II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1538

To amend the Honey Research, Promotion, and Consumer Information Act

to improve the honey research, promotion, and consumer information

program, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 13, 1997

Mr. SANTORUM introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

A BILL

To amend the Honey Research, Promotion, and Consumer

Information Act to improve the honey research, promotion, and consumer information program, 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 ‘‘Honey Research, Pro5 motion, and Consumer Information Improvement Act of

6 1997’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 Section 2 of the Honey Research, Promotion, and

3 Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4601) is amended—

4 (1) by striking the section heading and all that

5 follows through ‘‘The Congress finds that:’’ and in6 serting the following:

7 ‘‘SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

8 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find9 ings:’’;

10 (2) in paragraphs (6) and (7), by striking ‘‘and

11 consumer education’’ each place it appears and in12 serting ‘‘consumer education, and industry informa13 tion’’;

14 (3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the follow15 ing:

16 ‘‘(8) The ability to develop and maintain purity

17 standards for honey and honey products is critical to

18 maintaining the consumer confidence, safety, and

19 trust that are essential components of any undertak20 ing to maintain and develop markets for honey and

21 honey products.

22 ‘‘(9) Research directed at improving the cost ef23 fectiveness and efficiency of beekeeping, as well as

24 developing better means of dealing with pest and

25 disease problems, is essential to keeping honey and

26 honey product prices competitive and facilitating
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1 market growth as well as maintaining the financial

2 well-being of the honey industry.

3 ‘‘(10) Research involving the quality, safety,

4 and image of honey and honey products and how

5 that quality, safety, and image may be affected dur6 ing the extraction, processing, packaging, marketing,

7 and other stages of the honey and honey product

8 production and distribution process, is highly impor9 tant to building and maintaining markets for honey

10 and honey products.’’; and

11 (4) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the

12 following:

13 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

14 ‘‘(1) to authorize the establishment of an or15 derly procedure for the development and financing,

16 through an adequate assessment, of an effective,

17 continuous, and nationally coordinated program of

18 promotion, research, consumer education, and indus19 try information designed to—

20 ‘‘(A) strengthen the position of the honey

21 industry in the marketplace;

22 ‘‘(B) maintain, develop, and expand do23 mestic and foreign markets and uses for honey

24 and honey products; and
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1 ‘‘(C) maintain and improve the competi2 tiveness and efficiency of the honey industry;

3 and

4 ‘‘(2) to maintain and expand the markets for all

5 honey and honey products in a manner that—

6 ‘‘(A) is not designed to maintain or expand

7 any individual producer’s, importer’s or han8 dler’s share of the market;

9 ‘‘(B) does not compete with or replace in10 dividual advertising or promotion efforts de11 signed to promote individual brand name or

12 trade name honey or honey products; and

13 ‘‘(C) authorizes and funds programs that

14 result in government speech promoting govern15 ment objectives.

16 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—Nothing in this Act—

17 ‘‘(1) prohibits the sale of various grades of

18 honey;

19 ‘‘(2) provides for control of honey production;

20 ‘‘(3) limits the right of the individual honey

21 producer to produce honey; or

22 ‘‘(4) creates a trade barrier to honey produced

23 in a foreign country.’’.
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

2 Section 3 of the Honey Research, Promotion, and

3 Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4602) is amended—

4 (1) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the

5 following:

6 ‘‘(7) HANDLE.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘handle’

8 means to process, package, sell, transport, pur9 chase, or in any other way place or cause to be

10 placed, honey or a honey product in commerce.

11 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘handle’ in12 cludes selling unprocessed honey that will be

13 consumed or used without further processing or

14 packaging.

15 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘handle’

16 does not include—

17 ‘‘(i) the transportation of unprocessed

18 honey by a producer to a handler;

19 ‘‘(ii) the transportation by a commer20 cial carrier of honey, whether processed or

21 unprocessed, for a handler or producer; or

22 ‘‘(iii) the purchase of honey or a

23 honey product by a consumer or other end24 user of the honey or honey product.’’;

25 (2) in paragraph (15) by adding ‘‘or ‘National

26 Honey Board’ ’’ following ‘‘ ‘Honey Board’ ’’; and
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1 (3) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(19) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’

3 means the United States Department of Agriculture.

4 ‘‘(20) HONEY PRODUCTION.—The term ‘honey

5 production’ means all beekeeping operations related

6 to—

7 ‘‘(A) managing honey bee colonies to

8 produce honey;

9 ‘‘(B) harvesting honey from the colonies;

10 ‘‘(C) extracting honey from the honey11 combs; and

12 ‘‘(D) preparing honey for sale for further

13 processing.’’

14 ‘‘(21) INDUSTRY INFORMATION.—The term ‘in15 dustry information’ means information or a program

16 that will lead to the development of new markets,

17 new marketing strategies, or increased efficiency for

18 the honey industry, or an activity to enhance the

19 image of honey and honey products and of the honey

20 industry.’’;

21 ‘‘(22) NATIONAL HONEY MARKETING COOPERA22 TIVE.—The term ‘national honey marketing coopera23 tive’ means a cooperative that markets its products

24 in at least 2 of the following 4 regions of the United

25 States, as determined by the Secretary:
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1 ‘‘(A) the Atlantic Coast, including the Dis2 trict of Columbia and the Commonwealth of

3 Puerto Rico;

4 ‘‘(B) the Mideast;

