I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1659
To ensure regulatory equity between and among all dairy farmers and han-
dlers, including producers also acting as handlers, for sales of packaged 
fluid milk into certain non-federally regulated milk marketing areas from 
federally regulated areas. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 8, 2003
Mr. NUNES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To ensure regulatory equity between and among all dairy 
farmers and handlers, including producers also acting 
as handlers, for sales of packaged fluid milk into certain 
non-federally regulated milk marketing areas from feder-
ally regulated areas.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Milk Regulatory Eq-
uity Act of 2003’’.
SEC. 2. MINIMUM MILK PRICES FOR HANDLERS UNDER 
FEDERAL MILK MARKETING ORDERS. 
(a) APPLICATION
OF MINIMUM PRICE REQUIRE-
MENTS.—A milk handler described in subsection (b) shall 
be subject to all of the minimum and uniform price re-
quirements of the Federal milk marketing order issued 
under section 8c(5) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act 
(7 U.S.C. 608c(5)), reenacted with amendments by the 
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, applicable 
to the county in which the plant of the handler is located, 
at Federal order class prices, if the handler has packaged 
fluid milk product route dispositions, or sales of packaged 
fluid milk products to other plants, in a marketing area 
located in a State that requires handlers to pay minimum 
prices for raw milk purchases. 
(b) COVERED MILK HANDLERS.—Except as provided 
in subsection (c), subsection (a) applies to a handler of 
Class I milk products (including a producer-handler or 
producer operating as a handler)—
(1) whose plant is located within the boundaries 
of a Federal order milk marketing area (as those 
boundaries are in effect as of the date of the enact-
ment of this Act); 
(2) that has packaged fluid milk product route 
dispositions, or sales of packaged fluid milk products 
to other plants, in a milk marketing area located in
a State that requires handlers to pay minimum 
prices for raw milk purchases; and 
(3) that is not otherwise obligated by a Federal 
milk marketing order, or a regulated milk pricing 
plan operated by a State, to pay minimum class 
prices for the raw milk represented by those milk 
dispositions or sales. 
(c) CERTAIN HANDLERS EXEMPTED.—Subsection 
(a) does not apply—
(1) to a handler (otherwise described in sub-
section (b)) that operates an exempt plant, as de-
fined in section 1000.8(e) of title 7, Code of Federal 
Regulations (as in effect on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act); or 
(2) a producer-handler (otherwise described in 
subsection (b)) for any month during which the pro-
ducer-handler has route dispositions, and sales to 
other plants, of packaged fluid milk products equal-
ing less than 6,000,000 pounds of milk. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE AND IMPLEMENTATION.—Sub-
section (a) shall take effect on the first day of the first 
month beginning more than 15 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. To accomplish this expedited imple-
mentation schedule, effective on the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall include in
the pool distributing plant provision of each Federal milk 
marketing order issued under section 8c(5)(B) of the Agri-
cultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(5)(B)), reenacted 
with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agree-
ment of 1937, language to ensure that a handler described 
in subsection (b) will be fully regulated by the order in 
which the handler’s distributing plant is located. Inclusion 
of this language into Federal milk marketing orders shall 
not be subjected to a referendum under section 8c(19) of 
the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(19)), re-
enacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing 
Agreement Act of 1937.
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