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(127th General Assembly)
(Substitute House Bill Number 217)
AN ACT
To amend sections 924.01, 924.02, 924.08, 924.09, and
924.99 and to enact sections 924.20 to 924.30 and
3717.53 of
the Revised Code to establish a grain
marketing
program, to provide that the Director
of Agriculture has exclusive authority to regulate
the provision of food nutrition information at
food service operations, and to provide incentives
for bioproducts innovation in the Ohio polymer
industry.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:
SECTION 1. That sections 924.01, 924.02, 924.08, 924.09, and
924.99 be amended and sections 924.20, 924.21, 924.22, 924.23,
924.24, 924.25, 924.26, 924.27, 924.28, 924.29, 924.30, and
3717.53 of the
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 924.01. As used in Chapter 924. sections 924.01 to
924.16 and 924.51 to 924.55 of the Revised Code:
(A)
"Agricultural commodity" means any food, fiber, feed,
animal, or plant, or group of foods, fibers, feeds, animals, or
plants that the director of agriculture determines to be of the
same nature, in either a natural or a processed state.
"Agricultural commodity" does not include grain as defined in
section 924.20 of the Revised Code.
(B)
"Distributor" means any person who sells, offers for
sale, markets, or distributes an agricultural commodity which
he
that the
person
has purchased or acquired directly from a
producer, or
which
he
that the
person
markets on behalf of a
producer.
(C)
"Handler" means any person who is in the business of
packing, grading, selling, offering for sale, or marketing any
agricultural commodity in commercial quantities as defined in a
marketing program.
(D)
"Marketing program" means a program which that is
established
by order of the director of agriculture pursuant to
this chapter,
to improve or expand the market for an agricultural
commodity.
(E)
"Operating committee" means a committee established to
administer a marketing program for an agricultural commodity.
(F)
"Person" means any natural person, partnership,
corporation, society, association, or fiduciary.
(G)
"Processor" means any person who is in the business of
grading, packaging, packing, canning, freezing, dehydrating,
fermenting, distilling, extracting, preserving, grinding,
crushing, juicing, or in any other way preserving or changing the
form of any agricultural commodity.
(H)
"Producer" means any person who is in the business of
producing, or causing to be produced, any agricultural commodity
for commercial sale, except that when used in reference to
nursery
stock,
"producer" also means a distributor, processor,
handler, or
retailer of nursery stock.
Sec. 924.02. The director of agriculture, subject to this
chapter sections 924.01 to 924.16 and Chapter 119. of the Revised
Code, shall do all of the following:
(A) Establish procedures by which producers of Ohio
agricultural commodities may propose, develop, and operate
marketing programs to:
(1) Promote the sale and use of their products;
(2) Develop new uses and markets for such products;
(3) Improve the methods of distributing such products to
consumers;
(4) Standardize the quality of such products for specific
uses.
(B) Adopt and enforce rules to put into effect the intent
of
sections 924.01 to 924.16 of the Revised Code;
(C) Determine the eligibility of producers to participate
in
referendums and other procedures that may be required to
establish
marketing programs for agricultural commodities.
Sec. 924.08. The director of agriculture shall monitor the
actions of each
operating committee to assure that:
(A) Each marketing program is self-supporting;.
(B) Each such committee keeps all records which that are
required for agencies of
the state;.
(C) All program operations are in accord with:
(1) The provisions of the marketing program;
(2) Regulations Rules adopted by the director;
(3) Chapter 924. Sections 924.01 to 924.16 of the Revised
Code.
(D) Administrative activities of each committee are
coordinated with those
of the department of agriculture.
Sec. 924.09. (A) Each operating committee may make
assessments upon the marketable agricultural commodity for which
the marketing program was established.
(B) No operating committee shall levy any assessment:
(1)
That was not approved by the producers affected by
the
program;
(2)
That exceeds two cents per bushel of corn, or
soybeans,
or
wheat, or two per cent of the average market price of
any
other
agricultural commodity during the preceding marketing
year
as
defined for the commodity by the United States department
of
agriculture or, if there is no such definition, by the
director of
agriculture;
(3) Against any producer who is not eligible to vote in a
referendum for the marketing program
that the operating
committee
administers.
(C) The director of agriculture may require a producer,
processor, distributor, or handler of an agricultural commodity
for which a marketing program has been established under sections
924.01 to 924.16 of the Revised Code to withhold assessments from
any amounts that
the producer, processor, distributor, or
handler
owes to producers of the commodity and,
notwithstanding
division
(B)(3) of this section, to remit them to
the director.
