(1) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—
Section 516(a)(2) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act
(7 U.S.C. 1516(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the
end the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(D) Costs associated with the reimburse-
ment for research, development, and mainte-
nance costs of approved policies and other ma-
terials provided under section 508(h)(6) and
contracting for research and development under
section 508(m)(4)(B).’’.
(2) 
USE
OF
INSURANCE
FUND.—Section
516(b)(1) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7
U.S.C. 1516(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end
the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(E) Reimbursement for research, develop-
ment, and maintenance costs of approved poli-
cies and other materials provided under section
508(h)(6) and contracting for research and de-
velopment under section 508(m)(4)(B).’’.
SEC. 305. BOARD CONSIDERATION OF SUBMITTED POLI-
CIES AND MATERIALS.
(a) PERSONS AUTHORIZED TO SUBMIT.—Section
508(h)(1) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C.
1508(h)(1)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘a person’’ the
following: ‘‘(including an approved insurance provider, a
college or university, a cooperative or trade association,
or any other person)’’.
(b) SALE BY APPROVED INSURANCE PROVIDERS.—
Section 508(h)(3) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7
U.S.C. 1508(h)(3)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘for re-
insurance’’ the following: ‘‘by approved insurance pro-
viders’’.
(c) TIME
PERIODS
FOR
APPROVAL
OR
DIS-
APPROVAL.—Section 508(h)(4)(A) of the Federal Crop In-
surance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(h)(4)(A)), as amended by sec-
tion 105(c), is amended—
(1) in clause (iii), as redesignated by section
105(c), by striking ‘‘of the applicant.’’ and all that
follows through the end of the clause and inserting
‘‘, and such application, as modified, shall be consid-
ered by the Board in the manner provided in clause
(iv) within the 30-day period beginning on the date
the modified application is submitted. Any notifica-
tion of intent to disapprove a policy or other mate-
rial submitted under this subsection shall be accom-
panied by a complete explanation as to the reasons
for the Board’s intention to deny approval.’’; and
(2) by striking clause (iv), as redesignated by
section 105(c), and inserting the following new
clause:
‘‘(iv) Not later than 120 days after a
policy or other material is submitted under
this subsection, the Board shall make a de-
termination to approve or disapprove such
policy or material. Any determination by
the Board to disapprove any policy or
other material shall be accompanied by a
complete explanation of the reasons for the
Board’s decision to deny approval. In the
event the Board fails to make a determina-
tion within the prescribed time period, the
submitted policy or other material shall be
deemed approved by the Board for the ini-
tial reinsurance year designated for the
policy or material, except in the case where
the Board and the applicant agree to an
extension.’’.
(d) FUNDING TO EXPEDITE CONSIDERATION.—Ef-
fective October 1, 2000, section 516(b)(2) of the Federal
Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1516(b)(2)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
EXPENSES.—’’ and inserting ‘‘(2) POLICY CONSID-
ERATION EXPENSES.—’’; and
(2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘research
and development expenses of the Corporation’’ and
inserting ‘‘costs associated with considering for ap-
proval or disapproval policies and other materials
under subsections (h) and (m)(4) of section 508,
costs associated with implementing such subsection
(m)(4), and costs to contract out for assistance in
considering such policies and other materials’’.
SEC. 306. CONTRACTING FOR RATING OF PLANS OF INSUR-
ANCE.
Section 507(c)(2) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act
(7 U.S.C. 1507(c)(2)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘actuarial, loss adjustment,’’
and inserting ‘‘actuarial services, services relating to
loss adjustment and rating plans of insurance,’’; and
(2) by inserting after ‘‘private sector’’ the fol-
lowing: ‘‘and to enable the Corporation to con-
centrate on regulating the provision of insurance
under this title and evaluating new products and
materials submitted under section 508(h)’’.
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