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Alabama House Bill HB180

Alabama 2023 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB180 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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33 350WEE-1
44 By Representatives Fidler, Marques, Sorrells, Clouse, Mooney,
55 Travis, Rehm, Standridge, Sells, Forte, Givens, Holk-Jones,
66 Lee, Hammett, Shirey, Gidley, Paramore, Baker, Crawford
77 RFD: Agriculture and Forestry
88 First Read: 22-Mar-23
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1515 7 350WEE-1 03/21/2023 ZAK (L)cr 2023-782
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1717 SYNOPSIS:
1818 Under existing law, an organization certified by
1919 the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries to
2020 conduct a referendum on levying an assessment to
2121 promote a commodity must follow certain requirements
2222 for how notice must be given for the referendum.
2323 Existing law specifies the amount of time an
2424 assessment on the sale of nuts, bulbs, fruits, or
2525 vegetables is effective before another referendum is
2626 required.
2727 Under existing law, the Commissioner of
2828 Agriculture and Industries may deduct a percentage of
2929 the sums remitted to him or her for distribution
3030 pursuant to the assessment charged on the sale of nuts,
3131 bulbs, fruits, and vegetables.
3232 This bill would revise the requirements for how
3333 notice must be given for a referendum on an assessment
3434 regarding nuts, bulbs, fruits, and vegetables in
3535 general and regarding peanuts specifically.
3636 This bill would change the length of time an
3737 assessment on the sale of nuts, bulbs, fruits, and
3838 vegetables is in effect before a referendum is needed.
3939 This bill would change the percentage the
4040 Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries may deduct
4141 from the sum of the assessment on the sale of nuts,
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7171 bulbs, fruits, and vegetables for administrative costs.
7272 Existing law also provides for the length of
7373 time between audits of the books and accounts of an
7474 organization certified to conduct a referendum
7575 regarding an assessment on sheep and goat sales.
7676 This bill would change the length of time
7777 between audits of the books and accounts of an
7878 organization certified to conduct a referendum
7979 regarding an assessment on the sale of sheep and goats.
8080 This bill would also make nonsubstantive,
8181 technical revisions to update the existing code
8282 language to current style.
8383 A BILL
8484 TO BE ENTITLED
8585 AN ACT
8686 Relating to Agriculture, to amend Sections 2-8-126,
8787 2-8-128, 2-8-131, 2-8-133, 2-8-134, 2-8-135, and 2-8-323, Code
8888 of Alabama 1975, to revise the requirements for giving notice
8989 of a referendum on an assessment to be used to promote peanuts
9090 specifically as well as other nuts, bulbs, fruits, and
9191 vegetables; to revise the time an assessment on the sale of
9292 nuts, bulbs, fruits, or vegetables is effective between
9393 referendums; to revise the percentage the Commissioner of
9494 Agriculture and Industries may deduct from the sum of the
9595 assessment on nuts, bulbs, fruit, and vegetables; to revise
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125125 the length of time between audits of an organization certified
126126 to conduct a referendum regarding an assessment on the sale of
127127 sheep and goats; and to make nonsubstantive, technical
128128 revisions to update the existing code language to current
129129 style.
130130 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
131131 Section 1. Sections 2-8-126, 2-8-128, 2-8-131, 2-8-133,
132132 2-8-134, 2-8-135, and 2-8-323, Code of Alabama 1975, are
133133 amended to read as follows:
134134 "§2-8-126
135135 When a referendum has been authorized as provided in
136136 Section 2-8-125, the certified organization shall, before
137137 calling and announcing such the referendum, fix, determine ,
138138 and publicly announce, at least 30 days before the date
139139 determined upon for such the referendum, the date, hours , and
140140 polling places for voting in such the referendum, the amount
141141 and basis of the assessment proposed to be collected, the
142142 means by which such the assessment shall be collected if
143143 authorized by the growers , and the general purposes to which
144144 said the amount so collected shall be applied. Such
145145 noticeNotice shall be published by the certified association
146146 through the medium of an established farm publication, and
147147 written notice thereof shall be given to each county extension
148148 chairman in the area covered by the referendum. Provided,
149149 however, any referendum called under the provisions of this
150150 article for the assessment of peanuts, notice shall also be
151151 published once a week in a newspaper in the county in which
152152 USDA inspection and buying points for peanuts are located for
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182182 three successive weeks next preceding the referendum. No
183183 annual assessment levied under the provisions of this article
184184 shall exceed three fourths of one percent of the value of the
185185 year's production of such agricultural commodity grown by any
186186 farmer, producer , or grower included in the group to which
187187 such the referendum is submitted."
188188 "§2-8-128
189189 Any referendum conducted under the provisions of this
190190 article may be held either on an area or statewide basis, as
191191 may be determined by the certified organization before the
192192 referendum is called. The referendum , either on an area or
193193 statewide basis, may be participated in by all producers
194194 engaged in the production of the agricultural commodity on a
195195 commercial basis who shall be are subject to any assessments
196196 levied under this article and who produced the agricultural
197197 commodity in any of the three crop years immediately preceding
198198 the referendum. In the referendum, individuals eligible for
199199 participation shall vote upon the question of whether or not
200200 there shall be levied an annual assessment for a period of
201201 three five years in the amount set forth in the call for the
202202 referendum on the agricultural product covered by the
203203 referendum."
