sheep and sheep products;

23 (5) there exist established State organizations

24 conducting sheep and sheep product promotion, re25 search, and industry and consumer education pro-
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1 grams that are invaluable to the efforts of promoting

2 the consumption of sheep and sheep products;

3 (6) the cooperative development, financing, and

4 implementation of a coordinated national program of

5 sheep and sheep product promotion, research,

6 consumer information, education, and industry infor7 mation are necessary to maintain and expand exist8 ing markets and develop new markets for sheep and

9 sheep products; and

10 (7) sheep and sheep products move in interstate

11 and foreign commerce, and sheep and sheep prod12 ucts that do not move in such channels of commerce

13 directly burden or affect interstate commerce in

14 sheep and sheep products.

15 (b) POLICY.—It is the policy of Congress that it is

16 in the public interest to authorize the establishment,

17 through the exercise of the powers provided in this Act,

18 of an orderly procedure for developing, financing (through

19 adequate assessments on sheep and sheep products pro20 duced or imported into the United States), and carrying

21 out an effective, continuous, coordinated program of pro22 motion, research, consumer information, education, and

23 industry information designed to—

24 (1) strengthen the position of the sheep and

25 sheep product industry in the marketplace;
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1 (2) maintain and expand existing domestic and

2 foreign markets and uses for sheep and sheep prod3 ucts; and

4 (3) develop new markets and uses for sheep and

5 sheep products.

6 (c) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act provides

7 for the control of production, or otherwise limits, the right

8 of any person to produce sheep or sheep products.

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

10 As used in this Act (unless the context clearly re11 quires otherwise):

12 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na13 tional Sheep Promotion, Research, and Information

14 Board established under section 5(b).

15 (2) CARBONIZED WOOL.—The term ‘‘carbonized

16 wool’’ means wool that has been immersed in a bath,

17 usually of mineral acids or acid salts, that destroys

18 vegetable matter in the wool, but does not affect the

19 wool fibres.

20 (3) CONSUMER INFORMATION.—The term

21 ‘‘consumer information’’ means nutritional data and

22 other information that will assist consumers and

23 other persons in making evaluations and decisions

24 regarding the purchase, preparation, or use of sheep

25 products.
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1 (4) CUSTOMS SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Customs

2 Service’’ means United States Customs Service of

3 the Department of the Treasury.

4 (5) DEGREASED WOOL.—The term ‘‘degreased

5 wool’’ means wool from which the bulk of impurities

6 has been removed by processing.

7 (6) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’

8 means the United States Department of Agriculture.

9 (7) EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘education’’ means

10 activities providing information relating to the sheep

11 industry or sheep products to producers, feeders, im12 porters, consumers, and other persons.

13 (8) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Exec14 utive Committee’’ means the Executive Committee

15 established under section 5(g).

16 (9) EXPORTER.—The term ‘‘exporter’’ means

17 any person who exports domestic live sheep or

18 greasy wool from the United States.

19 (10) FEEDER.—The term ‘‘feeder’’ means a

20 person who feeds lambs until the lambs reach

21 slaughter weight.

22 (11) GREASY WOOL.—The term ‘‘greasy wool’’

23 means wool that has not been washed or otherwise

24 cleaned.
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1 (12) HANDLER.—The term ‘‘handler’’ means

2 any person who purchases and markets greasy wool.

3 (13) IMPORTER.—The term ‘‘importer’’ means

4 any person who imports sheep or sheep products

5 into the United States.

6 (14) INDUSTRY INFORMATION.—The term ‘‘in7 dustry information’’ means information and pro8 grams that will lead to increased efficiency in proc9 essing and the development of new markets, market10 ing strategies, increased marketing efficiency, and

11 activities to enhance the image of sheep or sheep

12 products on a national or international basis.

13 (15) ORDER.—The term ‘‘order’’ means a

14 sheep and wool promotion, research, education, and

15 information order issued under section 4.

16 (16) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any

17 individual, group of individuals, partnership, cor18 poration, association, cooperative, or any other legal

19 entity.

20 (17) PROCESSOR.—The term ‘‘processor’’

21 means any person who slaughters sheep or processes

22 greasy wool into degreased wool.

23 (18) PRODUCER.—The term ‘‘producer’’ means

24 any person, other than a feeder, who owns or ac25 quires ownership of sheep.
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1 (19) PRODUCER INFORMATION.—The term

2 ‘‘producer information’’ means activities designed to

3 provide producers, feeders, and importers with infor4 mation relating to production or marketing effi5 ciencies or developments, program activities, or other

6 information that would facilitate an increase in the

7 consumption of sheep or sheep products.

8 (20) PROMOTION.—The term ‘‘promotion’’

9 means any action (including paid advertising) to ad10 vance the image and desirability of sheep or sheep

11 products to improve the competitive position, and

12 stimulate sales, of sheep products in the domestic

13 and international marketplace.

14 (21) PULLED WOOL.—The term ‘‘pulled wool’’

15 means wool that is pulled from the skin of a slaugh16 tered sheep.

17 (22) QUALIFIED STATE SHEEP BOARD.—The

18 term ‘‘qualified State sheep board’’ means a sheep

19 and wool promotion entity that—

20 (A) is authorized by State statute or is

21 otherwise organized and operating within a

22 State;

23 (B) receives voluntary contributions or

24 dues and conducts promotion, research, or
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1 consumer information programs with respect to

2 sheep or wool, or both; and

3 (C) is recognized by the Board as the

4 sheep and wool promotion entity within the

5 State;

6 except that not more than 1 qualified State sheep

7 board shall exist in any State at any 1 time.

