‘‘§ 12. Findings and referendum 
‘‘(a) In addition to the concise general statement of 
basis and purpose required by section 4(b) of the Federal 
Administrative Procedure Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 
§ 553(c)), the commission shall make findings of fact with 
respect to: 
‘‘(1) Whether the public interest will be served 
by the establishment of minimum milk prices to 
dairy farmers under Article IV. 
‘‘(2) What level of prices will assure that pro-
ducers receive a price sufficient to cover their costs 
of production and will elicit an adequate supply of 
milk for the inhabitants of the regulated area and 
for manufacturing purposes.
‘‘(3) Whether the major provisions of the order, 
other than those fixing minimum milk prices, are in 
the public interest and are reasonably designed to 
achieve the purposes of the order. 
‘‘(4) Whether the terms of the proposed re-
gional order or amendment are approved by pro-
ducers as provided in section thirteen. 
‘‘§ 13. Producer referendum 
‘‘(a) For the purpose of ascertaining whether the 
issuance or amendment of regulations establishing a com-
pact over-order price or a commission marketing order, 
including any provision with respect to milk supply under
subsection 9(f), is approved by producers, the commission 
shall conduct a referendum among producers. The ref-
erendum shall be held in a timely manner, as determined 
by regulation of the commission. The terms and conditions 
of the proposed order or amendment shall be described 
by the commission in the ballot used in the conduct of 
the referendum, but the nature, content, or extent of such 
description shall not be a basis for attacking the legality 
of the order or any action relating thereto. 
‘‘(b) An order or amendment shall be deemed ap-
proved by producers if the commission determines that it 
is approved by at least two-thirds of the voting producers 
who, during a representative period determined by the 
commission, have been engaged in the production of milk 
the price of which would be regulated under the proposed 
order or amendment. 
‘‘(c) For purposes of any referendum, the commission 
shall consider the approval or disapproval by any coopera-
tive association of producers, qualified under the provi-
sions of the Act of Congress of February 18, 1922, as 
amended, known as the Capper–Volstead Act, bona fide 
engaged in marketing milk, or in rendering services for 
or advancing the interests of producers of such com-
modity, as the approval or disapproval of the producers 
who are members or stockholders in, or under contract
with, such cooperative association of producers, except as 
provided in subdivision (1) hereof and subject to the provi-
sions of subdivision (2) through (5) hereof. 
‘‘(1) No cooperative which has been formed to 
act as a common marketing agency for both coopera-
tives and individual producers shall be qualified to 
block vote for either. 
‘‘(2) Any cooperative which is qualified to block 
vote shall, before submitting its approval or dis-
approval in any referendum, give prior written notice 
to each of its members as to whether and how it in-
tends to cast its vote. The notice shall be given in 
a timely manner as established, and in the form pre-
scribed, by the commission. 
‘‘(3) Any producer may obtain a ballot from the 
commission in order to register approval or dis-
approval of the proposed order. 
‘‘(4) A producer who is a member of a coopera-
tive which has provided notice of its intent to ap-
prove or not to approve a proposed order, and who 
obtains a ballot and with such ballot expresses his 
approval or disapproval of the proposed order, shall 
notify the commission as to the name of the coopera-
tive of which he or she is a member, and the com-
mission shall remove such producer’s name from the
list certified by such cooperative with its corporate 
vote.
‘‘(5) In order to insure that all milk producers 
are informed regarding the proposed order, the com-
mission shall notify all milk producers that an order 
is being considered and that each producer may reg-
ister his approval or disapproval with the commis-
sion either directly or through his or her cooperative. 
‘‘§ 14. Termination of over-order price or marketing 
order 
‘‘(a) The commission shall terminate any regulations 
establishing an over-order price or commission marketing 
order issued under this article whenever it finds that such 
order or price obstructs or does not tend to effectuate the 
declared policy of this compact. 
‘‘(b) The commission shall terminate any regulations 
establishing an over-order price or a commission mar-
keting order issued under this article whenever it finds 
that such termination is favored by a majority of the pro-
ducers who, during a representative period determined by 
the commission, have been engaged in the production of 
milk the price of which is regulated by such order; but 
such termination shall be effective only if announced on 
or before such date as may be specified in such marketing 
agreement or order.
