An Act to enable cotton growers to establish, finance and carry out a coordinated program of research and promotion to improve the competitive position of, and, to expand markets for cotton
PL 89-502 (H.R.12322), enacted 07/13/1966

80 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 89-502-JULY 13, 1966 
279 
Public Law 89-502 
AN ACT 
j^jy ^3_ jggg 
To enable cottongrowers to establish, finance, and carry out a coordinated pro- 
[H. R. 12322] 
gram of research and promotion to improve the competitive position of, and 
to expand markets for, cotton. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act shall 
be known as the Cotton Research and Promotion Act. 
A"" 
LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY 
SEC. 2. Cotton is the basic natural fiber of the Nation. 
It is pro-
duced by many individual cottongrowers throughout the various 
cotton-producing States of the Nation. Cotton moves in large part 
in the channels of interstate and foreign commerce and such cotton 
which does not move in such channels directly burdens or affects inter-
state commerce in cotton and cotton products. All cotton produced in 
the United States is in the current of interstate or foreign commerce 
or directly burdens, obstructs, or affects interstate or foreign commerce 
in cotton and cotton products. The efficient production of cotton and 
the maintenance and expansion of existing markets and the develop-
ment of new or improved markets and uses is vital to the welfare of 
cottongrowers and those concerned with marketing, using, and process-
ing cotton as well as the general economy of the Nation. In the years 
since World War II, United States cotton and the products thereof 
have been confronted with intensive competition, both at home and 
abroad, from foreign-grown cotton and from other fibers, primarily 
manmade fibers. The great inroads on the market and uses for United 
States cotton which have been made by manmade fibers have been 
largely the result of extensive research and promotion which have not 
been effectively matched by cotton research and promotion. The pro-
duction and marketing of cotton by numerous individual farmers 
have prevented the development and carrying out of adequate and 
coordinated programs of research and promotion necessary to the 
maintenance and improvement of the competitive position of, and 
markets for, cotton. Without an effective and coordinated method for 
assuring cooperative and collective action in providing for, and financ-
ing such programs, individual cotton farmers are unable adequately to 
provide or obtain the research and promotion necessary to maintain 
and improve markets for cotton. 
It has long been found to be in the public interest to have, or endeavor 
to have, a reasonable balance betw^een the supply of and demand for 
cotton grown in this country. 
To serve this public interest the Con-
gress has provided for the comprehensive exercise of regulatory author-
ity in regulating the handling of such cotton supplemented by price-
support programs with the objective of adjusting supply to demand 
in the interest of benefiting producers and all others concerned with 
the production and handling of cotton as well as the general economy 
of the country. 
In order for the objective of such programs to be 
effectuated to the fullest degree, it is necessary that the existing regu-
lation of marketing be supplemented by providing as part of the 
overall governmental program for effectuating this objective, means 
of increasing the demand for cotton with the view of eventually reduc-
ing or eliminating the need for limiting marketings and supporting 
the price of cotton. 
It is therefore declared to be the policy of the Congress and the 
purpose of this Act that it is essential in the public interest through 
the exercise of the powers provided herein, to authorize and enable 
the establishment of an orderly procedure for the development, financ-
Cotton Research 
and Promotion 
280 
PUBLIC LAW 89-502-JULY 13, 1966 
[80 STAT. 
ing through adequate assessments on all cotton harvested in the United 
States, and carrying out an effective and continuous coordinated pro-
gram of research and promotion designed to strengthen cotton's com-
petitive position and to maintain and expand domestic and foreign 
markets and uses for United States cotton. 
COTTON RESEARCH AND PROMOTION ORDERS 
SEC. 3. To effectuate the declared policy of this Act, the Secretary 
shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, issue and from time to 
time amend, orders applicable to persons engaged in the harvesting, 
marketing, ginning, or other handling of cotton, hereinafter referred 
to as handlers. 
Such orders shall be applicable to all production or 
marketing areas, or both, in the United States. 