8 (23) RAW WOOL.—The term ‘‘raw wool’’ means

9 greasy wool, pulled wool, degreased wool, or carbon10 ized wool.

11 (24) RESEARCH.—The term ‘‘research’’ means

12 development projects and studies relating to the pro13 duction (including the feeding of sheep), processing,

14 distribution, or use of sheep or sheep products to en15 courage, expand, improve, or make more efficient

16 the marketing of sheep or sheep products.

17 (25) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

18 means the Secretary of Agriculture.

19 (26) SHEEP.—The term ‘‘sheep’’ means ovine

20 animals of any age, including lambs.

21 (27) SHEEP PRODUCTS.—The term ‘‘sheep

22 products’’ means products produced, in whole or in

23 part, from sheep, including wool and products con24 taining wool fiber.
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1 (28) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

2 the 50 States.

3 (29) UNIT.—The term ‘‘unit’’ means each

4 State, group of States, or class designation that is

5 represented on the Board.

6 (30) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United

7 States’’ means the 50 States and the District of Co8 lumbia.

9 (31) WOOL.—The term ‘‘wool’’ means the fiber

10 from the fleece of a sheep.

11 (32) WOOL PRODUCTS.—The term ‘‘wool prod12 ucts’’ means products produced, in whole or in part,

13 from wool and products containing wool fiber.

14 SEC. 4. ISSUANCE AND AMENDMENT OF ORDERS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Sec16 retary shall issue orders under this Act applicable to pro17 ducers, feeders, importers, handlers, and purchasers of

18 sheep and sheep products. Any order shall be national in

19 scope. Not more than 1 order shall be in effect under this

20 Act at any 1 time.

21 (b) PROCEDURE.—

22 (1) PROPOSAL OR REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE.—

23 The Secretary may propose the issuance of an order

24 under this Act, or an association of producers may
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1 request the issuance of, and submit a proposal for,

2 an order.

3 (2) NOTICE AND COMMENT CONCERNING PRO4 POSED ORDER.—Not later than 60 days after the re5 ceipt of a request and proposal for an order under

6 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall publish a pro7 posed order and give due notice and opportunity for

8 public comment on the proposed order.

9 (3) ISSUANCE OF ORDERS.—After notice and

10 opportunity for public comment are given as pro11 vided in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall issue an

12 order, taking into consideration the comments re13 ceived, that includes provisions necessary to ensure

14 that the order is in conformity with this Act. The

15 order shall be issued not later than 180 days follow16 ing publication of the proposed order.

17 (4) REFERENDUM.—The order shall go into ef18 fect only if the order is approved by producers, feed19 ers, and importers in a referendum conducted under

20 section 6.

21 (c) AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary, from time to

22 time, may amend any order issued under this Act.
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1 SEC. 5. REQUIRED TERMS IN ORDERS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—An order issued under this Act

3 shall contain the terms and conditions specified in this sec4 tion.

5 (b) ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP OF

6 BOARD.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The order shall provide for

8 the establishment of, and appointment of members

9 to, a National Sheep Promotion, Research, and In10 formation Board to administer the order. Members

11 of the Board shall be appointed by the Secretary

12 from nominations provided in accordance with this

13 subsection. The cumulative number of seats on the

14 Board shall be 120 and shall be apportioned as fol15 lows:
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1 (A) PRODUCERS.—Producers shall be ap2 pointed to the Board to represent States, with

3 each State represented by the following number

4 of members:

Alabama ................. 1

Alaska .................... 1

Arizona ................... 1

Arkansas ................ 1

California ............... 5

Colorado ................. 4

Connecticut ............ 1

Delaware ................ 1

Florida ................... 1

Georgia ................... 1

Hawaii .................... 1

Idaho ...................... 2

Illinois .................... 1

Indiana ................... 1

Iowa ....................... 2

Kansas ................... 1

Kentucky ................ 1

Louisiana ............... 1

Maine ..................... 1

Maryland ................ 1

Massachusetts ........ 1

Michigan ................ 1

Minnesota .............. 2

Mississippi .............. 1

Missouri ................. 1

Montana ................. 5

Nebraska ................ 1

Nevada ................... 1

New Hampshire ..... 1

New Jersey ............ 1

New Mexico ............ 2

New York ............... 1

North Carolina ....... 1

North Dakota ........ 2

Ohio ....................... 1

Oklahoma ............... 1

Oregon ................... 2

Pennsylvania .......... 1

Rhode Island .......... 1

South Carolina ....... 1

South Dakota ......... 4

Tennessee ............... 1

Texas ..................... 10

Utah ....................... 3

Vermont ................. 1

Virginia .................. 1

Washington ............ 1

West Virginia ......... 1

Wisconsin ............... 1

Wyoming ................ 5
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1 (B) FEEDERS.—The feeder sheep industry

2 shall be represented on the Board by 10 mem3 bers.

4 (C) IMPORTERS.—Importers shall be rep5 resented on the Board by 25 members.

6 (D) ALTERNATES.—The order shall pro7 vide that a unit represented by only 1 member

8 may have an alternate member appointed to en9 sure representation at meetings of the Board.