‘‘(c) The termination or suspension of any order or 
provision thereof, shall not be considered an order within 
the meaning of this article and shall require no hearing, 
but shall comply with the requirements for informal rule-
making prescribed by section four of the Federal Adminis-
trative Procedure Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. § 553).
‘‘ARTICLE VI. ENFORCEMENT 
‘‘§ 15. Records; reports; access to premises 
‘‘(a) The commission may by rule and regulation pre-
scribe record keeping and reporting requirements for all 
regulated persons. For purposes of the administration and 
enforcement of this compact, the commission is authorized 
to examine the books and records of any regulated person 
relating to his or her milk business and for that purpose, 
the commission’s properly designated officers, employees, 
or agents shall have full access during normal business 
hours to the premises and records of all regulated persons. 
‘‘(b) Information furnished to or acquired by the 
commission officers, employees, or its agents pursuant to 
this section shall be confidential and not subject to disclo-
sure except to the extent that the commission deems dis-
closure to be necessary in any administrative or judicial 
proceeding involving the administration or enforcement of 
this compact, an over-order price, a compact marketing 
order, or other regulations of the commission. The com-
mission may promulgate regulations further defining the 
confidentiality of information pursuant to this section. 
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit (i) the 
issuance of general statements based upon the reports of 
a number of handlers, which do not identify the informa-
tion furnished by any person, or (ii) the publication by 
direction of the commission of the name of any person vio-
lating any regulation of the commission, together with a 
statement of the particular provisions violated by such 
person. 
‘‘(c) No officer, employee, or agent of the commission 
shall intentionally disclose information, by inference or 
otherwise, which is made confidential pursuant to this sec-
tion. Any person violating the provisions of this section 
shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more 
than one thousand dollars or to imprisonment for not 
more than one year, or to both, and shall be removed from 
office. The commission shall refer any allegation of a viola-
tion of this section to the appropriate state enforcement 
authority or United States Attorney. 
‘‘§ 16. Subpoena; hearings and judicial review 
‘‘(a) The commission is hereby authorized and em-
powered by its members and its properly designated offi-
cers to administer oaths and issue subpoenas throughout 
all signatory states to compel the attendance of witnesses
and the giving of testimony and the production of other 
evidence. 
‘‘(b) Any handler subject to an order may file a writ-
ten petition with the commission stating that any such 
order or any provision of any such order or any obligation 
imposed in connection therewith is not in accordance with 
law and praying for a modification thereof or to be ex-
empted therefrom. He shall thereupon be given an oppor-
tunity for a hearing upon such petition, in accordance with 
regulations made by the commission. After such hearing, 
the commission shall make a ruling upon the prayer of 
such petition which shall be final, if in accordance with 
law. 
‘‘(c) The district courts of the United States in any 
district in which such handler is an inhabitant, or has his 
principal place of business, are hereby vested with jurisdic-
tion to review such ruling, provided a complaint for that 
purpose is filed within thirty days from the date of the 
entry of such ruling. Service of process in such pro-
ceedings may be had upon the commission by delivering 
to it a copy of the complaint. If the court determines that 
such ruling is not in accordance with law, it shall remand 
such proceedings to the commission with directions either 
(1) to make such ruling as the court shall determine to 
be in accordance with law, or (2) to take such further pro-
ceedings as, in its opinion, the law requires. The pendency 
of proceedings instituted pursuant to this subdivision shall 
not impede, hinder, or delay the commission from obtain-
ing relief pursuant to section seventeen. Any proceedings 
brought pursuant to section seventeen, except where 
brought by way of counterclaim in proceedings instituted 
pursuant to this section, shall abate whenever a final de-
cree has been rendered in proceedings between the same 
parties, and covering the same subject matter, instituted 
pursuant to this section. 
