United States Grain Standards Act Reauthorization Act of 2015

To amend the United States Grain Standards Act to improve inspection services performed at export elevators at export port locations, to reauthorize certain authorities of the Secretary of Agriculture under such Act, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the United States Grain Standards Act Reauthorization Act of 2015 2. Reauthorization of United States Grain Standards Act (a) Policy and purpose of Act Section 2(b) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 74(b) (1) in paragraph (1), by striking to both domestic and foreign buyers responsive to the purchase specifications of domestic and foreign buyers (2) by striking and (3) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3) and inserting ; and (4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (4) to provide an accurate, reliable, consistently available, and cost-effective official grain inspection and weighing system. . (b) Definitions (1) Major disaster defined Section 3 of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 75 (aa) The term major disaster 42 U.S.C. 5122(2) . (2) Conforming amendments Section 3 of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 75 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (a), by striking otherwise– otherwise: (B) by striking the term The term (C) in paragraphs (n) and (t), by striking the terms The terms (D) in paragraph (s), by striking the verb The verb (E) in paragraph (x)— (i) by striking conveyance (the terms conveyance. The terms (ii) by striking accordingly); accordingly. (F) by striking the semicolon at the end of each paragraph (other than paragraphs (x) and (y)) and inserting a period; and (G) in paragraph (y), by striking ; and (c) Official inspection and weighing requirements (1) Discretionary waiver authority Section 5(a)(1) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 77(a)(1) may waive shall promptly waive (2) Weighing requirements at export elevators Section 5(a)(2) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 77(a)(2) intracompany shipments of grain into an export elevator by any mode of transportation, grain transferred into an export elevator by transportation modes other than barge, shipments of grain into an export elevator by any mode of transportation (d) Delegation of official inspection authority (1) Authorized inspection personnel at export elevators at export port locations Paragraph (1) of section 7(e) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 79(e) (1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subsection, the Secretary shall cause official inspection at export elevators at export port locations, for all grain required or authorized to be inspected by this Act, to be performed— (A) by official inspection personnel employed by the Secretary; or (B) by other persons under contract with the Secretary as provided in section 8 of this Act. . (2) Delegation to state agencies Section 7(e) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 79(e) (A) in paragraph (2)— (i) by striking , meets the criteria the Secretary may delegate and meets the criteria specified in subsection (f)(1)(A) of this section, the Secretary may delegate (ii) by striking at export port locations within the State, including export port locations at export elevators at export port locations within the State, including at export elevators at export port locations (iii) in the last sentence, by striking Any such delegation The delegation under this paragraph of authority to conduct official inspection services shall be for a term not to exceed five years, and may be renewed thereafter in accordance with this subsection, except that any such delegation (B) by transferring paragraph (4) to the end of subsection (f), redesignating such paragraph as paragraph (5), and, in such paragraph, by striking or subsection (f) or subsection (e) (C) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following new paragraphs: (3) Prior to delegating authority to a State agency for the performance of official inspection services at export elevators at export port locations pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Secretary shall comply with the following: (A) Upon receipt of an application from a State agency requesting the delegation of authority to perform official inspection services on behalf of the Secretary, publish notice of the application in the Federal Register and provide a minimum 30-day comment period on the application. (B) Evaluate the comments received under subparagraph (A) with respect to an application and conduct an investigation to determine whether the State agency that submitted the application and its personnel are qualified to perform official inspection services on behalf of the Secretary. In conducting the investigation, the Secretary shall consult with, and review the available files of the Department of Justice, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture, and the Government Accountability Office. (C) Make findings based on the results of the investigation and consideration of public comments received. (D) Publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing whether the State agency has been delegated the authority to perform official inspection services at export elevators at export port locations on behalf of the Secretary, and the basis upon which the Secretary has made the decision. (4) (A) Except in the case of a major disaster, if a State agency that has been delegated the authority to perform official inspection services at export elevators