10 (2) NOMINATIONS.—

11 (A) PRODUCERS.—The Secretary shall ap12 point producers to represent units established

13 under paragraph (1)(A) from nominations sub14 mitted by eligible organizations certified under

15 subsection (c)(3). An eligible organization may

16 submit only nominations from the membership

17 of the organization for the unit in which the or18 ganization is located. To be represented on the

19 Board, each eligible organization shall submit

20 to the Secretary at least 1.5 nominations for

21 each appointment to the Board for which the

22 unit is entitled to representation, as determined

23 under paragraph (1)(A). If a unit is entitled to

24 1 appointment on the Board, the unit shall sub25 mit at least 2 nominations for the appointment.
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1 (B) FEEDERS.—The Secretary shall ap2 point representatives of the feeder sheep indus3 try to seats established under paragraph (1)(B)

4 from nominations submitted by qualified na5 tional organizations that represent the feeder

6 sheep industry. To be represented on the

7 Board, the industry shall provide at least 1.5

8 nominations for each appointment to the Board

9 for which the feeder sheep industry is entitled

10 to representation, as determined under para11 graph (1)(B).

12 (C) IMPORTERS.—The Secretary shall ap13 point importers to seats established under para14 graph (1)(C) from nominations submitted by

15 qualified organizations that represent import16 ers, as determined by the Secretary. To be rep17 resented on the Board, importers shall provide

18 at least 1.5 nominations for each appointment

19 to the Board for which importers are entitled to

20 representation, as determined under paragraph

21 (1)(C).

22 (c) METHOD FOR OBTAINING NOMINATIONS.—

23 (1) INITIALLY ESTABLISHED BOARD.—

24 (A) PRODUCER NOMINATIONS.—The Sec25 retary shall solicit nominations for each seat on
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1 the initially established Board to which a unit

2 is entitled to representation from eligible orga3 nizations certified under paragraph (3). If no

4 such organization exists in the unit, the Sec5 retary shall solicit nominations for appoint6 ments in such manner as the Secretary deter7 mines appropriate.

8 (B) FEEDER AND IMPORTER NOMINA9 TIONS.—The Secretary shall solicit nominations

10 for each seat for which feeders or importers are

11 entitled to representation from organizations

12 that represent feeders and importers, respec13 tively. In determining whether an organization

14 is eligible to submit nominations under this

15 subparagraph, the Secretary shall determine

16 whether—

17 (i) the active membership of the orga18 nization includes a significant number of

19 feeders or importers in relation to the total

20 membership of the organization;

21 (ii) there is evidence of stability and

22 permanency of the organization; and

23 (iii) the organization has a primary

24 and overriding interest in representing the
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1 feeder or importer segment of the sheep in2 dustry.

3 (2) SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENT.—

4 (A) PRODUCER NOMINATIONS.—The solici5 tation of nominations for subsequent appoint6 ment to the Board from eligible organizations

7 certified under paragraph (3) shall be initiated

8 by the Secretary, with the Board securing the

9 nominations for the Secretary.

10 (B) FEEDER AND IMPORTER NOMINA11 TIONS.—The solicitation of feeder and importer

12 nominations for seats on the Board shall be

13 made by the Secretary in accordance with para14 graph (1)(B).

15 (3) CERTIFICATION OF ORGANIZATIONS.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The eligibility of any

17 organization to represent producers, and to par18 ticipate in the making of nominations to rep19 resent producers under this section, shall be

20 certified by the Secretary. The Secretary shall

21 certify any organization that the Secretary de22 termines meets the eligibility criteria estab23 lished by the Secretary under this paragraph.

24 An eligibility determination of the Secretary

25 under this paragraph shall be final.
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1 (B) BASIS FOR CERTIFICATION.—Certifi2 cation under this paragraph shall be based, in

3 addition to other available information, on a

4 factual report submitted by the organization,

5 that shall contain information considered rel6 evant and specified by the Secretary, includ7 ing—

8 (i) the geographic territory covered by

9 the active membership of the organization;

10 (ii) the nature and size of the active

11 membership of the organization, including

12 the proportion of the total number of ac13 tive producers represented by the organiza14 tion;

15 (iii) evidence of stability and perma16 nency of the organization;

17 (iv) sources from which the operating

18 funds of the organization are derived;

19 (v) the functions of the organization;

20 and

21 (vi) the ability and willingness of the

22 organization to further the aims and objec23 tives of this Act.

24 (C) PRIMARY CONSIDERATIONS.—A pri25 mary consideration in determining the eligibility
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1 of an organization under this paragraph shall

2 be whether—

3 (i) the membership of the organiza4 tion consists primarily of producers who

5 own a substantial quantity of sheep; and

6 (ii) an interest of the organization is

7 in the production of sheep.

8 (d) ADMINISTRATION.—

9 (1) TERMS.—Each appointment to the Board

10 shall be for a term of 3 years, except that appoint11 ments to the initially established Board shall be pro12 portionately for 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year terms. No

13 person may serve more than 2 consecutive 3-year

14 terms, except that an elected officer of the Board

15 shall not be subject to this sentence while the officer

16 holds office.

17 (2) COMPENSATION.—A Board member shall

18 serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed

19 for the reasonable expenses of the member incurred

20 in performing the duties of the Board.