NOTICE AND HEARING 
SEC. 4. Whenever the Secretary has reason to believe that the issu-
ance of an order will tend to effectuate the declared policy of this Act, 
he shall give due notice and opportunity for a hearing upon a proposed 
order. 
Such hearing may be requested and a proposal for an order 
submitted by any cotton producer organization certified pursuant to 
section 14 of this Act or by any other interested person or persons, 
including the Secretary. 
FINDING AND ISSUANCE OF AN ORDER 
SEC. 5. After notice and opportunity for hearing as provided in 
section 4, the Secretary shall issue an order if he finds, and sets forth 
in such order, upon the evidence introduced at such hearing, that the 
issuance of such order and all the terms and conditions thereof will 
tend to effectuate the declared policy of this Act. 
PERMISSIVE THERMS IN ORDERS 
SEC. 6. Orders issued pursuant to this Act shall contain one or 
more of the following terms and conditions, and except as provided 
in section 7, no others. 
(a) Providing for the establishment, issuance, effectuation, and ad-
ministration of appropriate plans or projects for the advertising and 
sales promotion of cotton and its products .and for the disbursement 
of necessary funds for such purposes: Provided^ however, That any 
such plan or project shall be directed toward increasing the general 
demand for cotton or its products but no reference to a private brand 
or trade name shall be made if the Secretary determines that such 
reference will result in undue discrimination against the cotton prod-
ucts of other persons: And provided further, That no such advertising 
or sales promotion programs shall make use of false or unwarranted 
claims in behalf of cotton or its products or false or unwarranted 
statements with respect to the quality, value, or use of any competing 
product. 
(b) Providing for establishing and carrying on research and devel-
opment projects and studies with respect to the production, ginning, 
processing, distribution, or utilization of cotton and its products, to 
the end that the marketing and utilization of cotton may be en-
couraged, expanded, improved, or made more efficient, and for the 
disbursement of necessary funds for such purposes. 
(c) Providing that handlers or any class of handlers maintain and 
make available for inspection such books and records as may be 
80 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 89-502-JULY 13, 1966 
281 
required by the order and for the filing of reports by such handlers at 
the times, in the manner, and having the content prescribed by the" 
order, to the end that information and data shall be made available 
to the Cotton Board and to the Secretary which is appropriate or 
necessary to the effectuation, administration, or enforcement of the 
Act or of any order or regulation issued pursuant to this Act: Pro-
'vided, however, That all information so obtained shall be kept confi-
dential by all officers and employees of the Department of Agriculture 
and of the Cotton Board, and only such information so furnished or 
acquired as the Secretary deems relevant shall be disclosed by them, 
and then only in a suit or administrative hearing brought at the direc-
tion, or upon the request, of the Secretary of Agriculture, or to which 
he or any officer of the United States is a party, and involving the 
order with reference to which the information so to be disclosed was 
furnished or acquired. 
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to 
prohibit (1) the issuance of general statements based upon the reports 
of a number of handlers subject to an order, which statements do not 
identify the information furnished by any person, or (2) the publica-
tion by direction of the Secretary, of the name of any person violating 
any order, together with a statement of the particular provisions of 
the order violated by such person. 
Any such officer or employee 
violating the provisions of this subsection shall upon conviction be 
subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for not 
more than one year, or to both, and shall be removed from office. 
(d) Terms and conditions incidental to and not inconsistent with 
the terms and conditions specified in this Act and necessary to effectu-
ate the other provisions of such order. 
REQUIRED TERMS I N ORDERS 
SEC. 7. Orders issued pursuant to this Act shall contain the follow-
ing terms and conditions: 
(a) Providing for the establishment and selection by the Secre-
tary, of a Cotton Board, and defining its powers and duties, which 
shall include only the powers: 
(1) To administer such order in accordance with its terms and 
provisions ; 
(2) To make rules and regulations to effectuate the terms and 
provisions of such order, including the designation of the handler 
responsible for collecting the producer assessment; 
(3) To receive, investigate, and report to the Secretary complaints 
of violations of such order; and 
(4) To recommend to the Secretary amendments to such order. 