Any
processor, distributor, or handler who pays
for any producer
any
assessment
that is levied under authority
of this
section may
deduct the amount of
the assessment from
any
moneys
that the
processor, distributor, or handler owes
to the producer.
(D) No operating committee shall use any assessments
that
it
levies for any political or legislative purpose, or for
preferential treatment of one person to the detriment of any
other
person affected by the marketing program.
(E)
The operating committee of each marketing program
shall
refund
to a producer the
assessments
that it collects
from the
producer not later than
sixty days after receipt
of
a valid
application by
the
producer for a refund, provided
that the
producer complies with
the procedures for a refund that
were
included in the program
under division (B)(3) of section
924.04 of
the Revised Code.
In the case of the state beef marketing program, in lieu of
giving a refund to a producer, the director of the program's
operating committee may forward the refund to the cattlemen's
beef
promotion and research board pursuant to the "Beef Promotion
and
Research Act," 99 Stat. 1597 (1985), 7 U.S.C.A. 2901, and
amendments thereto, and shall credit that amount to the total
amount owed by the producer to the federal beef program. Each
application for a refund of assessments levied for a program
established after April 10, 1985 shall be made on a form provided
by the director of agriculture. Each operating committee for
such
a program shall ensure that refund forms are available where
assessments for its program are withheld.
Sec. 924.20. As used in sections 924.20 to 924.30 of the
Revised Code:
(A)
"Grain" means wheat, barley, rye, or oats.
(B) "Handler" means a person who is in the business of
agricultural commodity handling, as defined in section 926.01 of
the Revised Code, of grain.
(C)
"Producer" means a person who is in the business of
producing, or causing to be produced, grain
for commercial sale.
(D) "Rule" means a rule adopted under section 924.25 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 924.21. There is hereby established a grain marketing
program. The program shall be administered in accordance with
sections 924.20 to 924.30 of the Revised Code and rules.
Sec. 924.22. (A) For the purposes of sections 924.20 to
924.30 of the Revised Code, the director of agriculture shall hold
an election to determine the membership of a grain marketing
program operating committee in accordance with rules. The election
shall be for nine members of the operating committee.
(B) Not later than one hundred twenty days after the
effective date of this section, the director shall accept the
names of persons as nominees to serve on the operating committee.
In accepting nominations and placing names on the ballot, the
director shall follow the procedures established in rules.
(C) Not later than one hundred eighty days after the
effective date of this section, the director shall hold an
election to determine the membership of the operating committee.
In the election, eligible producers may cast votes in person at or
mail ballots to polling places designated by the director. The
director shall establish a three-day period during which eligible
producers may vote in person during normal business hours at the
designated polling places. The director or another appropriate
person shall send a ballot by ordinary first-class mail to an
eligible producer who requests one by calling the toll-free
telephone number or submitting the ballot request form provided
for in division (D) of this section, by calling one of the
designated polling places, or by any additional method that the
director may provide. A ballot returned by mail is not valid if it
is postmarked later than the third day of the election period
established by the director.
(D) For the purposes of an election of members of the grain
marketing program operating committee, the director shall cause a
ballot request form to be published at least thirty days before
the beginning of the election period established in accordance
with division (C) of this section in at least two appropriate
periodicals designated by the director and shall make the form
available for reproduction to any interested group or association.
The director also shall provide a toll-free telephone number that
producers may call to request a ballot.
(E) Following the election of the initial members of the
operating committee, the director shall hold subsequent elections
in order to maintain the membership of the operating committee as
provided in rules. The elections shall be held in the manner
established in this section and rules for the election of initial
members.
(F) Persons elected to the grain marketing program operating
committee shall hold office in accordance with rules.
Sec. 924.23. (A) The grain marketing program operating
committee shall hold at least one meeting per quarter each year.
The members of the operating committee annually shall select
officers, including a chairperson and a vice-chairperson.
(B) A majority of the members of the operating committee
constitutes a quorum. A majority of concurring votes is required
to pass a motion or approve any operating committee action.
(C) The director of agriculture, or the director's designee,
is an ex-officio voting member of the operating committee.
(D) Each member of the operating committee, except the
director or the director's designee, is entitled to actual and
necessary travel and incidental expenses while attending meetings
of the committee or while engaged in the performance of official
responsibilities as a member of the committee.
(E) A member or employee of the operating committee is not
civilly liable for any actions taken in good faith as a member or
employee, as applicable, of the committee.