5 ‘‘(C) the Midwest; and

6 ‘‘(D) the Pacific, including the states of

7 Alaska and Hawaii.’’;

8 ‘‘(23) QUALIFIED NATIONAL ORGANIZATION

9 REPRESENTING HANDLER INTERESTS.—The term

10 ‘qualified national organization representing handler

11 interests’ means an organization that the Secretary

12 has certified as being eligible to recommend for nom13 ination to the Committee handler, handler-importer,

14 alternate handler, and alternate handler-importer,

15 members of the Honey Board under section 4606(b)

16 of this Act.’’;

17 ‘‘(24) QUALIFIED NATIONAL ORGANIZATION

18 REPRESENTING IMPORTER INTERESTS.—The term

19 ‘qualified national organization representing im20 porter interests’ means an organization that the Sec21 retary has certified as being eligible to recommend

22 for nomination to the Committee importer, handler23 importer, alternate importer, and alternate handler24 importer members of the Honey Board under section

25 4606(b) of this Act.’’;
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1 (4) by reordering the paragraphs so that they

2 are in alphabetical order by term defined and redes3 ignating the paragraphs accordingly.

4 SEC. 4. HONEY RESEARCH, PROMOTION, AND CONSUMER

5 INFORMATION ORDER.

6 Section 4 of the Honey Research, Promotion, and

7 Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4603) is amended

8 by inserting ‘‘and regulations’’ following ‘‘orders’’.

9 SEC. 5. NOTICE AND HEARING.

10 Section 5 of the Honey Research, Promotion, and

11 Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4604) is amended

12 to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(a) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—Whenever the Sec14 retary has reason to believe that the issuance of an order,

15 an amendment to an order, or regulations pursuant to an

16 order will assist in carrying out the purposes of this Act,

17 the Secretary shall comply with the notice and comment

18 procedures established under section 553 of title 5, United

19 States Code. Sections 556 and 557 of such title shall not

20 apply with respect to issuance of an order, an amendment

21 to an order, or regulations pursuant to an order.

22 ‘‘(b) PROPOSAL OF AN ORDER.—A proposal for an

23 order may be submitted to the Secretary by any organiza24 tion or interested person affected by the provisions of this

25 Act.’’.
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1 SEC. 6. FINDINGS AND ISSUANCE OF ORDER.

2 Section 6 of the Honey Research, Promotion, and

3 Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4605) is amended

4 to read as follows:

5 ‘‘After notice of and opportunity for comment has

6 been provided in accordance with section 5 of this Act,

7 the Secretary shall issue an order, an amendment to an

8 order, or a regulation pursuant to an order, if the Sec9 retary finds, and sets forth in such order, amendment to

10 an order, or regulation, that the issuance of such order,

11 amendment to an order, or regulation pursuant to an

12 order, and all the terms and conditions thereof will assist

13 in carrying out the purposes of this Act.’’.

14 SEC. 7. REQUIRED TERMS OF AN ORDER.

15 (a) NATIONAL HONEY NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE.—

16 Section 7(b) of the Honey Research, Promotion, and

17 Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4606(b)) is amend18 ed—

19 (1) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘, except’’ and

20 all that follows to the period and inserting ‘‘except

21 that the term of appointments to the Committee

22 may be staggered periodically as determined by the

23 Secretary’’;

24 (2) in paragraph (5)—

25 (A) in the second sentence by striking

26 ‘‘after the first annual meeting’’; and
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1 (B) in the third sentence by striking ‘‘per

2 centum’’ and inserting ‘‘percent’’.

3 (b) HONEY BOARD.—Section 7(c) of the Honey Re4 search, Promotion, and Consumer Information Act (7

5 U.S.C. 4606(c)) is amended—

6 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through

7 (6) as paragraphs (7) through (10), respectively;

8 (2) in paragraph (2) by striking subparagraphs

9 (B), (C), (D), and (E) and all that follows and in10 serting the following:

11 ‘‘(B)(i) two members who are handlers of

12 honey appointed from nominations submitted by

13 the Committee made from recommendations to

14 the Committee from qualified national organiza15 tions representing handler interests; and

16 ‘‘(ii) if approved in a referendum, two

17 members who are handlers of honey who, dur18 ing any 3 of the preceding 5 years were also

19 importers of record of at least 40,000 pounds

20 of honey, appointed from nominations submit21 ted by the Committee made from recommenda22 tions to the Committee from qualified national

23 organizations representing handler interests or

24 qualified national organizations representing

25 importer interests or from individual handlers
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1 or importers who have paid assessments to the

2 Honey Board on imported honey if the Sec3 retary determines that there is not a qualified

4 national organization representing either han5 dler or importer interests;

6 ‘‘(C)(i) two members who are either im7 porters or exporters, of which at least one shall

8 be an importer, appointed from nomination sub9 mitted by the Committee from recommenda10 tions to the Committee by industry organiza11 tions representing importer and exporter inter12 ests; or

13 ‘‘(ii) if approved in a referendum, two

14 members who are importers appointed from

15 nominations submitted by the Committee made

16 from recommendations to the Committee from

17 qualified national organizations representing

18 importer interests or from individual importers

19 who have paid assessments to the Honey Board

20 on imported honey if the Secretary determines

21 that there is not a qualified national organiza22 tion representing importer interests; and

23 ‘‘(D) one member who is an officer, direc24 tor, or employee of a national honey marketing

25 cooperative appointed from nominations submit-
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1 ted by the Committee made from recommenda2 tions to the Committee from qualified national

3 honey marketing cooperatives.

4 ‘‘(3) ALTERNATES.—The Committee shall sub5 mit nominations for an alternate for each member of

6 the Honey Board described in paragraph (2). An al7 ternate shall be appointed in the same manner as a

8 member and shall serve when the member is absent

9 from a meeting or is disqualified.