(b) Providing that the Cotton Board shall be composed of repre- 
co«on Board. 
sentatives of cotton producers selected by the Secretary from nomi-
nations submitted by eligible producer organizations within a cotton-
producing State, as certified pursuant to section 14 of this Act, or, if 
the Secretary determines that a substantial number of producers are 
not members of or their interests are not represented by any such 
eligible producer organizations, from nominations made by producers 
in the manner authorized by the Secretary, so that the representation 
of cotton producers on the Board for each cotton-producing State 
shall reflect, to the extent practicable, the proportion which that 
State's marketings of cotton bears to the total marketings of cotton in 
the United States: Provided, however, That each cotton-producing 
State shall be entitled to at least one representative on the Cotton 
Board. 
(c) Providing that the Cotton Board shall, subject to the provisions 
of subsection (g) of this section, develop and submit to the Secretary 
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PUBLIC LAW 89-502-JULY 13, 1966 
[80 STAT. 
for his approval any advertising or sales promotion or research and 
development plans or projects, and that any such plan or project must 
be approved by the Secretary before becoming effective. 
(d) Providing that the Cotton Board shall, subject to the provisions 
of subsection (g) of this section, submit to the Secretary for his 
approval, budgets on a fiscal period basis of its anticipated expenses 
and disbursements in the administration of the order, including prob-
able costs of advertising and promotion and research and development 
projects. 
(e) Providing that the producer or other person for whom the 
cotton is being handled shall pay to the handler of cotton designated 
by the Cotton Board pursuant to regulations issued under the order 
and that such handler of cotton shall collect from the producer or 
other person for whom the cotton, including cotton owned by the 
handler, is being handled, and shall pay to the Cotton Board, an 
assessment prescribed by the order, on the basis of bales of cotton 
handled, for such expenses and expenditures, including provision for 
a reasonable reserve, as the Secretary finds are reasonable and likely 
to be incurred by the Cotton Board under the order, during any 
period specified by him. 
To facilitate the collection and payment 
of such assessments, the Cotton Board may designate different han-
dlers or classes of handlers to recognize differences in marketing prac-
tices or procedures utilized in any State or area, except that no more 
than one such assessment shall be made on any bale of cotton. 
The 
rate of assessment prescribed by the order shall be $1 per bale of 
cotton handled. 
The Secretary may maintain a suit against any 
person subject to the order for the collection of such assessment, and 
the several district courts of the United States are hereby vested with 
jurisdiction to entertain such suits regardless of the amount in con-
troversy : Provided^ That the remedies provided in this section shall be 
in addition to, and not exclusive of, the remedies provided for else-
where in this Act or now or hereafter existing at law or in equity. 
and7e°po1-u^nrr"- 
(^) Providiug that the Cotton Board shall maintain such books and 
quirements. 
records and prepare and submit such reports from time to time, to the 
Secretary as he may prescribe, and for appropriate accounting by the 
Cotton Board with respect to the receipt and disbursement of all 
funds entrusted to it. 
(g) Providing that the Cotton Board, with the approval of the 
Secretary, shall enter into contracts or agreements for the development 
and carrying out of the activities authorized under the order pursuant 
to sections 6 (a) and (b), and for the payment of the costs thereof 
with funds collected pursuant to the order, with an organization or 
association whose governing body consists of cotton producers selected 
by the cotton producer organizations certified by the Secretary under 
section 14, in such manner that the producers of each cotton-producing 
State will, to the extent practicable, have representation on the gov-
erning body of such organization in the proportion that the cotton 
marketed by the producers of such State bears to the total cotton 
marketed by the producers of all cotton-producing States, subject to 
adjustments to reflect lack of participation in the program by reason 
of refunds under section 11. Any such contract or agreement shall 
provide that such contracting organization or association shall develop 
and submit annually to the Cotton Board, for the purpose of review 
and making recommendations to the Secretary, a program of research, 
advertising, and sales promotion projects, together with a budget, or 
budgets, which shall show the estimated cost to be incurred for such 
80 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 89-502-JULY 13, 1966 
283 
projects, and that any such projects shall become effective upon 
approval by the Secretary. Any such contract or agreement shall also 
provide that the contracting organization shall keep accurate records 
of all its transactions and make an annual report to the Cotton Board 
of activities carried out and an accounting for funds received and 
expended, and such other reports as the Secretary may require. 