at export port locations on behalf of the Secretary fails to perform such official services, the Secretary shall submit to Congress, within 90 days after the first day on which inspection services were not performed by the delegated State agency, a report containing— (i) the reasons for the State agency’s failure; and (ii) the rationale as to whether or not the Secretary will permit the State agency to retain its delegated authority. (B) A State agency may request that the delegation of inspection authority to the agency be canceled by providing written notice to the Secretary at least 90 days in advance of the requested cancellation date. (C) If a State agency that has been delegated the authority under paragraph (2) of this subsection to perform official inspection services at an export elevator at an export port location on behalf of the Secretary intends to temporarily discontinue such official inspection services or weighing services for any reason, except in the case of a major disaster, the State agency shall notify the Secretary in writing of its intention to do so at least 72 hours in advance of the discontinuation date. The receipt of such prior notice shall be considered by the Secretary as a mitigating factor in determining whether to maintain or revoke the delegation of authority to the State agency. . (3) Conforming amendments (A) Section 7(f)(1) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 79(f)(1) other than at export port locations (other than at an export elevator at an export port location) (B) Section 16(d) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 87e(d) The Office of Investigation of the Department of Agriculture (or such other organization or agency within the Department of Agriculture which may be delegated the authority, in lieu thereof, to conduct investigations on behalf of the Department of Agriculture) The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture (4) Evaluation of current delegations Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall complete a review of each State agency that, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, has been delegated inspection authority under section 7(e) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 79(e) 7 U.S.C. 79(e) (e) Continuity of operations Section 7(e) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 79(e) (5) Except in the case of a major disaster, the Secretary shall cause official inspections at an export elevator at an export port location— (A) to be performed without interruption by official inspection personnel employed by the Secretary or by a State agency delegated such authority under paragraph (2) of this subsection; or (B) if interrupted, to be resumed at the export elevator by utilizing official inspection personnel employed by the Secretary or by another delegated State agency as provided under paragraph (2) of this subsection as follows: (i) Within six hours after the interruption, if the interruption is caused by a State agency delegated such authority under this subsection and the Secretary received advance notice of the interruption pursuant to paragraph (4)(C) of this subsection. (ii) Within 12 hours after the interruption, if the State agency failed to provide the required advance notice of the interruption. (6) (A) If the Secretary is unable to restore official inspection services within the applicable time period required by paragraph (5)(B) of this subsection, the interested person requesting such services at the export elevator at an export port location shall be authorized to utilize official inspection personnel, as provided under section 8 of the Act, employed by another State agency delegated authority under paragraph (2) of this subsection or designated under subsection (f)(1) of this section. (B) A delegated or designated State agency providing inspection services under subparagraph (A) may, at its discretion, provide such services for a period of up to 90 days from the date on which the services are initiated, after which time the Secretary may restore official inspection services using official inspection personnel employed by the Secretary or a State agency delegated such authority under this subsection, if available. The State agency shall notify the Secretary in writing of its intention to discontinue inspection services under subparagraph (A) at least 72 hours in advance of the discontinuation date. (7) Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall make available to the public, including pursuant to a website maintained by the Secretary, a list of all delegated States and all official agencies authorized to perform official inspections on behalf of the Secretary. This list shall include the name, contact information, and category of authority granted. The Secretary shall update the list at least semiannually. . (f) Geographic boundaries for official agencies (1) Official inspection authority Section 7(f)(2) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 79(f)(2) the Secretary may the Secretary shall allow a designated official agency to cross boundary lines to carry out inspections in another geographic area if— (A) the current designated official agency for that geographic area is unable to provide inspection services in a timely manner; (B) a person requesting inspection services in that geographic area requests a probe inspection on a barge-lot basis; or (C) the current official agency for that geographic area agrees in writing with the adjacent official agency to waive the current geographic area restriction at the request of the applicant for