10 ‘‘(4) RECONSTITUTION.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If approved in a ref12 erendum conducted pursuant to section 13(g)

13 and in accordance with rules issued by the Sec14 retary, the Honey Board shall review the geo15 graphic distribution of the quantities of domes16 tically produced honey assessed under the order

17 and changes in the annual average percentage

18 of assessments owed by importers under the

19 order relative to assessments owed by producers

20 and handlers of domestic honey, including

21 whether any changes in assessments owed on

22 imported quantities are owed by importers de23 scribed in paragraph 5(B) or whether they are

24 handlers who also import honey as described in

25 paragraph 2(B)(ii) and, if warranted and in ac-
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1 cordance with this subsection, recommend to

2 the Secretary—

3 ‘‘(i) changes in the regional represen4 tation of honey producers established by

5 the Secretary;

6 ‘‘(ii) the reallocation of handler-im7 porter seats under paragraph (2)(B)(ii) as

8 handler seats under paragraph (2)(B)(i) or

9 the reallocation of importer seats under

10 paragraph (2)(C) as handler-importer

11 seats under paragraph (2)(B)(ii) or the re12 allocation of handler-importer seats as im13 porter seats under paragraph (2)(C) to re14 flect any changes in the proportion of do15 mestic and imported honey assessed under

16 the order or the source of assessments on

17 imported honey; or

18 ‘‘(iii) the addition of members to the

19 Board under either paragraphs (2)(A),

20 (2)(B)(ii) or (2)(C) to reflect any changes

21 in the proportion of domestic and imported

22 honey assessed under the order.

23 ‘‘(B) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—The review re24 quired under subparagraph (A) shall encompass
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1 data from the 5 years preceding the year in

2 which the review is conducted.

3 ‘‘(C) BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS.—Ex4 cept as provided in (E) below, recommendations

5 made under subparagraph (A) shall be based on

6 the 5-year average annual assessments, exclud7 ing the two years containing the highest and

8 lowest disparity between the proportion of as9 sessments owed from imported and domestic

10 honey, determined pursuant to the review that

11 is conducted, including whether any change is

12 from the assessments owed by importers de13 scribed in paragraph 5(B) or from those owed

14 by handlers who also import honey as described

15 in paragraph (2)(B)(ii). Only if the following

16 proportions change by more than 6 percent

17 from the base period proportion found in a

18 prior review shall the Board be required to rec19 ommend changes pursuant to subparagraphs

20 (A)(ii) and (A)(iii) respectively—

21 ‘‘(i) the proportion of assessments

22 owed by handler-importers under para23 graph (2)(B)(ii) compared with the propor24 tion of assessments owed by importers

25 under paragraph (2)(C); or
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1 ‘‘(ii) the proportion of assessments

2 owed by importers compared with those

3 owed on domestic honey by producers and

4 handlers.

5 ‘‘(D) TIMING OF REVIEW.—The Honey

6 Board shall conduct the reviews required under

7 this subsection not more than once in each 5-

8 year period with the first review to be con9 ducted prior to the first continuation referen10 dum conducted pursuant to section 13(c) fol11 lowing the referendum provided for in section

12 13(f).

13 ‘‘(E) BASE PERIOD FOR REVIEW.—The

14 base period proportions for determining the

15 magnitude of change under subparagraph (C)

16 shall be those found in the prior review con17 ducted under this subsection except that for the

18 first review conducted under subparagraph (D),

19 the base period proportions shall be those that

20 existed in the 1996 fiscal year of the Honey

21 Board.

22 ‘‘(5) RESTRICTIONS ON NOMINATION AND AP23 POINTMENT.—

24 ‘‘(A) PRODUCER-PACKERS AS PRODUC25 ERS.—No producer-packer who, during any 3 of
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1 the preceding 5 years, purchased for resale

2 more honey than the producer-packer produced

3 shall be eligible for nomination or appointment

4 to the Honey Board as a producer described in

5 paragraph (2)(A) or as an alternate to a pro6 ducer.

7 ‘‘(B) IMPORTERS.—No importer who, dur8 ing any 3 of the preceding 5 years, did not re9 ceive at least 75 percent of the gross income

10 generated by the sale of honey and honey prod11 ucts from the sale of imported honey and honey

12 products shall be eligible for nomination or ap13 pointment to the Honey Board as an importer

14 described in paragraph (2)(C) or an alternate

15 to an importer.

16 ‘‘(6) CERTIFICATION OF ORGANIZATIONS.—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The eligibility of an

18 organization to participate in the making of

19 recommendations to the Committee for nomina20 tion to the Board to represent handlers or im21 porters under this section shall be certified by

22 the Secretary.

23 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—Subject to

24 subparagraphs (D) and (E), the Secretary shall

25 certify an organization that the Secretary deter-
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1 mines meets the eligibility criteria established

2 by the Secretary under this paragraph.

3 ‘‘(C) FINALITY.—An eligibility determina4 tion of the Secretary under this paragraph shall

5 be final.