(h) Providing that no funds collected by the Cotton Board under 
the order shall in any manner be used for the purpose of influencing 
governmental policy or action, except as provided by subsection (a) (4) 
of this section. 
REQUIREMENT OF REFERENDUM AND COTTON PRODUCER APPROVAL 
SEC, 8. The Secretary shall conduct a referendum among persons 
Avho, during a representative period determined by the Secretary, 
have been engaged in the production of cotton for the purpose of 
ascertaining whether the issuance of an order is approved or favored 
by producers. No order issued pursuant to this Act shall be effective 
unless the Secretary determines that the issuance of such order is 
approved or favored by not less than two-thirds of the producers vot-
ing in such referendum, or by the producers of not less than two-thirds 
of the cotton produced during the representative period by producers 
voting in such referendum and by not less than a majority of the pro-
ducers voting in such referendum. 
SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF ORDERS 
SEC. 9. (a) The Secretary shall, whenever he finds that any order 
issued under this Act, or any provision thereof, obstructs or does not 
tend to effectuate the declared policy of this Act, terminate or suspend 
the operation of such order or such provision thereof. 
(b) The Secretary may conduct a referendum at any time, and 
shall hold a referendum on request of 10 per centum or more of the 
number of cotton producers voting in the referendum approving the 
order, to determine whether cotton producers favor the termination 
or suspension of the order, and he shall suspend or terminate such order 
at the end of the marketing year, as defined in the order, whenever 
he determines that suspension or termination of the order is approved 
or favored by a majority of tlie producers of cotton voting in such 
referendum who, during a representative period determined by the 
Secretary, have been engaged in the production of cotton, and who 
produced more than 50 per centum of the volume of the cotton pro-
duced by the cotton producers voting in the referendum. 
(c) The termination or suspension of any order, or any provision 
thereof, shall not be considered an order within the meaning of 
this Act. 
PROVISIONS A P P L I C A B L E TO AMENDMENTS 
SEC. 10. The provisions of this Act applicable to orders shall be 
applicable to amendments to orders. 
PRODUCER REFUNDS 
SEC. 11. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, any cot-
ton producer against whose cotton any assessment is made and col-
lected from him under the authority of this Act and who is not in favor 
of supporting the research and promotion program as provided for 
284 
PUBLIC LAW 89-502-JULY 13, 1966 
[80 STAT. 
herein shall have the right to demand and receive from the Cotton 
Board a refund of such assessment: Provided^ That such demand shall 
be made personally b^ such producer in accordance with regulations 
and on a form and within a time period prescribed by the Board and 
approved by the Secretary, but in no event less than ninety days, and 
upon submission of proof satisfactory to the Board that the producer 
paid the assessment for which refund is sought, and any such refund 
shall be made within sixty days after demand therefor, 
PETrriON AND REVIEW 
SEC. 12. (a) Any person subject to any order may file a written peti-
tion with the Secretary, stating that any such order or any provision 
of such order or any obligation imposed in connection therewith is not 
in accordance with law and praying for a modification thereof or to be 
exempted therefrom. He shall thereupon be given an opportunity for 
a hearing upon such petition, in accordance with regulations made by 
the Secretary. After such hearing, the Secretary shall make a ruling 
upon the prayer of such petition which shall be final, if in accordance 
with law. 
(b) The district courts of the United States in any district in which 
such person is an inhabitant, or has his principal place of business, 
are hereby vested with jurisdiction to review such ruling, provided a 
complaint for that purpose is filed within twenty days from the date of 
the entry of such ruling. 