21 (3) MEETINGS.—The order shall provide for at

22 least an annual meeting of the Board and such addi23 tional meetings of the Board as may be required.
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1 (e) POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD.—The

2 order shall define the powers and duties of the Board and

3 shall include the power and duty—

4 (1) to elect officers of the Board, including a

5 Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and Secretary;

6 (2) to administer the order in accordance with

7 the terms and provisions of the order;

8 (3) to recommend regulations to effectuate the

9 terms and provisions of the order;

10 (4) to elect members of the Board to serve on

11 the Executive Committee;

12 (5) to approve or reject budgets submitted by

13 the Executive Committee;

14 (6) on approval, to submit the budgets to the

15 Secretary for the approval or disapproval of the Sec16 retary;

17 (7) to contract with entities, if necessary, to

18 carry out plans or projects in accordance with this

19 Act;

20 (8) to conduct programs of promotion, research,

21 consumer information, education, industry informa22 tion, and producer information;

23 (9) to receive, investigate, and report to the

24 Secretary complaints of violations of the order;
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1 (10) to recommend to the Secretary amend2 ments to the order;

3 (11) to provide the Secretary with prior notice

4 of meetings of the Board to permit the Secretary, or

5 a designated representative, to attend the meetings;

6 (12) to provide, not less than annually, a report

7 to producers, feeders, and importers accounting for

8 funds expended by the Board and describing pro9 grams carried out under this Act, and to make the

10 report available to the public on request;

11 (13) to establish 7 regions that, to the extent

12 practicable, contain geographically contiguous States

13 and approximately equal numbers of producers and

14 sheep production;

15 (14) to employ or retain necessary staff; and

16 (15) to invest funds in accordance with sub17 section (k).

18 (f) BUDGETS.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The order shall provide that

20 the Board shall review budgets submitted by the Ex21 ecutive Committee, on a fiscal year basis, of antici22 pated expenses and disbursements by the Board, in23 cluding probable costs of administration and pro24 motion, research, consumer information, education,

25 industry information, and producer information
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1 projects. On approval by the Board, the Board shall

2 submit the budget to the Secretary for the approval

3 of the Secretary.

4 (2) LIMITATION.—No expenditure of funds may

5 be made by the Board unless the expenditure is au6 thorized under a budget or budget amendment ap7 proved by the Secretary.

8 (g) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.—

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The order shall estab10 lish an Executive Committee to administer the terms

11 and provisions of the order, as provided in this sub12 section, under the direction of the Board and con13 sistent with the policies determined by the Board.

14 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Executive Committee

15 shall be composed of 14 members, of which—

16 (A) 11 members shall be elected by the

17 Board on an annual basis, of which—

18 (i) 7 members shall represent produc19 ers, with 1 member representing each of

20 the regions established in the order;

21 (ii) 1 member shall represent feeders;

22 and

23 (iii) 3 members shall represent im24 porters; and
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1 (B) 3 members shall be the Chairperson,

2 Vice Chairperson, and Secretary of the Board.

3 (3) POWERS AND DUTIES.—

4 (A) PLANS OR PROJECTS.—The Executive

5 Committee shall develop plans or projects of

6 promotion, research, consumer information,

7 education, industry information, and producer

8 information, which shall be paid for with as9 sessments collected by the Board. The plans or

10 projects shall not become effective until the

11 plans or projects are approved by the Secretary.

12 (B) BUDGETS.—The Executive Committee

13 shall be responsible for developing and submit14 ting to the Board, for the approval of the

15 Board, budgets, on a fiscal year basis, of the

16 anticipated expenses and disbursements of the

17 Board, including probable costs of promotion,

18 research, consumer information, education, in19 dustry information, and producer information

20 projects. The Board shall approve or disapprove

21 a budget submitted by the Executive Commit22 tee, and, if approved, shall submit the budget to

23 the Secretary for the approval of the Secretary.

24 (4) TERMS.—A term of appointment to the Ex25 ecutive Committee shall be for 1 year.
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1 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the

2 Board shall serve as Chairperson of the Executive

3 Committee.

4 (6) QUORUM.—A quorum of the Executive

5 Committee shall consist of 8 members.

6 (h) EXPENSES, CONTRACTS, AND AGREEMENTS.—

7 (1) EXPENSES.—The order shall provide that

8 the Board shall be responsible for all expenses of the

9 Board and the Executive Committee.

10 (2) CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS.—A con11 tract or agreement entered into by the Board under

12 subsection (e)(7) shall provide that—

13 (A) the contracting party shall develop and

14 submit to the Board a plan or project, together

15 with a budget or budgets that provides esti16 mated costs to be incurred for the plan or

17 project;

18 (B) the plan or project, and the contract

19 or agreement, shall not become effective until

20 the plan or project has been approved by the

21 Secretary; and

22 (C) the contracting party shall—

23 (i) keep accurate records of all of the

24 transactions of the party;
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1 (ii) account for funds received and ex2 pended, including staff time, salaries, and

3 expenses expended on behalf of Board ac4 tivities;

5 (iii) make periodic reports to the

6 Board of activities conducted; and

7 (iv) make such other reports as the

8 Board or the Secretary may require.

9 (i) ASSESSMENTS.—

10 (1) SHEEP PURCHASES.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The order shall provide

12 that each person making payment to a producer

13 or feeder for sheep purchased from the pro14 ducer or feeder shall, in the manner prescribed

15 by the order, collect an assessment from the

16 producer or feeder on each sheep sold by the

17 producer or feeder.