6 ‘‘(D) BASIS FOR CERTIFICATION.—Certifi7 cation under this paragraph shall be based on,

8 in addition to other available information, a fac9 tual report submitted by the organization that

10 contains information considered relevant and

11 specified by the Secretary, including—

12 ‘‘(i) the geographic territory covered

13 by the active membership of the organiza14 tion;

15 ‘‘(ii) the nature and size of the active

16 membership of the organization, including

17 the proportion of the total number of ac18 tive handlers or importers represented by

19 the organization;

20 ‘‘(iii) evidence of the stability and per21 manency of the organization;

22 ‘‘(iv) sources from which the operat23 ing funds of the organization are derived;

24 ‘‘(v) the functions of the organization;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(vi) the ability and willingness of the

2 organization to further the purposes of this

3 Act.

4 ‘‘(E) PRIMARY CONSIDERATIONS.—A pri5 mary consideration in determining the eligibility

6 of an organization under this paragraph shall

7 be whether—

8 ‘‘(i) the membership of the organiza9 tion consists primarily of handlers or im10 porters who derive a substantial quantity

11 of their income from sales of honey and

12 honey products; and

13 ‘‘(ii) the organization has an interest

14 in the marketing of honey and honey prod15 ucts.

16 ‘‘(F) INCLUSIVENESS.—As a condition of

17 certification under this paragraph, an organiza18 tion must agree to adopt a process to notify

19 non-members of the organization of Honey

20 Board nomination opportunities for which the

21 organization is certified to make recommenda22 tions to the Committee and to consider non23 members when making their nominations to the

24 Committee should non-members express interest

25 in serving on the Honey Board.’’; and
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1 (3) in paragraph (7) (as so redesignated) by

2 striking ‘‘except’’ and all that follows through the

3 end of the sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘ex4 cept that appointments to the Honey Board may be

5 staggered periodically, as determined by the Sec6 retary, to maintain continuity of the Board among

7 all members and among members representing par8 ticular groups.’’.

9 (c) ASSESSMENTS.—Section 7(e) of the Honey Re10 search, Promotion, and Consumer Information Act (7

11 U.S.C. 4606(e)) is amended—

12 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as

13 paragraphs (5) and (6) respectively;

14 (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the

15 following:

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Honey Board shall ad17 minister collection of the assessment provided for in

18 this subsection, and may accept voluntary contribu19 tions from other sources, to finance the expenses de20 scribed in subsections (d) and (f).

21 ‘‘(2) RATE.—Except as provided by paragraph

22 (3), the assessment rate shall be $0.01 per pound

23 (payable in the manner described in section 9),

24 with—
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1 ‘‘(A) in the case of honey produced in the

2 United States, $0.01 per pound payable by

3 honey producers; and

4 ‘‘(B) in the case of honey imported into

5 the United States, $0.01 per pound payable by

6 honey importers.

7 ‘‘(3) AMENDED RATE.—If approved in a ref8 erendum, the assessment rate shall be $0.02 per

9 pound (payable in the manner described in section

10 9), with—

11 ‘‘(A) in the case of honey produced in the

12 United States—

13 ‘‘(i) $0.01 per pound payable by

14 honey producers; and

15 ‘‘(ii) $0.01 per pound payable by han16 dlers (including producer-packers); and

17 ‘‘(B) in the case of honey imported into

18 the United States, the entire $0.02 per pound

19 payable by honey importers.

20 ‘‘(4) IMPORTERS AND PRODUCER-PACKERS.—

21 For purposes of this subsection and sections 9, 12,

22 and 13—

23 ‘‘(A) an importer shall be considered a

24 handler with respect to $0.01 per pound of the
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1 assessment payable by importers under para2 graph (3)(B); and

3 ‘‘(B) a producer-packer shall be considered

4 a handler on all honey, including honey that

5 they produce, that they handle with respect to

6 the $0.01 per pound assessment payable by

7 handlers under paragraph (3)(A)(ii).’’

8 (3) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated) by

9 striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the follow10 ing:

11 (B) SMALL QUANTITIES.—

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A producer, pro13 ducer-packer, handler, or importer, who

14 produces, imports, or handles during a

15 year less than 6,000 pounds of honey or

16 honey products shall be exempt in that

17 year from payment of an assessment on

18 honey or honey products that the person

19 distributes directly through local retail out20 lets, as determined by the Secretary, dur21 ing that year.’’

22 ‘‘(ii) INAPPLICABILITY.—If a person

23 no longer meets the requirements of clause

24 (i) for an exemption, the person shall—
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1 ‘‘(I) file a report with the Honey

2 Board in the form and manner pre3 scribed by the Board; and

4 ‘‘(II) pay an assessment on or

5 before March 15 of the subsequent

6 year on all honey produced, imported,

7 or handled by the person during the

8 year in which the person no longer

9 meets the requirement of clause (i) for

10 an exemption.’’; and

11 (4) in paragraph (6) (as so redesignated)—

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘handler,’’ after ‘‘pro13 ducer-packer’’ in both places it occurs;

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘, handler,’’ after the

15 third occurrence of ‘‘producer’’; and

16 (C) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(5)’’.

17 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—Section 7(f) of the Honey Re18 search, Promotion, and Consumer Information Act (7

19 U.S.C. 4606(f)) is amended—

20 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘from the

21 assessments’’;

22 (2) by designating the first sentence (as amend23 ed) and the second sentence as paragraphs (1) and

24 (3), respectively; and
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1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) (as to des2 ignated) the following:

3 ‘‘(2) RESEARCH PROJECTS.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If approved in ref5 erendum, the Honey Board shall reserve at

6 least 8 percent of all assessments collected dur7 ing a year for expenditure on approved research

8 projects designed to advance the cost effective9 ness, competitiveness, efficiency, pest and dis10 ease control, and other management aspects of

11 beekeeping and honey production.

12 ‘‘(B) CARRYOVER.—If all funds reserved

13 under subparagraph (A) are not allocated to

14 approved research projects in a year, any re15 served funds remaining unallocated shall be car16 ried forward for allocation and expenditure

17 under subparagraph (A) in subsequent years.’’.