Service of process in such proceedings may 
be had upon the Secretary by delivering to him a copy of the com-
plaint. 
If the court determines that such ruling is not in accordance 
with law, it shall remand such proceedings to the Secretary 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 proceedings 
as, in its opinion, the law requires. The pendency of proceedings 
instituted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall not impede, 
hinder, or delay the United States or the Secretary from obtaining 
relief pursuant to section 13(a) of this Act. 
ENFORCEMENT 
SEC, 13. (a) The several district courts of the United States are 
vested with jurisdiction specifically to enforce, and to prevent and 
restrain any person from violating any order or regulation made or 
issued pursuant to this Act. 
(b) Any handler who willfully violates any provision of any order 
issued by the Secretary under this Act, or who willfully fails or refuses 
to collect or remit any assessment or fee duly required of him there-
under, shall be liable to a penalty of not more than $1,000 for each 
such offense which shall accrue to the United States and may be recov-
ered in a civil suit brought by the United States. 
CERTIFICATION OF COTTON PRODUCR ORGANIZATION 
SEC. 14. The eligibility of each cotton producer organization to 
represent cotton producers of a cotton producing State to request the 
issuance of an order under section 4, and to participate in the making 
of nominations under section 7(b) shall be certified by the Secretary 
and shall be based in addition to other available information upon a 
factual report submitted by the organization which shall contain 
80 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 89-502-JULY 13, 1966 
285 
information deemed relevant and specified by the Secretary for the 
making of such determination, including the following: 
(a) Geographic territory within the State covered by the orga-
nization's active membership; 
(b) Nature and size of the organization's active membership 
in the State, proportion of total of such active membership 
accounted for by farmers, a map showing the cotton-producing 
counties in such State in which the organization has members, 
the volume of cotton produced in each such county, the number 
of cotton producers in each such county, and the size of the orga-
nization's active cotton producer membership in each such county; 
(c) The extent to which the cotton producer membership of 
such organization is represented in setting the organization's 
policies; 
^d) Evidence of stability and permanency of the organization; 
(e) Sources from which the organization's operating funds 
are derived; 
(f) Functions of the organization; and 
(g) The organization's ability and willingness to further the 
aims and objectives of this Act: 
Provided^ however^ That the primary consideration in determining 
the eligibility of an organization shall be whether its cotton farmer 
membership consists of a sufficiently large number of the cotton pro-
ducers who produce a relatively significant volume of cotton to rea-
sonably warrant its participation in the nomination of members for 
the Cotton Board. The Secretary shall certify any cotton producer 
organization which he finds to be eligible under this section, and his 
determination as to eligibility shall be final. 
REGULATIONS 
SEC. 15. The Secretary is authorized to make such regulations with 
the force and effect of law, as may be necessary to carry out the pro-
visions of this Act and the powers vested in him by this Act. 
INVESTIGATIONS: POWER TO SUBPENA AND TAKE OATHS AND AFFIRMA-
TIONS: AID OF COURTS: SELF-INCRIMINATION 
SEC. 16. (a) The Secretary may make such investigations as he 
deemis necessary for the effective carrying out of his responsibilities 
under this Act or to determine whether a handler or any other person 
has engaged or is about to engage in any acts or practices which consti-
tute or will constitute a violation of any provision of this Act, or of 
any order, or rule or regulation issued under this Act. For the pur-
pose of any such investigation, the Secretary is empowered to adminis-
ter oaths and affirmations, subpena witnesses, compel their attendance, 
take evidence, and require the production of any books, papers, and 
documents which are relevant to the inquiry. 
