Milk Regulatory Equity Act of 2005
PL 109-215 (S.2120), enacted 04/11/2006

120 STAT. 328
PUBLIC LAW 109–215—APR. 11, 2006
Public Law 109–215
109th Congress
An Act
To ensure regulatory equity between and among all dairy farmers and handlers
for sales of packaged fluid milk in federally regulated milk marketing areas
and into certain non-federally regulated milk marketing areas from federally
regulated areas, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Milk Regulatory Equity Act
of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. MILK REGULATORY EQUITY.
(a) MINIMUM MILK PRICES FOR HANDLERS; EXEMPTION.—Section
8c(5) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(5)),
reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agree-
ment Act of 1937, is amended by adding at the end the following
new subparagraphs:
‘‘(M) MINIMUM MILK PRICES FOR HANDLERS.—
‘‘(i) APPLICATION OF MINIMUM PRICE REQUIREMENTS.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of this section, a milk handler
described in clause (ii) shall be subject to all of the minimum
and uniform price requirements of a Federal milk marketing
order issued pursuant to this section 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 pur-
chases.
‘‘(ii) COVERED
MILK
HANDLERS.—Except as provided in
clause (iv), clause (i) applies to a handler of Class I milk
products (including a producer-handler or producer operating
as a handler) that—
‘‘(I) operates a plant that is located within the bound-
aries of a Federal order milk marketing area (as those
boundaries are in effect as of the date of the enactment
of this subparagraph);
‘‘(II) 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
‘‘(III) is not otherwise obligated by a Federal milk
marketing order, or a regulated milk pricing plan operated
Applicability.
7 USC 601 note.
Milk Regulatory
Equity Act of
2005.
Apr. 11, 2006
[S. 2120]
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120 STAT. 329
PUBLIC LAW 109–215—APR. 11, 2006
by a State, to pay minimum class prices for the raw milk
that is used for such dispositions or sales.
‘‘(iii) OBLIGATION TO PAY MINIMUM CLASS PRICES.—For pur-
poses of clause (ii)(III), the Secretary may not consider a han-
dler of Class I milk products to be obligated by a Federal
milk marketing order to pay minimum class prices for raw
milk unless the handler operates the plant as a fully regulated
fluid milk distributing plant under a Federal milk marketing
order.
‘‘(iv) CERTAIN HANDLERS EXEMPTED.—Clause (i) does not
apply to—
‘‘(I) a handler (otherwise described in clause (ii)) that
operates a nonpool plant (as defined in section 1000.8(e)
of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on
the date of the enactment of this subparagraph);
‘‘(II) a producer-handler (otherwise described in clause
(ii)) for any month during which the producer-handler has
route dispositions, and sales to other plants, of packaged
fluid milk products equaling less than 3,000,000 pounds
of milk; or
‘‘(III) a handler (otherwise described in clause (ii)) for
any month during which—
‘‘(aa) less than 25 percent of the total quantity
of fluid milk products physically received at the plant
of the handler (excluding concentrated milk received
from another plant by agreement for other than Class
I use) is disposed of as route disposition or is trans-
ferred in the form of packaged fluid milk products
to other plants; or
‘‘(bb) less than 25 percent in aggregate of the route
disposition or transfers are in a marketing area or
areas located in one or more States that require han-
dlers to pay minimum prices for raw milk purchases.
‘‘(N) EXEMPTION
FOR
CERTAIN
MILK
HANDLERS.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of this section, no handler with dis-
tribution of Class I milk products in the marketing area described
in Order No. 131 shall be exempt during any month from any
minimum price requirement established by the Secretary under
this subsection if the total distribution of Class I products during
the preceding month of any such handler’s own farm production
exceeds 3,000,000 pounds.
‘‘(O) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION
REGARDING
PRODUCER-HAN-
DLERS.—Subparagraphs (M) and (N) shall not be construed as
affecting, expanding, or contracting the treatment of producer-han-
dlers under this subsection except as provided in such subpara-
graphs.’’.
(b) EXCLUSION OF NEVADA FROM FEDERAL MILK MARKETING
ORDERS.—Section 8c(11) of the Agriculture Adjustment Act (7
U.S.C. 608c(11)), reenacted with amendments by the Agriculture
Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking the last sentence;
and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(D) In the case of milk and its products, no county or other
political subdivision of the State of Nevada shall be within the
marketing area definition of any order issued under this section.’’.
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120 STAT. 330
PUBLIC LAW 109–215—APR. 11, 2006
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 2120:
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
Vol. 151 (2005): Dec. 16, considered and passed Senate.
Vol. 152 (2006): Mar. 28, considered and passed House.
(c) RECORDS AND FACILITY REQUIREMENTS.—Notwithstanding
any other provision of this section, or the amendments made by
this section, a milk handler (including a producer-handler or a
producer operating as a handler) that is subject to regulation under
this section or an amendment made by this section shall comply
with the requirements of section 1000.27 of title 7, Code of Federal
Regulations, or a successor regulation, relating to handler responsi-
bility for records or facilities.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE AND IMPLEMENTATION.—The amendments
made by this section 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 the expedited implementation of these
amendments, effective on the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of Agriculture shall include in the pool distributing
plant provisions of each Federal milk marketing order issued under
subparagraph (B) of section 8c(5) of the Agriculture Adjustment
Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(5)), reenacted with amendments by the Agri-
culture Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, a provision that a han-
dler described in subparagraph (M) of such section, as added by
subsection (a) of this section, will be fully regulated by the order
in which the handler’s distributing plant is located. These amend-
ments shall not be subject to a referendum under section 8c(19)
of such Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(19)).
Approved April 11, 2006.
7 USC 608c note.
7 USC 608c note.
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