18 (B) PROCESSING.—Any person purchasing

19 sheep for processing shall collect the assessment

20 from the seller and remit the assessment to the

21 Board in the manner prescribed by the order.

22 (C) RATE.—

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

24 in clause (ii), the rate of assessment under
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1 this paragraph shall be 1 cent per pound

2 of live sheep sold.

3 (ii) EXCEPTION.—The rate of assess4 ment under this paragraph may be raised

or lowered not more than 15 5 ⁄100 of a cent

6 per pound in any 1 year, as recommended

7 by the Executive Committee and approved

8 by the Board and the Secretary, except

9 that the rate of assessment under this

10 paragraph shall not exceed 2.5 cents per

11 pound of live sheep sold.

12 (2) WOOL PURCHASES.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The order shall provide

14 that each person making payment to a pro15 ducer, feeder, or handler of wool for wool pur16 chased from the producer, feeder, or handler

17 shall, in the manner prescribed by the order,

18 collect an assessment on each pound of greasy

19 wool sold.

20 (B) PROCESSING.—Any person purchasing

21 greasy wool for processing shall collect the as22 sessment and remit the assessment to the

23 Board in the manner prescribed by the order.

24 (C) RATE.—
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

2 in clause (ii), the rate of assessment under

3 this paragraph shall be 2 cents per pound

4 of greasy wool.

5 (ii) EXCEPTION.—The rate of assess6 ment under this paragraph may be raised

or lowered not more than 2 7 ⁄10 of a cent per

8 pound in any 1 year, as recommended by

9 the Executive Committee and approved by

10 the Board and the Secretary, except that

11 the rate of assessment under this para12 graph shall not exceed 4 cents per pound

13 of greasy wool.

14 (3) DIRECT PROCESSING.—The order shall pro15 vide that any person processing or causing to be

16 processed sheep or sheep products of that person’s

17 own production and marketing shall—

18 (A) pay an assessment on the sheep or

19 sheep products at the time of sale at a rate

20 equivalent to the rate provided for in paragraph

21 (1) or (2), as appropriate; and

22 (B) remit the assessment to the Board in

23 the manner prescribed by the order.
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1 (4) EXPORTS.—The order shall provide that

2 any person exporting live sheep or greasy wool

3 shall—

4 (A) pay the assessment on the sheep or

5 greasy wool at the time of export at a rate

6 equivalent to the rate provided for in paragraph

7 (1) or (2), as appropriate; and

8 (B) remit the assessment to the Board in

9 the manner prescribed by the order.

10 (5) IMPORTS.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The order shall provide

12 that any person importing sheep or sheep prod13 uct, and any person importing wool or products

14 containing wool, into the United States shall

15 pay an assessment to the Board in the manner

16 prescribed by the order, except that this para17 graph shall not apply to raw wool that is im18 ported into the United States.

19 (B) COLLECTION.—The Customs Service

20 shall collect the assessment required under this

21 paragraph and remit the assessment to the Sec22 retary for disbursement to the Board.

23 (C) RATE FOR SHEEP AND SHEEP PROD24 UCTS.—
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

2 in subparagraph (B), the rate of assess3 ment under this paragraph for sheep and

4 sheep products shall be—

5 (I) in the case of a live sheep, 1

6 cent per pound; and

7 (II) in the case of a sheep prod8 uct, the equivalent of 1 cent per

9 pound of live sheep, as determined by

10 the Secretary in consultation with the

11 domestic sheep industry.

12 (ii) EXCEPTION.—The rate of assess13 ment under this subparagraph may be

raised or lowered not more than 15 14 ⁄100 cent

15 per pound in any 1 year, as recommended

16 by the Executive Committee and approved

17 by the Board and the Secretary, except

18 that the rate of assessment under this sub19 paragraph shall not exceed 2.5 cents per

20 pound.

21 (D) RATE FOR WOOL AND WOOL PROD22 UCTS.—

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

24 in clause (ii), the rate of assessment under

25 this paragraph for wool and products con-
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1 taining wool, shall be 2 cents per pound of

2 degreased wool or the equivalent of

3 degreased wool.

4 (ii) EXCEPTION.—The rate of assess5 ment under this subparagraph may be

raised or lowered not more than 2 6 ⁄10 cent

7 per pound in any 1 year, as recommended

8 by the Executive Committee and approved

9 by the Board and the Secretary, except

10 that the rate of assessment under this sub11 paragraph shall not exceed 4 cents per

12 pound of degreased wool or the equivalent

13 of degreased wool.

14 (6) QUALIFIED STATE SHEEP BOARDS.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

16 subparagraph (B), the order shall provide that

17 20 percent of the total assessments collected by

18 the Board on the marketing of domestic sheep

19 and domestic sheep products in any 1 year from

20 a State shall be returned to the qualified State

21 sheep board of the State.

22 (B) EXCEPTION.—No qualified State sheep

23 board shall receive less than $2,500 under sub24 paragraph (A) in any year.
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1 (7) DE MINIMIS IMPORTS.—The Secretary may

2 issue regulations that—

3 (A) exclude certain imported materials or

4 products that contain de minimis content levels

5 of sheep or sheep products; and

6 (B) waive the assessment due on the mate7 rials or products.

