Sec. 901.04. (A) The department of agriculture may
solicit | 9 |
or accept
from any public or private source
and shall deposit in | 10 |
the state treasury to the credit of the agro
Ohio fund any grant, | 11 |
gift, devise, or bequest of money made to or
for the use of the | 12 |
department
in fulfilling its statutory duties or for promoting any | 13 |
part of the
public welfare that is under the supervision and | 14 |
control of the
department. The department
of agriculture may also | 15 |
accept and
hold on behalf of
Ohiothis state any grant, gift, | 16 |
devise, or bequest of
other property made to or for the use of the | 17 |
department or for
promoting any part of the public welfare that is | 18 |
under the
supervision and control of the department. The | 19 |
department may
contract for and carry out the terms and conditions | 20 |
of any
devise, grant, gift, or donation that may be so made. | 21 |
Sec. 924.07. (A) When the producers of an agricultural | 44 |
commodity who vote in a referendum favor a proposed marketing | 45 |
program, the director of agriculture shall order the program | 46 |
established and, if the marketing program does not provide for
the | 47 |
election of an operating committee, appoint an operating
committee | 48 |
consisting of
an odd number of producers of
saidthe
commodity to | 49 |
administer the program. Each operating committee
shall consist of | 50 |
not less than
fivethree nor more than fifteen
membersproducers. | 51 |
(B) Of the members first appointed to an operating | 52 |
committee, the director shall appoint approximately one-third for | 53 |
one-year terms, approximately one-third for two-year terms, and | 54 |
the remainder for three-year terms. Thereafter,
hethe director | 55 |
shall appoint
each member for a three-year term unless the | 56 |
appointee is to fill
a vacancy in which case
hethe appointee | 57 |
shall be appointed for
the unexpired
term. Each such subsequent | 58 |
appointment shall be made prior to
the expiration date of the | 59 |
preceding or vacant term. | 60 |
(D) The director shall appoint members of each operating | 64 |
committee from a list of candidates recommended by the producers | 65 |
of the agricultural commodity for which the marketing program is | 66 |
established. Insofar as possible the members shall be equitably | 67 |
distributed by geographic and production areas. Any list of | 68 |
candidates recommended to the director by producers shall include | 69 |
not less than twice as many candidates as the number of members | 70 |
which are to be appointed, but in no case shall a list include | 71 |
fewer than three names. | 72 |
(F) Each member of an operating committee, except the | 76 |
director or
histhe director's designee, is entitled to actual
and | 77 |
necessary
travel and incidental expenses while attending meetings | 78 |
of the
committee or while engaged in the performance of official | 79 |
responsibilities delegated to the committee. No member of such a | 80 |
committee shall receive in excess of thirty dollars per day, in | 81 |
addition to such travel and incidental expenses, or for more than | 82 |
twenty-four days per year for duties performed as a member of
such | 83 |
the committee. | 84 |
(C) The director of agriculture may require a producer, | 102 |
processor, distributor, or handler of an agricultural commodity | 103 |
for which a marketing program has been established under sections | 104 |
924.01 to 924.16 of the Revised Code to withhold assessments from | 105 |
any amounts that
hethe producer, processor, distributor, or | 106 |
handler owes to producers of the commodity and,
notwithstanding | 107 |
division (B)(3) of this section, to remit them to
the director. | 108 |
Any processor, distributor, or handler who pays
for any producer | 109 |
any assessment
whichthat is levied under authority
of this | 110 |
section, may deduct the amount of
suchthe assessment from
any | 111 |
moneys
which hethat the processor, distributor, or handler owes | 112 |
to the producer. | 113 |
(E)
EachThe operating committee of each marketing program | 118 |
shall
require a refund
ofto a producer the
assessments
collected | 119 |
by its operating committee under this
sectionthat it collects | 120 |
from the producer not later than
thirtysixty days after receipt | 121 |
of
ana valid
application by
athe
producer for a refund, provided | 122 |
that the producer complies with
the procedures for a refund that | 123 |
were included in the program
under division (B)(3) of section | 124 |
924.04 of the Revised Code. | 125 |
In the case of the state beef marketing program, in lieu of | 126 |
giving a refund to a producer, the director of the program's | 127 |
operating committee may forward the refund to the cattlemen's
beef | 128 |
promotion and research board pursuant to the "Beef Promotion
and | 129 |
Research Act," 99 Stat. 1597 (1985), 7 U.S.C.A. 2901, and | 130 |
amendments thereto, and shall credit that amount to the total | 131 |
amount owed by the producer to the federal beef program. Each | 132 |
application for a refund of assessments levied for a program | 133 |
established after April 10, 1985 shall be made on a form provided | 134 |
by the director of agriculture. Each operating committee for
such | 135 |
a program shall ensure that refund forms are available where | 136 |
assessments for its program are withheld. | 137 |
(B) At least once in each five years of operation, or at
any | 143 |
time upon written petition by the lesser of twenty per cent
or one | 144 |
thousand of the producers affected by a marketing program,
the | 145 |
director shall
hold a hearing as prescribed in Chapter 119.give | 146 |
public notice by analogy to division (A) of and conduct a hearing | 147 |
under division (C) of section 119.03 of the
Revised Code to | 148 |
consider the continuation of the program.
The director shall file | 149 |
a copy of the public notice with the director of the legislative | 150 |
service commission for purposes of publishing the public notice in | 151 |
the register of Ohio. | 152 |
(C) Within thirty days after the close of any hearing to | 153 |
consider the continuation of a marketing program, the director
of | 154 |
agriculture
shall recommend continuation or termination of the | 155 |
program, and
shall give public notice, and notify each producer of | 156 |
record, all
parties appearing at the hearing, and other interested | 157 |
parties,
of
histhe recommendation
by publication in the register | 158 |
of Ohio. The director also shall
provide notice of the | 159 |
recommendation to any person who, in
writing, has requested | 160 |
notification and may give whatever other notice the director | 161 |
reasonably considers necessary to ensure that notice is | 162 |
constructively given to all persons who are affected by the | 163 |
program. | 164 |
(D)
When the director recommends termination of a
marketing | 165 |
program established before April 10, 1985, he shall,
within | 166 |
forty-five days, conduct a referendum to determine whether
the | 167 |
affected producers favor the proposed termination. The
affected | 168 |
producers favor the termination of the program if
fifty-one per | 169 |
cent or more, by number, of the producers who vote
in the | 170 |
referendum, vote in favor of termination of the program
and | 171 |
represent fifty-one per cent or more of the volume of the
affected | 172 |
agricultural commodity which was produced in the
preceding | 173 |
marketing year by all producers who voted in the
referendum. | 174 |
(E) When the director recommends termination of a
marketing | 175 |
program
established on or after April 10, 1985,
hethe director | 176 |
shall, within forty-five days, conduct a referendum to determine | 177 |
whether the affected producers favor the proposed termination.
The | 178 |
affected producers favor the termination of the program if a | 179 |
majority of the producers who vote in the referendum vote in
favor | 180 |
of termination of the program. | 181 |