204204 "§2-8-131
205205 The hours, voting places , and rules and regulations for
206206 any referendum authorized in this article with respect to any
207207 of the agricultural commodities herein referred to and the
208208 area in which such the referendum shall be held shall be
209209 established and determined by the organization of the
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239239 commercial growers and producers of such agricultural
240240 commodity duly certified by the State Board of Agriculture and
241241 Industries as provided in this article. The said referendum
242242 date, area, hours, voting places , and rules and regulations
243243 with respect to the holding of such the referendum shall be
244244 published in accordance with Section 2-8-126 by such
245245 organization conducting the same through the medium of the
246246 public press in the State of Alabama at least 30 days before
247247 the holding of such referendum, and direct written notice
248248 thereof shall likewise be given to farm organizations within
249249 the State of Alabama and to each county agent in any county in
250250 which such agricultural product is grown . Such notice Notice
251251 shall likewise contain a statement of the amount of annual
252252 assessment proposed to be levied, which shall not exceed the
253253 amount specified in Section 2-8-126, and shall likewise state
254254 the method by which such the assessment shall be collected and
255255 how the proceeds thereof shall be administered and the
256256 purposes to which the same shall be applied, which purposes
257257 shall be in keeping with the provisions of this article."
258258 "§2-8-133
259259 (a)In the event a majority of the producers eligible
260260 for participation in a referendum conducted under the
261261 provisions of this article and voting therein , shall vote in
262262 favor of the assessment, then the assessment shall be
263263 collected annually for three five years, as set forth in the
264264 call for the referendum, and the collection of the assessment
265265 shall be under such method, rules, and regulations as may be
266266 determined by the organization conducting the referendum. The
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296296 assessment collected shall be paid into the treasury of the
297297 organization conducting the referendum, to be used together
298298 with other funds from other sources, including donations from
299299 individuals, concerns, or corporations or other entities and
300300 grants from state or governmental agencies, for the purpose of
301301 promoting and stimulating encouraging, by research, education,
302302 advertising, and other methods, the increased use and sale,
303303 domestic and foreign, of the agricultural commodity covered by
304304 the referendum.
305305 (b) Upon the request of the duly certified organization
306306 of producers of any agricultural products referred to in this
307307 article, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall
308308 notify, by registered or certified mail, all persons , firms,
309309 and corporations engaged in the business of purchasing any
310310 such agricultural products in this state that on and after the
311311 date specified in the letter the assessments shall be deducted
312312 by the purchaser or his or her agent or representative from
313313 the purchase price of any such agricultural products. The
314314 assessment deducted shall, on or before the twentieth day of
315315 the month following the deduction, shall be remitted by the
316316 purchaser to the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries,
317317 who shall thereupon , by the end of the month, shall pay the
318318 amount of the assessments to the duly certified organization
319319 entitled thereto. The books and records of all the purchasers
320320 of agricultural products shall be open at all times during
321321 regular business hours be open for inspection by the
322322 Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries or his or her duly
323323 authorized agents. The Commissioner of Agriculture and
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353353 Industries shall be entitled to deduct five three percent of
354354 all sums remitted to him or her under this section to defray
355355 the expense incident to the administration of this article.
356356 All amounts deducted shall be paid into the State Treasury and
357357 be credited to the account of the Agricultural Fund."
358358 "§2-8-134
359359 In the event a referendum conducted as provided in this
360360 article shall not be supported by a majority of those eligible
361361 for participation therein and voting therein, then the
362362 organization conducting the referendum shall have full power
363363 and authority to may call another referendum for the purposes
364364 set forth in this article no earlier than 90 days after the
365365 preceding referendum , whether the referendum was conducted
366366 before or after April 17, 2002 , on the question of an annual
367367 assessment for three five years."
368368 "§2-8-135
369369 In the event a referendum conducted as provided in this
370370 article is carried by the vote of a majority of the eligible
371371 producers participating therein and assessments in pursuance
372372 thereof are levied annually for three five years as set forth
373373 in the call for the referendum, then the organization
374374 conducting the referendum shall, in its discretion, have full
375375 power and authority to may call and conduct, during the third
376376 fifth year of the period, another referendum in which the
377377 producers of such agricultural commodity shall vote upon the
378378 question of whether or not assessments shall be continued for
379379 the next ensuing three five years. The certified organization
380380 shall have the full power and authority to may hold subsequent
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410410 referendums it deems necessary to alter or modify the terms of
411411 the existing assessment. Intermediary referendums shall comply
412412 with the terms and conditions of the original request. In the
413413 event the intermediary referendum fails to receive a favorable
414414 vote, the previously approved assessment shall remain in
415415 force, and subsequent referendums shall be conducted as
416416 provided in this article. However, if the intermediary
417417 referendum receives an affirmative vote, no subsequent
418418 referendum may be conducted until the passage of one year."
419419 "§2-8-323
420420 (a) A certified association receiving and disbursing
421421 funds, following the close of its fiscal year every two five
422422 years, shall cause an audit of its books and accounts for the
423423 two five-year period to be conducted by a certified public
424424 accountant, disclosing receipts, disbursements, expenditures,
425425 and other related information, and a copy of the auditor's
426426 report shall be forwarded to the board for inspection and
427427 review. The Department of Examiners of Public Accounts may
428428 audit, review, and investigate the receipts and disbursements
429429 of the funds in the same manner that those duties are
430430 performed for examination and audits of agencies and
431431 departments of the state.
432432 (b) Any examination or audit required by this section
433433 shall be open to public inspection.
434434 (c) Within 90 days following the close of a certified
435435 association's fiscal year, if it has received any funds from
436436 assessments levied and collected pursuant to this article, the
437437 association shall forward a copy of a financial statement to
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467467 the state board showing the amount received and collected and
468468 the amount spent for each project and item. The statement
469469 shall be available for public inspection."
470470 Section 2. This act shall become effective on the first
471471 day of the third month following its passage and approval by
472472 the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.
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