18 (e) FALSE OR UNWARRANTED CLAIMS OR STATE19 MENTS.—Section 7(g) of the Honey Research, Promotion,

20 and Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4606(g)) is

21 amended by striking ‘‘with assessments collected’’ and in22 serting ‘‘by the Honey Board’’.

23 (f) INFLUENCING GOVERNMENTAL POLICY OR AC24 TION.—Section 7(h) of the Honey Research, Promotion,

25 and Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4606(h)) is
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1 amended by striking ‘‘through assessments authorized by’’

2 and inserting ‘‘by the Honey Board under’’.

3 SEC. 8. PERMISSIVE TERMS AND PROVISIONS.

4 Section 8 of the Honey Research, Promotion, and

5 Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4607) is amended

6 by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(8) INSPECTION AND MONITORING.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If approved in a ref9 erendum, providing authority for the develop10 ment of recommendations for programs and

11 rules and regulations for the approval of the

12 Secretary regarding purity standards for honey

13 and honey products with the intent to maintain

14 a positive and wholesome marketing image for

15 honey and honey products.

16 ‘‘(B) INSPECTION AND MONITORING SYS17 TEM.—

18 ‘‘(i) INSPECTION.—Any program, rule

19 or regulation issued under this subsection

20 may provide for the inspection, by the Sec21 retary, of honey and honey products being

22 sold for domestic consumption and for ex23 port.

24 ‘‘(ii) MONITORING SYSTEM.—The

25 Honey Board may develop recommenda-
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1 tions for the approval of the Secretary for

2 a system for monitoring the purity of

3 honey and honey products being sold for

4 domestic consumption and for export.

5 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FED6 ERAL AGENCIES.—The Secretary may coordi7 nate, to the maximum extent practicable, with

8 the head of any other Federal agency, as it re9 lates to ensuring compliance with labeling or

10 other issues related to the purity of honey and

11 the enforcement of any noncompliance with

12 rules or regulations issued under this Act or

13 rules and regulations issued by any other Fed14 eral agency.

15 ‘‘(D) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE REGULA16 TIONS.—The Secretary is authorized to issue

17 rules and regulations to establish purity stand18 ards as they relate to honey and honey prod19 ucts.

20 ‘‘(E) VIOLATIONS.—Any persons violating

21 any rule or regulation issued pursuant to this

22 subsection shall be subject to enforcement

23 under section 11 of this Act.

24 ‘‘(9) VOLUNTARY QUALITY PROGRAM.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to or inde2 pendent of any programs, rules or regulations

3 issued under subsection (8) above, the Honey

4 Board, with the approval of the Secretary, may

5 establish and carry out a voluntary quality as6 surance program regarding purity standards of

7 honey and honey products.

8 ‘‘(B) COMPONENTS.—The program rec9 ommended for the approval of the Secretary

10 may include—

11 ‘‘(i) the establishment of an official

12 Honey Board seal of approval to be dis13 played on honey and honey products of

14 producers, handlers, and importers partici15 pating in the voluntary program found to

16 meet such standards of purity as may be

17 established;

18 ‘‘(ii) actions to encourage producers,

19 handlers, and importers to participate in

20 the program;

21 ‘‘(iii) actions to encourage consumers

22 to purchase honey and honey products

23 bearing the official seal of approval; and

24 ‘‘(iv) periodic inspections by the Sec25 retary, or other parties approved by the
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1 Secretary, of honey and honey products of

2 producers, handlers, and importers partici3 pating in the voluntary program.

4 ‘‘(C) DISPLAY OF SEAL OF APPROVAL.—To

5 display an official seal of approval on its honey

6 or honey product, a producer, handler, or im7 porter must participate in the voluntary compli8 ance program.’’.

9 SEC. 9. COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENTS.

10 (a) NEW ASSESSMENT.—Section 9 of the Honey Re11 search, Promotion, and Consumer Information Act (7

12 U.S.C. 4608) is amended—

13 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the

14 following:

15 ‘‘(a) HANDLERS.—Except as otherwise provided in

16 this section, a first handler of honey shall be responsible,

17 at the time of first purchase,—

18 ‘‘(1) for the collection, and payment to the

19 Honey Board, of the $0.01 per pound assessment

20 payable by a producer under section 7(e)(2)(A) or,

21 if approved in a referendum, under section

22 7(e)(3)(A)(i); and

23 ‘‘(2) if approved in a referendum, the payment

24 to the Honey Board of an additional $0.01 per
28

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1 pound assessment payable by the handler under sec2 tion 7(e)(3)(A)(ii).’’;

3 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(c) IMPORTERS.—Except as otherwise provided in

6 this section, an importer shall remit to the Honey Board,

7 at the time of entry into the United States, the $0.01 per

8 pound assessment on imported honey and honey products

9 required under section 7(e)(2)(B) or if approved in a ref10 erendum, the $0.02 per pound assessment on imported

11 honey and honey products required under section

12 7(e)(3)(B).’’; and

13 (3) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the

14 following:

15 ‘‘(e) PRODUCER-PACKERS—Except as otherwise pro16 vided in this section, a producer-packer shall be respon17 sible for the collection, and payment to the Honey Board,

18 of—

19 ‘‘(1) the $0.01 per pound assessment payable

20 by the producer-packer under section 7(e)(2)(A) or,

21 if approved in a referendum, under section

22 7(e)(3)(A)(i) on honey they produce;

23 ‘‘(2) at the time of first purchase, the $0.01 per

24 pound assessment payable by a producer under sec25 tion 7(e)(2)(A)(i) or, if approved in a referendum,
29

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1 under section 7(e)(3)(A)(i) on honey purchased as a

2 first handler by the producer-packer; and

3 ‘‘(3) if approved in a referendum, the payment

4 to the Honey Board of an additional $0.01 per

5 pound assessment payable by the producer-packer

6 under section 7(e)(3)(A)(ii).’’.