‘‘§ 17. Enforcement with respect to handlers 
‘‘(a) Any violation by a handler of the provisions of 
regulations establishing an over-order price or a commis-
sion marketing order, or other regulations adopted pursu-
ant to this compact shall: 
‘‘(1) Constitute a violation of the laws of each 
of the signatory states. Such violation shall render 
the violator subject to a civil penalty in an amount 
as may be prescribed by the laws of each of the par-
ticipating states, recoverable in any state or federal 
court of competent jurisdiction. Each day such viola-
tion continues shall constitute a separate violation. 
‘‘(2) Constitute grounds for the revocation of li-
cense or permit to engage in the milk business under 
the applicable laws of the participating states.
‘‘(b) With respect to handlers, the commission shall 
enforce the provisions of this compact, regulations estab-
lishing an over-order price, a commission marketing order 
or other regulations adopted hereunder by: 
‘‘(1) Commencing an action for legal or equi-
table relief brought in the name of the commission 
of any state or federal court of competent jurisdic-
tion; or
‘‘(2) Referral to the state agency for enforce-
ment by judicial or administrative remedy with the 
agreement of the appropriate state agency of a par-
ticipating state. 
‘‘(c) With respect to handlers, the commission may 
bring an action for injunction to enforce the provisions 
of this compact or the order or regulations adopted there-
under without being compelled to allege or prove that an 
adequate remedy of law does not exist. 
‘‘ARTICLE VII. FINANCE 
‘‘§ 18. Finance of start-up and regular costs 
‘‘(a) To provide for its start-up costs, the commission 
may borrow money pursuant to its general power under 
section six, subdivision (d), paragraph four. In order to 
finance the costs of administration and enforcement of 
this compact, including payback of start-up costs, the 
commission is hereby empowered to collect an assessment
from each handler who purchases milk from producers 
within the region. If imposed, this assessment shall be col-
lected on a monthly basis for up to one year from the date 
the commission convenes, in an amount not to exceed 
$.015 per hundredweight of milk purchased from pro-
ducers during the period of the assessment. The initial as-
sessment may apply to the projected purchases of handlers 
for the two-month period following the date the commis-
sion convenes. In addition, if regulations establishing an 
over-order price or a compact marketing order are adopt-
ed, they may include an assessment for the specific pur-
pose of their administration. These regulations shall pro-
vide for establishment of a reserve for the commission’s 
ongoing operating expenses. 
‘‘(b) The commission shall not pledge the credit of 
any participating state or of the United States. Notes 
issued by the commission and all other financial obliga-
tions incurred by it, shall be its sole responsibility and no 
participating state or the United States shall be liable 
therefor. 
‘‘§ 19. Audit and accounts 
‘‘(a) The commission shall keep accurate accounts of 
all receipts and disbursements, which shall be subject to 
the audit and accounting procedures established under its 
rules. In addition, all receipts and disbursements of funds
handled by the commission shall be audited yearly by a 
qualified public accountant and the report of the audit 
shall be included in and become part of the annual report 
of the commission. 
‘‘(b) The accounts of the commission shall be open 
at any reasonable time for inspection by duly constituted 
officers of the participating states and by any persons au-
thorized by the commission. 
‘‘(c) Nothing contained in this article shall be con-
strued to prevent commission compliance with laws relat-
ing to audit or inspection of accounts by or on behalf of 
any participating state or of the United States. 
‘‘ARTICLE 
VIII. 
ENTRY 
INTO 
FORCE; 
ADDITIONAL 
MEM-
BERS AND WITHDRAWAL 
‘‘§ 20. Entry into force; additional members 
‘‘The compact shall enter into force effective when 
enacted into law by any three states of the group of states 
composed of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Ken-
tucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, 
Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia 
and West Virginia and when the consent of Congress has 
been obtained.
‘‘§ 21. Withdrawal from compact 
‘‘Any participating state may withdraw from this 
compact by enacting a statute repealing the same, but no 
such withdrawal shall take effect until one year after no-
tice in writing of the withdrawal is given to the commis-
sion and the governors of all other participating states. 
No withdrawal shall affect any liability already incurred 
by or chargeable to a participating state prior to the time 
of such withdrawal. 