service. . (2) Weighing authority Section 7A(i)(2) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 79a(i)(2) the Secretary may the Secretary shall allow a designated official agency to cross boundary lines to carry out weighing in another geographic area if— (A) the current designated official agency for that geographic area is unable to provide weighing services in a timely manner; or (B) the current official agency for that geographic area agrees in writing with the adjacent official agency to waive the current geographic area restriction at the request of the applicant for service. . (g) Duration of designations of official agencies Section 7(g)(1) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 79(g)(1) triennially every five years (h) Inspection fees (1) Collection and amounts Section 7(j)(1) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 79(j)(1) (A) by inserting (A) (1) (B) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (B) For official inspections and weighing at an export elevator at an export port location performed by the Secretary, performed by a State agency delegated the authority to perform official inspection services at the export elevator on behalf of the Secretary, or performed by a State agency utilized as authorized by subsection (e)(6)(A), the portion of the fees based upon export tonnage shall be based upon a rolling five-year average of export tonnage volumes. In order to maintain an operating reserve of between three to six months, the Secretary shall adjust such fees at least annually. . (2) Duration of authority Section 7(j)(4) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 79(j)(4) September 30, 2015 September 30, 2020 (i) Official weighing or supervision at locations where official inspection is provided other than by the Secretary Section 7A(c)(2) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 79a(c)(2) (1) in the first sentence, by striking with respect to export port locations with respect to an export elevator at an export port location (2) in the last sentence by striking subsection (g) of section 7 subsection (e) and (g) of section 7 (j) Collection of fees for weighing services Section 7A(l)(3) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 79a(l)(2) September 30, 2015 September 30, 2020 (k) Limitation and administrative and supervisory costs Section 7D of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 79d 2015 2020 (l) Issuance of authorizations (1) Duration Section 8(b) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 84(b) triennially every five years (2) Persons who may be hired as official inspection personnel Section 8(e) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 84(e) (A) by striking (on the date of enactment of the United States Grain Standards Act of 1976) (B) by striking the United States Grain Standards Act this Act (C) by striking , on the date of enactment of the United States Grain Standards Act of 1976, was performing performs (m) Authorization of appropriations Section 19 of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 87h 2015 2020 (n) Expiration of advisory committee Section 21(e) of the United States Grain Standards Act ( 7 U.S.C. 87j(e) September 30, 2015 September 30, 2020 May 29, 2015 Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Summary: United States Grain Standards Act Reauthorization Act of 2015 This bill reauthorizes and amends provisions of the United States Grain Standards Act. The Act authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish official marketing standards for grains, and to provide procedures for grain inspection and weighing. The bill reauthorizes several expiring provisions through FY2020, provides a safeguard mechanism in the event of an interruption of inspection services, revises the process for delegating inspections to state agencies, and revises fees for inspection and weighing services. (Sec. 2) The bill amends the purposes of the Act to include: promoting the marketing of high quality grain responsive to the purchase specifications of domestic and foreign buyers; and providing an accurate, reliable, consistently available, and cost-effective official grain inspection and weighing system. The bill revises USDA's discretionary authority to waive weighing and inspection requirements in emergency circumstances to require a waiver in an emergency or major disaster. Transfers of grain into an export elevator by any mode of transportation are not required to be officially weighed. The bill ends the permanent delegation to state agencies to carry out export inspection and weighing services. USDA must review current delegations, provide public notice and a comment period, establish an application process, and require states to reapply for delegated status after five years. Official inspection services must be provided in an uninterrupted manner except in the case of a major disaster. In the event of a disruption, the bill sets forth procedures and requirements for resuming official inspection and weighing services. USDA may waive the geographic boundaries for designated agencies if adjacent agencies have agreed to waive the boundaries. The bill changes the fee calculation for inspection and weighing services and extends the authority to collect fees through FY2020. The duration of licenses for inspectors is extended from three to five years, and the qualifications for inspectors are revised. The bill extends the limitation on total administrative and supervisory costs, the authorization of appropriations, and the authorization of the advisory committee through FY2020.