7 (b) INSPECTION; BOOKS AND RECORDS.—Section 9

8 of the Honey Research, Promotion, and Consumer Infor9 mation Act (7 U.S.C. 4608) is amended by striking sub10 section (f) and inserting the following:

11 ‘‘(f) INSPECTION; BOOKS AND RECORDS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To make available to the

13 Secretary and to the Honey Board information and

14 data that are necessary to carry out this Act (includ15 ing an order or regulation issued under this Act) a

16 handler, importer, producer, or producer-packer re17 sponsible for payment of an assessment under this

18 Act, and a person receiving an exemption from an

19 assessment under section 7(e)(5), shall—

20 ‘‘(A) maintain and make available for in21 spection by the Secretary and the Honey Board

22 such books and records as are required by the

23 order and regulations issued under this Act;

24 and
30

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1 ‘‘(B) file reports at the times, in the man2 ner, and having the content prescribed by the

3 order and regulations, including but not limited

4 to, the total number of bee colonies maintained,

5 the quantity of honey produced, and the quan6 tity of honey handled or imported.

7 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYEE OR AGENT.—To conduct an in8 spection or review a report of an individual handler,

9 importer, producer, or producer-packer under para10 graph (1), an individual must be an employee or

11 agent of the Department or the Honey Board, and

12 not be a member or alternate member of the Honey

13 Board.

14 ‘‘(3) CONFIDENTIALITY.—An employee or agent

15 described in paragraph (2) shall be subject to the

16 confidentiality requirements of subsection (g).’’.

17 (c) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION; DISCLO18 SURE.—Section 9 of the Honey Research, Promotion, and

19 Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4608) is amended

20 by striking subsection (g) and inserting the following:

21 ‘‘(g) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION; DISCLO22 SURE.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—All information obtained

24 pursuant to subsection (f) of this section shall be

25 kept confidential by all officers, employees, and
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1 agents of the Department of Agriculture and of the

2 Honey Board.

3 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE.—

4 ‘‘(A) only such information as the Sec5 retary deems relevant shall be disclosed; and

6 ‘‘(B) only in a suit or administrative hear7 ing brought at the request of the Secretary or

8 to which the Secretary or any officer of the

9 United States is a party involving the order

10 with reference to which the information was

11 furnished or acquired.

12 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in this section

13 prohibits—

14 ‘‘(A) the issuance of general statements

15 based upon the reports of a number of handlers

16 subject to any order, if such statements do not

17 identify the information furnished by any per18 son; or

19 ‘‘(B) the publication, by direction of the

20 Secretary, of the name of any person violating

21 any order issued under this Act, together with

22 a statement of the particular provisions of the

23 order violated by such person.

24 ‘‘(4) VIOLATION.—Any person knowingly violat25 ing this subsection, on conviction—
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1 ‘‘(A) shall be subject—

2 ‘‘(i) to a fine of not more than

3 $1,000;

4 ‘‘(ii) to imprisonment for not more

5 than 1 year; or

6 ‘‘(iii) both; and

7 ‘‘(B) if an officer or employee of the

8 Honey Board or the Department, shall be re9 moved from office.’’.

10 (d) REFUNDS.—Section 9 of the Honey Research,

11 Promotion, and Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C.

12 4608) is amended by striking subsection (h).

13 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 9 of the Honey Re14 search, Promotion, and Consumer Information Act (7

15 U.S.C. 4608) (as amended by subsection (d)) is amended

16 by inserting after subsection (g) the following:

17 ‘‘(h) ADMINISTRATION.—Administration and remit18 tance of the assessments under this Act shall be con19 ducted—

20 ‘‘(1) in the manner prescribed in the order and

21 regulations issued under this Act; and

22 ‘‘(2) if approved in a referendum, in a manner

23 that ensures that all honey and honey products are

24 assessed a total of, but not more than, $0.02 per
33

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1 pound, including any producer or importer assess2 ment.’’.

3 (f) LIABILITY FOR ASSESSMENTS.—Section 9 of the

4 Honey Research, Promotion, and Consumer Information

5 Act (7 U.S.C. 4608) is amended in subsection (i)—

6 ‘‘(1) in the section heading to read as follows:

7 ‘‘LIABILITY FOR ASSESSMENTS.’’;

8 ‘‘(2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘If the

9 United States Customs Service fails to collect an as10 sessment from an importer or an importer fails to

11 pay an assessment at the time of entry of honey and

12 honey products into the United States under this

13 section, the importer shall be responsible for the re14 mission of the assessment to the Honey Board.’’.

15 (g) CREDIT FOR QUALIFIED MARKETING PRO16 MOTION ACTIVITIES.—Section 9 of the Honey Research,

17 Promotion, and Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C.

18 4608) (as amended by subsection (f)) is amended by add19 ing at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(j) CREDIT FOR QUALIFIED MARKETING PRO21 MOTION ACTIVITIES.—

22 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF PAYEE.—In this sub23 section, the term ‘payee’ means a handler, importer,

24 or producer-packer.
34

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1 ‘‘(2) CREDIT.—If approved in a referendum,

2 the order and regulations issued under this Act shall

3 require the Honey Board, in determining the assess4 ment due from a payee, on the request of the payee,

5 to grant the payee a credit of up to 50 percent of

6 the direct expenditures of the payee for qualified

7 marketing promotion activities (including paid ad8 vertising) that promote the sale of honey or honey

9 products.

