An Act to prohibit unfair trade practices affecting producers of agricultural products, and for other purposes
PL 90-288 (S.109), enacted 04/16/1968

82 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 90-288-APR. 16, 1968 
93 
Public Law 90-287 
Relating to the Tiwa Indians of Texas. 
AN ACT 
April 12, 1968 
[H.R. 10599] 
Tiwa Indians of 
Ysleta, Tex. 
Be It enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That the Indians 
now livhig in El Paso County, Texas, who are descendants of the *DesTgnatron 
Tiwa Indians of the Ysleta (Isleta) del Sur Pueblo settling in Texas 
at Ysleta in 1682, shall, from and after the ratification of this Act, be 
known and designated as Tiwa Indians of Ysleta, Texas, and shall 
continue to enjoy all rights, privileges, and immunities enjoyed by 
them as citizens of the State of Texas and of the United States before 
the enactment of this Act, and shall continue to be subject to all 
the obligations and duties of such citizens under the laws of the State 
of Texas and the United States. 
SEC. 2. Responsibility, if any, for the Tiwa Indians of Ysleta del 
Sur is hereby transferred to the State of Texas. Nothing in this Act 
shall make such tribe or its meml>ers eligible for any services per-
formed by the United States for Indians because of their status as 
Indians nor subject the LTnited States to any responsibility, liability, 
claim, or demand of any nature to or by such tribe or its members 
arising out of their status as Indians, and none of the statutes of the 
United States which affect Indians because of their status as Indians 
shall be applicable to the Tiwa Indians of Ysleta del Sur. Nothing 
herein shall preclude the application to the people of the Tiwa Indians 
of programs undertaken pursuant to the Economic Opportunity Act 
of 1964 (78 Stat. 508), as heretofore or hereafter amended. 
Approved April 12, 1968. 
Responsibility, 
transfer. 
42 u s e 2701 
note. 
Public Law 90-288 
AN ACT 
, 
, 
April 16, 196f 
To prohibit unfair trade practices affecting producers of agricultural products, 
[s.i09] 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act shall 
Agricultural 
be known as the Agricultural Fair Practices Act of 1967. 
""'' p-=.-i^». 
Fair Practices 
Act of 1967. 
LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY 
SEC 2. Agricultural products are produced in the United States bv 
many individual farmers and ranchers scattered throughout the vari-
ous States of the Nation. Such products in fresh or processed form 
move in large part in the channels of interstate and foreign commerce, 
and such products which do not move in these channels directly 
burden or affect interstate commerce. The efficient production and 
marketing of agricultural products by farmers and ranchers is of 
vital concern to their welfare and to the general economy of the 
Nation. Because agricultural products are pjroduced by numerous 
individual farmers, the marketing and bargaining position of indi-
vidual farmers wdll be adversely affected unless they are free to join 
together voluntarily in cooperative organizations as authorized by 
law. Interference with this right is contrary to the public interest 
and adversely affects the free and orderly flow^ of goods in interstate 
and foreign commerce. 
94 
PUBLIC LAW 90-288-APR. 16, 1968 
[82 STAT. 
It is, therefore, declared to be the policy of Congress and the purpose 
of this Act to establish standards of fair practices required of handlers 
in their dealings in agricultural products. 
DEFINrriONS 
SEC. 3. When used in this Act^— 
(a) The term "handler" means any person engaged in the business 
or practice of (1) acquiring agricultural products from producers or 
associations of producers for processing or sale; or (2) grading, 
packaging, handling, storing, or processing agricultural products 
received from producers or associations of producers; or (3) contract-
ing or negotiating contracts or other arrangements, written or oral, 
with or on behalf of producers or associations of producers with respect 
to the production or marketing of any agricultural product; or (4) 
acting as an agent or broker for a handler in the performance of any 
function or act specified in clause (1), (2), or (3) of this paragraph. 
(b) The term "producer" means a person engaged in the production 
of agricultural products as a farmer, planter, rancher, dairyman, fruit, 
vegetable, or nut grower. 
(c) The term "association of producers" means any association of 
producers of agricultural products engaged in marketing, bargain-
ing, shipping, or processing as defined in section 15(a) of the Agri-
cultural Marketing Act of 1929, as amended (49 Stat. 317; 12 U.S.C. 