‘‘§ 22. Severability 
‘‘If any part or provision of this compact is adjudged 
invalid by any court, such judgment shall be confined in 
its operation to the part or provision directly involved in 
the controversy in which such judgment shall have been 
rendered and shall not affect or impair the validity of the 
remainder of this compact. In the event Congress consents 
to this compact subject to conditions, said conditions shall 
not impair the validity of this compact when said condi-
tions are accepted by three or more compacting states. A 
compacting state may accept the conditions of Congress 
by implementation of this compact.’’. 
SEC. 4. PACIFIC NORTHWEST DAIRY COMPACT. 
Congress consents to a Pacific Northwest Dairy Com-
pact proposed for the States of California, Oregon, and 
Washington, subject to the following conditions:
(1) TEXT.—The text of the Pacific Northwest 
Dairy Compact shall be identical to the text of the 
Southern Dairy Compact, except as follows: 
(A) References to ‘‘south’’, ‘‘southern’’, 
and ‘‘Southern’’ shall be changed to ‘‘Pacific 
Northwest’’. 
(B) In section 9(b), the reference to ‘‘At-
lanta, Georgia’’ shall be changed to ‘‘Seattle, 
Washington’’. 
(C) In section 20, the reference to ‘‘any 
three’’ and all that follows shall be changed to 
‘‘California, Oregon, and Washington.’’. 
(2) LIMITATION
OF
MANUFACTURING
PRICE 
REGULATION.—The Dairy Compact Commission es-
tablished to administer the Pacific Northwest Dairy 
Compact (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Com-
mission’’) may not regulate Class II, Class III, or 
Class IV milk used for manufacturing purposes or 
any other milk, other than Class I, or fluid milk, as 
defined by a Federal milk marketing order issued 
under section 8c of the Agricultural Adjustment Act 
(7 U.S.C. 608c), reenacted with amendments by the 
Agricultural Marketing Act of 1937 (referred to in 
this section as a ‘‘Federal milk marketing order’’).
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Congressional consent 
under this section takes effect on the date (not later 
than 3 year after the date of enactment of this Act) 
on which the Pacific Northwest Dairy Compact is 
entered into by the second of the 3 States specified 
in the matter preceding paragraph (1). 
(4) COMPENSATION
OF
COMMODITY
CREDIT 
CORPORATION.—Before the end of each fiscal year 
in which a price regulation is in effect under the Pa-
cific Northwest Dairy Compact, the Commission 
shall compensate the Commodity Credit Corporation 
for the cost of any purchases of milk and milk prod-
ucts by the Corporation that result from the oper-
ation of the Compact price regulation during the fis-
cal year, as determined by the Secretary (in con-
sultation with the Commission) using notice and 
comment procedures provided in section 553 of title 
5, United States Code. 
(5) 
MILK
MARKETING
ORDER
ADMINIS-
TRATOR.—At the request of the Commission, the 
Administrator of the applicable Federal milk mar-
keting order shall provide technical assistance to the 
Commission and be compensated for that assistance.
defined by a Federal milk marketing order issued 
under section 8c of the Agricultural Adjustment Act 
(7 U.S.C. 608c), reenacted with amendments by the 
Agricultural Marketing Act of 1937 (referred to in 
this section as a ‘‘Federal milk marketing order’’). 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Congressional consent 
under this section takes effect on the date (not later 
than 3 year after the date of enactment of this Act) 
on which the Intermountain Dairy Compact is en-
tered into by the second of the 3 States specified in 
the matter preceding paragraph (1). 
(4) COMPENSATION
OF
COMMODITY
CREDIT 
CORPORATION.—Before the end of each fiscal year 
in which a price regulation is in effect under the 
Intermountain Dairy Compact, the Commission shall 
compensate the Commodity Credit Corporation for 
the cost of any purchases of milk and milk products 
by the Corporation that result from the operation of 
the Compact price regulation during the fiscal year, 
as determined by the Secretary (in consultation with 
the Commission) using notice and comment proce-
dures provided in section 553 of title 5, United 
States Code. 
(5) 
MILK
MARKETING
ORDER
ADMINIS-
TRATOR.—At the request of the Commission, the
Administrator of the applicable Federal milk mar-
keting order shall provide technical assistance to the 
Commission and be compensated for that assistance.
Æ