10 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—For a year, a payee may re11 ceive credits under paragraph (2) in a total amount

12 not to exceed 50 percent of the $0.01 per pound as13 sessments required of handlers and producer-packers

14 under section 7(e)(3)(A)(ii) and 25 percent of the

15 $0.02 per pound assessments required of importers

16 under section 7(e)(3)(B) on the honey or honey

17 products covered by the payee’s request for credit

18 for the year.’’.

19 SEC. 10. PETITION AND REVIEW.

20 Section 10(a) of the Honey Research, Promotion, and

21 Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4609(a)) is amended

22 to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(a) FILING OF PETITION; HEARING.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any persons subject to an

2 order may file, pursuant to paragraph (4), a written

3 petition with the Secretary—

4 ‘‘(A) stating that the order or any provi5 sion of the order or any obligation imposed in

6 connection therewith is not in accordance with

7 law; and

8 ‘‘(B) requesting—

9 ‘‘(i) a modification thereof; or

10 ‘‘(ii) to be exempted therefrom.

11 ‘‘(2) HEARING.—The petitioner shall thereupon

12 be given an opportunity for a hearing upon the peti13 tion, in accordance with regulations issued by the

14 Secretary.

15 ‘‘(3) RULING; FINALITY.—After the hearing,

16 the Secretary shall make a ruling on the petition

17 which, if in accordance with law, shall be final.

18 ‘‘(4) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Any petition

19 filed under this subsection challenging an order, any

20 provision of the order, or any obligation imposed in

21 connection with the order, must be filed within 2

22 years after the later of—

23 ‘‘(A) the effective date of the order, provi24 sion, or obligation subject to challenge in the

25 petition; or
36

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1 ‘‘(B) the date the petitioner became sub2 ject to the order, provision, or obligation subject

3 to challenge in the petition.

4 SEC. 11. REQUIREMENTS OF REFERENDUM.

5 Section 12 of the Honey Research, Promotion, and

6 Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4611) is amended

7 to read as follows:

8 ‘‘SEC. 12. REQUIREMENTS OF REFERENDUM.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of ascertaining

10 whether issuance of an order is approved by producers,

11 importers, and in the case of an order assessing handlers,

12 handlers, the Secretary shall conduct a referendum among

13 those producers, importers, and, in the case of an order

14 assessing handlers, handlers, not exempt under section

15 7(e)(5) who, during a representative period determined by

16 the Secretary, have been engaged in the production, im17 portation, or handling of honey or honey products.

18 ‘‘(b)(1) EFFECTIVENESS OF ORDER.—No order is19 sued under this Act shall be effective unless the Secretary

20 determines that the issuance of the order is approved by

21 a majority of the producers, importers, and if covered by

22 the order, handlers voting in the referendum, and such

23 majority represents more than 50 percent of the volume

24 of honey produced, imported, and, if assessed under the
37

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1 order, handled during the representative period by those

2 voting in the referendum.

3 ‘‘(2) AMENDMENTS TO ORDERS.—With the exception

4 of amendments implementing provisions of this Act which

5 specifically provide for approval in a referendum, the Sec6 retary is authorized to amend an existing order pursuant

7 to administrative procedures in sections 5 and 6.

8 ‘‘(c) PRODUCER-PACKERS AND IMPORTERS.—In ac9 cordance with section 7(e)(4), producer-packers and im10 porters shall each have one vote as a handler as well as

11 a producer or importer (unless exempt under section

12 7(e)(5)) in all referenda involving orders assessing han13 dlers to the extent the individual producer-packer or im14 porter pays assessments as a handler. The volume of

15 honey or honey products upon which such qualifying pro16 ducer-packer or importer pays assessments as a handler

17 shall be credited to such person’s vote as a handler pursu18 ant to this subsection (in addition to any volume upon

19 which they pay an assessment as a producer or importer

20 that is credited to their vote as a producer or importer).

21 ‘‘(d) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The ballots and other in22 formation or reports that reveal, or tend to reveal, the

23 identity or vote of any producer, importer, or handler of

24 honey shall be held strictly confidential and shall not be

25 disclosed.’’.
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1 SEC. 12. TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION.

2 Section 13 of the Honey Research, Promotion, and

3 Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4612) is amended

4 to read as follows:

5 ‘‘SEC. 13. TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION.

6 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—If the Secretary

7 finds that an order issued under this Act, or any provision

8 of the order, obstructs or does not tend to effectuate the

9 purposes of this Act, the Secretary shall terminate or sus10 pend the operation of the order or provision.

11 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION OF PERSON.—In this section, the

12 term ‘person’ means a producer, importer or handler that

13 is subject to assessment under the order upon which a ref14 erendum is being conducted.

15 ‘‘(c) PRODUCER-PACKERS AND IMPORTERS.—In ac16 cordance with section 7(e)(4), producer-packers and im17 porters shall each have one vote as a handler as well as

18 a producer or importer (unless exempt under section

19 7(e)(5)) in all referenda involving orders assessing han20 dlers to the extent the individual producer-packer or im21 porter pays assessments as a handler. The volume of

22 honey or honey products upon which such qualifying pro23 ducer-packer or importer pays assessments as a handler

24 shall be credited to such person’s vote as a handler pursu25 ant to this subsection (in addition to any volume upon
39

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1 which they pay an assessment as a producer or importer

2 that is credited to their vote as a producer or importer).