8 (8) USE OF ASSESSMENTS.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The order shall provide

10 that assessments received by the Board shall be

11 used by the Board for the payment of expenses

12 incurred in administering the order, with au13 thorization for a reasonable reserve.

14 (B) REIMBURSEMENT OF SECRETARY.—

15 The Secretary shall be reimbursed for costs in16 curred in implementing and administering the

17 order.

18 (j) BOOKS AND RECORDS OF BOARD.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The order shall require the

20 Board to—

21 (A) maintain such books and records as

22 the Secretary may prescribe, which shall be

23 available to the Secretary for inspection and

24 audit;
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1 (B) prepare and submit to the Secretary,

2 from time to time, such reports as the Sec3 retary may prescribe; and

4 (C) account for the receipt and disburse5 ment of all funds entrusted to the Board.

6 (2) AUDIT.—The Board shall cause books and

7 records of the Board related to the order to be au8 dited by an independent auditor at the end of each

9 fiscal year. The Board shall submit a report of the

10 audit to the Secretary.

11 (k) INVESTMENT OF FUNDS.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The order shall provide that

13 the Board may invest, pending disbursement, funds

14 the Board receives under the order, only in—

15 (A) obligations of the United States or any

16 agency of the United States;

17 (B) general obligations of any State or any

18 political subdivision of a State;

19 (C) any interest-bearing account or certifi20 cate of deposit of a bank that is a member of

21 the Federal Reserve System; or

22 (D) obligations fully guaranteed as to prin23 cipal and interest by the United States.
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1 (2) USE OF INCOME.—Income from any invest2 ment under paragraph (1) may be used for any pur3 pose for which the invested funds may be used.

4 (l) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), the order shall prohibit any funds col7 lected by the Board under the order from being used

8 in any manner for the purpose of influencing legisla9 tion or government action or policy.

10 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not

11 apply to—

12 (A) the development and recommendation

13 to the Secretary of amendments to the order; or

14 (B) the communication to appropriate gov15 ernment officials, in response to a request made

16 by the officials, of information relating to the

17 conduct, implementation, or results of pro18 motion, research, consumer information, edu19 cation, industry information, or producer infor20 mation activities under the order.

21 (3) FALSE OR MISLEADING CLAIMS.—A plan or

22 project conducted under this Act shall not make

23 false or misleading claims on behalf of sheep or

24 sheep products or against a competing product.

25 (m) BOOKS AND RECORDS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The order shall require that

2 each person making payment to a producer, feeder,

3 or handler for sheep or sheep products, each im4 porter and exporter of sheep or sheep products, and

5 each person marketing sheep products of the per6 son’s own production to maintain, and make avail7 able for inspection, such books and records as may

8 be required by the order and file reports at the time,

9 in the manner, and having the content prescribed by

10 the order.

11 (2) USE OF INFORMATION.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Information from the

13 records or reports shall be made available to the

14 Secretary for the administration or enforcement

15 of this Act, or any order or regulation issued

16 under this Act.

17 (B) OTHER INFORMATION.—The Secretary

18 shall authorize the use under this Act of infor19 mation regarding persons paying producers,

20 feeders, importers, handlers, or processors that

21 is accumulated under a law or regulation other

22 than this Act or a regulation issued under this

23 Act.

24 (3) CONFIDENTIALITY.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise

2 provided in this Act, all information obtained

3 under paragraph (1) or (2) shall be kept con4 fidential by all officers and employees of the

5 Department and of the Board.

6 (B) DISCLOSURE.—Information referred to

7 in subparagraph (A) may be disclosed only if—

8 (i) the Secretary considers the infor9 mation relevant;

10 (ii) the information is revealed in a

11 judicial proceeding or administrative hear12 ing brought at the direction or on the re13 quest of the Secretary or to which the Sec14 retary or any officer of the Department is

15 a party; and

16 (iii) the information relates to this

17 Act.

18 (C) GENERAL STATEMENTS.—Nothing in

19 this paragraph prohibits—

20 (i) the issuance of general statements,

21 based on the reports, of the number of per22 sons subject to an order or statistical data

23 collected from the persons, which state24 ments do not identify the information fur25 nished by any person; or
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1 (ii) the publication, by direction of the

2 Secretary, of the name of any person vio3 lating any order and a statement of the

4 particular provisions of the order violated

5 by the person.

6 (D) ADMINISTRATION.—No information

7 obtained under this Act may be made available

8 to any agency or officer of the Federal Govern9 ment for any purpose other than the implemen10 tation of this Act or any investigatory or en11 forcement action necessary for the implementa12 tion of this Act.

13 (E) PENALTY.—Any person who willfully

14 violates this paragraph, on conviction, shall be

15 subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 or to

16 imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or

17 both, and if the person is an officer or employee

18 of the Board or the Department, shall be re19 moved from office.

20 (n) OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The order

21 shall provide such terms and conditions, not inconsistent

22 with this section, as are necessary to carry out the order,

23 including provisions for the assessment of a penalty for

24 the late payment of an assessment due under the order.
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1 SEC. 6. REFERENDA.

2 (a) INITIAL REFERENDUM.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the issuance of an

4 order under section 4, the Secretary shall conduct a

5 referendum among producers, feeders, and importers

6 who, during a representative period as determined

7 by the Secretary, have been engaged in the produc8 tion, feeding, or importation of sheep or sheep prod9 ucts for the purpose of ascertaining whether the

10 order shall go into effect.