Such attendance of 
witnesses and the production of any such records may be required 
from any place in the United States. In case of contumacy by, or 
refusal to obey a subpena issued to, any person, including a handler, 
the Secretary may invoke the aid of any court of the United States 
within the jurisdiction of which such investigation or proceeding is 
carried on, or where such person resides or carries on business, in 
requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the produc-
65-300 0-67—21 
286 
PUBLIC LAW 89-502-JULY 13, 1966 
[80 STAT. 
tion of books, papers, and documents; and such court may issue an 
order requiring such person to appear before the Secretary, there to 
produce records, if so ordered, or to give testimony touching the mat-
ter under investigation. 
Any failure to obey such order of the court 
may be punished by such court as a contempt thereof. 
All process in 
any such case may be served in the judicial district whereof such per-
son is an inhabitant or wherever he may be found. 
(b) No person shall be excused from attending and testifying or 
from producing books, papers, and documents before the Secretary, 
or in obedience to the subpena of the Secretary, or in any cause or 
proceeding, criminal or otherwise, based upon or growing out of any 
alleged violation of this Act, or of any order, or rule or regulation 
issued thereunder on the ground or for the reason that the testimony 
or evidence, documentary or otherwise, required of him may tend to 
incriminate him or subject him to a penalty or forfeiture; but no 
individual shall be prosecuted or subjected to any penalty or forfeiture 
for or on account of any transaction, matter, or thing concerning 
which he is compelled, after having claimed his privilege against self-
incrimination, to testify or produce evidence, documentary or other-
wise, except that any individual so testifying shall not be exempt 
from prosecution and punishment for perjury committed in so 
testifying. 
DEFINITIONS 
SEC. 17. As used in this Act: 
(a) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(b) The term "person" means any individual, partnership, corpora-
tion, association, or any other entity. 
(c) The term "cotton" means all upland cotton harvested in the 
United States, and, except as used in section 7(e), includes cottonseed 
of such cotton and the products derived from such cotton and its seed. 
(d) The term "handler" means any person who handles cotton or 
cottonseed in the manner specified in the order or in the rules and 
regulations issued thereunder. 
(e) The term "United States" means the 50 States of the United 
States of America. 
(f) The term "cotton-producing State" means any State in which 
the average annual production of cotton during the five years 1960-
1964 was twenty thousand bales or more, except that any State produc-
ing cotton whose production during such period was less than such 
amount shall under regulations prescribed by the Secretary be com-
bined with another State or States producing cotton in such manner 
that such average annual production of such combination of States 
totaled twenty thousand bales or more, and the term "cotton-producing 
State" shall include any such combination of States. 
(g) The term "marketing" includes the sale of cotton or the pledging 
of cotton to the Commodity Credit Corporation as collateral for a 
price support loan. 
SEPARABILITY 
SEO. 18. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to 
any person or circumstances is held invalid, the validity of the remain-
der of the Act and of the application of such provision to other persons 
and circumstances shall not be affected thereby. 
80 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 89.503-JULY 18, 1966 
287 
AUTHORIZATION 
SEC. 19. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated out of any 
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated such funds as are 
necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. The funds so appro-
priated shall not be available for the payment of the expenses or 
expenditures of the Cotton Board in administering any provisions of 
any order issued pursuant to the terms of this Act. 
EFFECTIVE DATE 
SEC. 20. This Act shall take effect upon enactment. 
Approved July 13, 1966. 
Public Law 89-503 
AN ACT 
jyiy 18^ jggg 
To authorize the Attorney General to transfer to the Smithsonian Institution 
[s. 2266] 
title to certain objects of art. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That the Attorney 
Smithsonian 
General is authorized and directed to transfer to the Smithsonian "xr'insTe" of ce 
Institution title to the jade, stone, and bronze objects of art consisting tain art obj ects. 
of forty-four pieces which were vested in or transferred to the Attor-
ney General pursuant to the provisions of vesting order 18344, dated 
August 21, 1951. 
SEC. 2. After the transfer of title by the Attorney General, the disposition. 
Smithsonian Institution shall have complete discretion to retain, 
exchange, sell, or otherwise dispose of the objects of art referred to 
in section 1 in promotion of the purposes for which that Institution 
was founded. 
Approved July 18, 1966.