3 ‘‘(d) PERIODIC REFERENDA.—Except as provided in

4 subsections (e)(3) and (g)(7), on the date that is 5 years

5 after the date on which the Secretary issues an order au6 thorizing the collection of assessments on honey or honey

7 products under this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the

8 Secretary shall conduct a referendum to determine if the

9 persons subject to assessment under the order approve the

10 termination or suspension of the order.

11 ‘‘(e) REFERENDA ON REQUEST.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On the request of the

13 Honey Board or the petition of at least 10 percent

14 of the total number of persons subject to assessment

15 under the order, the Secretary shall conduct a ref16 erendum to determine if the persons subject to as17 sessment under the order approve termination or

18 suspension of the order.

19 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Referenda conducted pursu20 ant to paragraph (1) may not be held more than

21 once every 2 years.

22 ‘‘(3) EFFECT ON PERIODIC REFERENDA.—If a

23 referendum is conducted under this subsection and

24 the Secretary determines that termination or sus25 pension of the order is not approved by the requisite
40

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1 number of persons, any referendum otherwise re2 quired to be conducted under subsection (d) shall

3 not be held prior to the date that is 5 years after

4 the date of the referendum conducted under this

5 subsection.

6 ‘‘(f) TIMING AND REQUIREMENTS FOR TERMINATION

7 OR SUSPENSION.—The Secretary shall terminate or sus8 pend an order at the end of the marketing year during

9 which a referendum is conducted under subsection (d) or

10 (e) if the Secretary determines that the termination or

11 suspension is approved—

12 ‘‘(1) by a majority of the persons voting in the

13 referendum; and

14 ‘‘(2) such majority represents more than 50

15 percent of the volume of honey and honey products

16 produced, imported, and, if assessed under the

17 order, handled during the representative period by

18 those voting in the referendum.

19 ‘‘(g) IMPLEMENTATION OF HONEY RESEARCH, PRO20 MOTION, AND CONSUMER INFORMATION IMPROVEMENT

21 ACT OF 1997.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To implement the amend23 ments made by the Honey Research, Promotion, and

24 Consumer Information Improvement Act of 1997,

25 the Secretary shall issue an amended order under
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1 section 4 that reflects the amendments made by that

2 Act.

3 ‘‘(2) PROPOSAL OF AMENDED ORDER.—Not

4 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment

5 of this subsection, the Secretary shall publish a pro6 posed order under section 4 that reflects the amend7 ments made by that Act. The Secretary shall provide

8 notice and an opportunity for public comment on the

9 proposed order pursuant to section 5.

10 ‘‘(3) ISSUANCE OF AMENDED ORDER.—Not

11 later than 240 days after publication of the proposed

12 order, the Secretary shall issue an order pursuant to

13 section 6, taking into consideration the comments

14 received and including in the order such provisions

15 as are necessary to ensure that the order conforms

16 with the amendments made by that Act.

17 ‘‘(4) REFERENDUM ON AMENDED ORDER.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On issuance of an

19 order reflecting the amendments made by that

20 Act, the Secretary shall conduct a referendum

21 under this subsection for the sole purpose of de22 termining whether the order as amended shall

23 become effective. No individual provision of the

24 amended order shall be subject to a separate

25 vote under the referendum.
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1 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE VOTERS.—The Secretary

2 shall conduct the referendum among persons

3 who have been producers, producer-packers, im4 porters, or handlers during a representative pe5 riod as determined by the Secretary.

6 ‘‘(C) DETERMINING VOLUME.—Producer7 packers, importers, and handlers shall be al8 lowed to vote as if the amended order had been

9 in place during the representative period deter10 mined by the Secretary and they had paid the

11 increased assessments provided by the amended

12 order. The votes and the volume attributed

13 thereto of producer-packers and importers shall

14 be determined pursuant to subsection (c). The

15 volume of honey and honey products attributed

16 to the vote of a handler shall be that handled

17 in the representative period upon which the

18 handler would have paid assessments had the

19 amended order been in effect.

20 ‘‘(D) EFFECTIVENESS OF ORDER.—The

21 amended order shall become effective only if the

22 Secretary determines that the amended order is

23 effective in accordance with section 12(b).

24 ‘‘(5) CONTINUATION OF EXISTING ORDER IF

25 AMENDED ORDER IS REJECTED.—If adoption of the
43

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1 amended order is not approved, the order issued

2 under section 4 in effect on the date of enactment

3 of the Honey Research, Promotion, and Consumer

4 Information Improvement Act of 1997 shall continue

5 in full force and effect and the Secretary is author6 ized to amend the order to ensure its conformity

7 with this Act.

8 ‘‘(6) EFFECT OF REJECTION ON SUBSEQUENT

9 ORDERS.—If adoption of the amended order is not

10 approved in the referendum provided for in para11 graph (4) above, noting in this subsection shall be

12 construed to prevent the issuance of an amended

13 order implementing some or all of the provisions of

14 the Honey Research, Promotion, and Consumer In15 formation Improvement Act of 1997 or making

16 other changes in an existing order through adminis17 trative procedures under sections 5 and 6, provided,

18 that amendments implementing provisions which are

19 subject to a referendum must be approved pursuant

20 to section 12(b) prior to becoming effective.

21 ‘‘(7) EFFECT ON PERIODIC REFERENDA.—If

22 the amended order becomes effective, any referen23 dum otherwise required to be conducted under sub24 section (d) shall not be held prior to 5 years after
44

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1 the date of the referendum conducted under this sec2 tion.’’.

Æ