11 (2) APPROVAL OF ORDER.—The order shall be12 come effective only if the Secretary determines that

13 the order has been approved by not less than a ma14 jority of the producers, feeders, and importers voting

in the referendum or at least 2 15 ⁄3 of the production

16 represented by persons voting in the referendum.

17 (b) ADDITIONAL REFERENDA.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—After the initial referendum,

19 on the request of a representative group comprising

20 10 percent or more of the producers, feeders, and

21 importers who, during a representative period as de22 termined by the Secretary, have been engaged in the

23 production, feeding, importation, or processing of

24 sheep or sheep products, the Secretary shall conduct

25 a referendum of producers, feeders, and importers to

26 determine whether the producers, feeders, and im-
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1 porters favor the termination or suspension of the

2 order.

3 (2) SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION.—If the Sec4 retary determines that suspension or termination of

5 the order is favored by a majority of the producers,

6 feeders, and importers voting in the referendum or

at least 2 7 ⁄3 of the production represented by the per8 sons voting in the referendum, the Secretary shall

9 suspend or terminate—

10 (A) collection of assessments under the

11 order not later than 180 days after the deter12 mination; and

13 (B) the order in an orderly manner as soon

14 as practicable after the determination.

15 (c) PROCEDURES.—

16 (1) REIMBURSEMENT—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

18 subparagraph (B), the Board shall reimburse

19 the Secretary for any expenses incurred by the

20 Secretary in connection with the conduct of any

21 referendum under this section.

22 (B) FEDERAL EMPLOYEE SALARIES.—The

23 Board shall not be required to reimburse the

24 Secretary for the salaries of Federal employees

25 under subparagraph (A) if the Secretary deter-
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1 mines that the reimbursement would be overly

2 burdensome and costly.

3 (2) DATE.—Each referendum under this sec4 tion shall be conducted on a date established by the

5 Secretary, under a procedure by which producers,

6 feeders, and importers intending to vote in the ref7 erendum shall certify that the producers, feeders,

8 and importers were engaged in the production, feed9 ing, or importation of sheep or sheep products dur10 ing the representative period and, on the same day,

11 shall be provided an opportunity to vote in the ref12 erendum.

13 (3) PLACE.—Referenda under this section shall

14 be conducted at locations determined by the Sec15 retary. Absentee mail ballots shall be furnished by

16 the Secretary on request made in person, by mail, or

17 by telephone.

18 (4) ALLOCATION OF PRODUCTION.—The Sec19 retary shall determine a method of allocating, by a

20 pro rata percentage of annual projected or actual as21 sessments from importers, the volume of production

22 represented by importers in referenda conducted

23 pursuant to this section.

24 SEC. 7. PETITION AND REVIEW.

25 (a) PETITION.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person subject to an order

2 issued under this Act may file with the Secretary a

3 petition—

4 (A) stating that the order, any provision of

5 the order, or any obligation imposed in connec6 tion with the order is not established in accord7 ance with law; and

8 (B) requesting a modification of the order

9 or an exemption from the order.

10 (2) HEARINGS.—The petitioner shall be given

11 an opportunity for a hearing on the petition, in ac12 cordance with regulations issued by the Secretary.

13 (3) RULING.—After the hearing, the Secretary

14 shall make a ruling on the petition. The ruling shall

15 be final if the ruling is in accordance with law.

16 (b) REVIEW.—

17 (1) COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION.—The district

18 court of the United States for any district in which

19 a person who is a petitioner under subsection (a) re20 sides or carries on business shall have jurisdiction to

21 review the ruling on the petition of the person, if a

22 complaint for that purpose is filed not later than 20

23 days after the date of the entry of the ruling by the

24 Secretary under subsection (a)(3).
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1 (2) PROCESS.—Service of process in a proceed2 ing may be conducted on the Secretary by delivering

3 a copy of the complaint to the Secretary, under such

4 rules or regulations as are considered necessary by

5 the Secretary to facilitate the service of process.

6 (3) REMANDS.—If the court determines that

7 the ruling is not in accordance with law, the court

8 shall remand the matter to the Secretary with direc9 tions—

10 (A) to make such ruling as the court shall

11 determine to be in accordance with law; or

12 (B) to take such further action as, in the

13 opinion of the court, the law requires.

14 SEC. 8. ENFORCEMENT.

15 (a) JURISDICTION.—Each district court of the United

16 States shall have jurisdiction specifically to enforce, and

17 to prevent and restrain a person from violating, an order

18 or regulation issued under this Act.

19 (b) REFERRAL TO ATTORNEY GENERAL.—A civil ac20 tion authorized to be brought under this section shall be

21 referred to the Attorney General for appropriate action,

22 except that the Secretary is not required to refer to the

23 Attorney General a violation of this Act, if the Secretary

24 believes that the administration and enforcement of this

25 Act would be adequately served by providing a suitable
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1 written notice or warning to the person who committed

2 the violation or by an administrative action under section

3 7.

4 (c) CIVIL PENALTIES AND ORDERS.—

5 (1) CIVIL PENALTIES.—A person who willfully

6 violates an order or regulation issued by the Sec7 retary under this Act may be assessed by the Sec8 retary—

9 (A) a civil penalty of not more than $1,000

10 for each such violation; and

11 (B) in the case of a willful failure to pay,

12 collect, or remit an assessment as required by

13 the order, an additional penalty equal to the

14 amount of the assessment.