1141j(a)), or in section 1 of the Act entitled "An Act to authorize 
association of producers of agricultural products", approved February 
18,1922 (42 Stat. 388; 7 U.S.C. 291). 
(d) The term "person" includes individuals, partnerships, corpora-
tions, and associations. 
(e) The term "agricultural products" shall not include cotton or 
tobacco or their products. 
PROHIBITED PKACTICES 
SEC. 4. It shall be unlawful for any handler knowingly to engage or 
permit any employee or agent to engage in the following practices: 
(a) To coerce any producer in the exercise of his right to join and 
belong to or to refrain from joining or belonging to an association of 
producers, or to refuse to deal with any producer because of the exercise 
of his right to join and belong to such an association; or 
(b) To discriminate against any producer with respect to price, 
quantity, quality, or other terms of purchase, acquisition, or other 
liandling of agricultural products because of his membership in or 
contract with an association of producers; or 
(c) To coerce or intimidate any producer to enter into, maintain, 
breach, cancel, or terminate a membership agreement or marketing 
contraot with an association of producers or a contract Avith a handler; 
or 
(d) To pay or loan money, give any thing of value, or offer any 
other inducement or reward to a. producer for refusing to or ceasing 
to belong to an association of producers; or 
(e) To make false reports about the finances, management, or 
activities of associations of producers or handlers; or 
(f) To conspire, combine, agree, or arrajige with any other person 
to do, or aid or abet the doing of, any act made unlawful by this Act. 
82 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 90-288-APR. 16, 1968 
95 
DISCI>^VIMER OF INTENTION TO PROHIBIT NORMAL DEALING 
SEC. 5. Nothing in this Act shall prevent handlers and producers 
from selecting their customers and suppliers for any reason other 
than a producers membership in or contract with an association of 
producers, nor require a handler to deal with an association of 
producers. 
ENFORCEMENT 
SEC. 6. (a) Whenever any handler has engaged or there are reason-
able grounds to believe that any handler is about to engage in any act 
or practice prohibited by section 4, a civil action for preventive relief, 
including an application for a permanent or temporary injunction, 
restraining order, or other order, may be instituted by the person 
aggrieved. In any action commenced pursuant hereto, the court, in its 
discretion, may allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney's fee 
as part of the costs. The court may provide that no restraining order 
or preliminary injunction shall issue except upon the giving of security 
by the applicant, in such sum as the court deems proper, for the pay-
ment of such costs and damages as may be incurred or suffered by any 
party who is found to have been wrongfully enjoined or restrained. 
(b) Whenever the Secretary of Agriculture has reasonable cause to 
believe that any handler, or group of handlers, has engaged in any act 
or practice prohibited by section 4, he may request the Attorney Gen-
eral to bring civil action in his behalf in the appropriate district court 
of the United States by filing with it a complaint (1) setting forth 
facts pertaining to such act or practice, and (2) requesting such pre-
ventive relief, including an application for a permanent or temporary 
injunction, restraining order, or other order against the handler, or 
handlers, responsible for such acts or practices. Upon receipt of such 
request, tlie Attorney General is authorized to file such complaint. 
(c) Any person injured in his business or property by reason of any 
violation of, or combination or conspiracy to violate, any provision of 
section 4 of this Act maj^ sue therefor in the appropriate district court 
of the United States without respect to the amount in controversy, 
and shall recover damages sustained. In any action commenced pur-
suant to this subsection, the court may allow the prevailing party a 
reasonable attorney's fee as a part of the costs. Any action to enforce 
any cause of action under this subsection shall be forever barred 
unless commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued. 
(d) The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction 
Jurisdiction. 
of proceedings instituted pursuant to this section and shall exercise 
the same without regard to whether the aggrieved party shall have 
exhausted any administrative or other remedies that may be provided 
by law. 
The provisions of this Act shall not be construed to change or 
modify existing State law nor to deprive the proper State courts of 
jurisdiction. 
SEPARABILITY 
SEC. 7. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any 
person or circumstances is held invalid, the validity of the remainder 
of the Act and of the application of such provision to other persons 
and circumstances shall not be affected thereby. 
Approved April 16, 1968, 9:40 a.m., Honolulu, Hawaii.