15 (2) SEPARATE OFFENSE.—Each violation shall

16 be a separate offense.

17 (3) CEASE-AND-DESIST ORDERS.—In addition

18 to, or in lieu of, the civil penalty, the Secretary may

19 issue an order requiring the person to cease and de20 sist from violating the order or regulation.

21 (4) NOTICE AND HEARING.—No order assessing

22 a penalty or cease-and-desist order may be issued by

23 the Secretary under this subsection unless the Sec24 retary provides notice and an opportunity for a hear25 ing on the record with respect to the violation.
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1 (5) FINALITY.—An order assessing a penalty or

2 a cease-and-desist order issued under this subsection

3 by the Secretary shall be final and conclusive unless

4 the person against whom the order is issued files an

5 appeal from the order with the United States court

6 of appeals, as provided in subsection (d), not later

7 than 30 days after the person receives notice of the

8 order.

9 (d) REVIEW BY COURT OF APPEALS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person against whom an

11 order is issued under subsection (c) may obtain re12 view of the order by—

13 (A) filing, not later than 30 days after the

14 date of the order, a notice of appeal in—

15 (i) the United States court of appeals

16 for the circuit in which the person resides

17 or carries on business; or

18 (ii) the United States Court of Ap19 peals for the District of Columbia Circuit;

20 and

21 (B) simultaneously sending a copy of the

22 notice of appeal by certified mail to the Sec23 retary.

24 (2) RECORD.—The Secretary shall file promptly

25 in the court a certified copy of the record on which
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1 the Secretary has determined that the person has

2 committed a violation.

3 (3) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—A finding of the

4 Secretary under this section shall be set aside only

5 if the finding is found to be unsupported by substan6 tial evidence.

7 (e) FAILURE TO OBEY ORDERS.—A person who fails

8 to obey a valid cease-and-desist order issued by the Sec9 retary under this section, after an opportunity for a hear10 ing, shall be subject to a civil penalty assessed by the Sec11 retary of not more than $500 for each offense. Each day

12 during which the failure continues shall be considered to

13 be a separate violation of the order.

14 (f) FAILURE TO PAY PENALTIES.—If a person fails

15 to pay a valid civil penalty imposed under this section by

16 the Secretary, the Secretary shall refer the matter to the

17 Attorney General for recovery of the amount assessed in

18 the district court of the United States for any district in

19 which the person resides or carries on business. In the

20 action, the validity and appropriateness of the order im21 posing the civil penalty shall not be subject to review.

22 (g) ADDITIONAL REMEDIES.—The remedies provided

23 in this section shall be in addition to, and not exclusive

24 of, other remedies that may be available.
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1 SEC. 9. INVESTIGATIONS AND POWER TO SUBPOENA.

2 (a) INVESTIGATIONS.—The Secretary may make such

3 investigations as the Secretary considers necessary—

4 (1) for the effective administration of this Act;

5 or

6 (2) to determine whether any person subject to

7 this Act has engaged, or is about to engage, in any

8 action that constitutes or will constitute a violation

9 of this Act, or of any order or regulation issued

10 under this Act.

11 (b) SUBPOENAS, OATHS, AND AFFIRMATIONS.—For

12 the purpose of any investigation under subsection (a), the

13 Secretary may administer oaths and affirmations, sub14 poena witnesses, compel the attendance of witnesses, take

15 evidence, and require the production of any records that

16 are relevant to the inquiry. The attendance of witnesses

17 and the production of any such records may be required

18 from any place in the United States.

19 (c) AID OF COURTS.—In the case of contumacy by,

20 or refusal to obey a subpoena issued to, any person, the

21 Secretary may invoke the aid of any court of the United

22 States within the jurisdiction of which the investigation

23 or proceeding is carried on, or where the person resides

24 or carries on business, in order to require the attendance

25 and testimony of the person or the production of records.

26 The court may issue an order requiring the person to ap-
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1 pear before the Secretary to produce records or to give

2 testimony regarding the matter under investigation.

3 (d) CONTEMPT.—Any failure to obey the order of the

4 court may be punished by the court as a contempt of the

5 court.

6 (e) PROCESS.—Process in any case under this section

7 may be served in the judicial district in which the person

8 resides or carries on business or wherever the person may

9 be found.

10 SEC. 10. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

11 (a) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act preempts

12 or supersedes any other program relating to sheep pro13 motion, research, or information organized and operated

14 under the laws of the United States or any State.

15 (b) AMENDMENTS TO ORDERS.—The provisions of

16 this Act applicable to an order shall be applicable to

17 amendments to the order, except that the Secretary is not

18 required to conduct a referendum on a proposed amend19 ment to an order.

20 SEC. 11. REGULATIONS.

21 The Secretary may issue such regulations as are nec22 essary to carry out this Act.
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1 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro3 priated for each fiscal year such sums as are necessary

4 to carry out this Act.

5 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Funds appro6 priated under subsection (a) shall not be available for pay7 ment of the expenses or expenditures of the Board in ad8 ministering any provision of any order issued under this

9 Act.

Passed the Senate October 4 (legislative day, September 12), 1994.

Attest:

Secretary.
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