Sec. 924.24. (A) The grain marketing program operating
committee shall do all of the following:
(1) Hire personnel and contract for services that are
necessary for the operation of the grain marketing program;
(2) Promote the sale of grain for the purpose of maintaining
and expanding present markets and creating new and larger
intrastate, interstate, and foreign markets for grain, and inform
the public of the uses and benefits of grain;
(3) Establish requirements and procedures for the collection
of assessments that the operating committee is required to levy
under section 924.26 of the Revised Code, including the method and
frequency of collection;
(4) Establish procedures to be used by a person who wishes to
file for a refund of the person's assessment that is levied under
section 924.26 of the Revised Code;
(5) Perform all acts and exercise all powers incidental to,
in connection with, or considered reasonably necessary, proper, or
advisable to effectuate the purposes of sections 924.20 to 924.30
of the Revised Code.
(B) The operating committee may do any or all of the
following:
(1) Conduct, and contract with others to conduct, research,
including the study, analysis, dissemination, and accumulation of
information obtained from the research or elsewhere, concerning
the marketing and distribution of grain, the storage, processing,
and transportation of grain, and the production and product
development of grain;
(2) Provide the wholesale and retail grain trade with
information relative to proper methods of handling and selling
grain;
(3) Conduct, and contract with others to conduct, market
surveys and analyses, undertake any other similar activities that
it determines are appropriate for the maintenance and expansion of
present markets and the creation of new and larger markets for
grain, and enter into contracts, in the name of the committee, to
render service in formulating and conducting plans and programs
and other contracts or agreements that the committee considers
necessary for the promotion of the sale of grain;
(4) Publish and distribute to producers and others
information relating to the grain industry;
(5) Propose to the director of agriculture rules that are
necessary for the exercise of its powers and the performance of
its duties;
(6) Establish priorities and prepare and approve a budget
consistent with estimated resources and the scope of the grain
marketing program;
(7) Receive and investigate, or cause to be investigated,
complaints concerning and violations of the grain marketing
program. The operating committee shall refer any violations to the
director for action under section 924.29 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 924.25. (A) The director of agriculture shall monitor
the activities of the grain marketing program operating committee
to ensure all of the following:
(1) The grain marketing program is self-supporting.
(2) The operating committee keeps all records that are
required for agencies of the state.
(3) The program's operations comply with all of the
following:
(a) The provisions of the program;
(b) Rules;
(c) Sections 924.20 to 924.30 of the Revised Code.
(4) Administrative activities of the committee are
coordinated with those of the department of agriculture.
(B) Not later than ninety days after the effective date of
this section, the director shall adopt rules in accordance with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that are necessary to carry out
the purposes of sections 924.20 to 924.30 of the Revised Code. The
rules shall include all of the following:
(1) Deadlines and nomination procedures for the placement of
persons on the ballot for election to the grain marketing program
operating committee;
(2) The terms of office of members of the operating
committee, including the staggering of terms for the initial
members;
(3) Insofar as possible, requirements providing for the
equitable distribution of members on the operating committee by
geographic and production areas of the state.
Sec. 924.26. (A) The grain marketing program operating
committee shall levy on producers and, as provided in division (B)
of this section, handlers the following assessments, as
applicable:
(1) One-half of one per cent of the per-bushel price of wheat
at the first point of sale;
(2) One-half of one per cent of the per-bushel price of
barley at the first point of sale;
(3) One-half of one per cent of the per-bushel price of rye
at the first point of sale;
(4) One-half of one per cent of the per-bushel price of oats
at the first point of sale.
(B) The director may require a handler to withhold
assessments from any amounts that the handler owes to producers
and to remit them to the director. A handler who pays for a
producer an assessment that is levied under this section may
deduct the amount of the assessment from any money that the
handler owes to the producer.
(C) The operating committee shall deposit all money collected
under this section with a bank or savings and loan association as
defined in sections 1101.01 and 1151.01 of the Revised Code. All
money so collected and deposited shall be used only for defraying
the costs of administration of the marketing program and for
carrying out sections 924.20 to 924.30 of the Revised Code. The
operating committee shall not use any assessments that it levies
for any political or legislative purpose or for preferential
treatment of one person to the detriment of any other person
affected by the grain marketing program.
(D) The operating committee shall refund to a producer the
assessments that it collects from the producer not later than
thirty days after receipt of a valid application by the producer
for a refund, provided that the producer complies with the
procedures for a refund established by the committee under section
924.24 of the Revised Code.
An application for a refund shall be made on a form provided
by the director. The operating committee shall ensure that refund
forms are available where assessments for the grain marketing
program are collected.
Sec. 924.27. (A) The grain marketing program operating
committee shall establish a fiscal year for the grain marketing
program. Within sixty days of the end of each fiscal year, the
operating committee shall publish an activity and financial report
and make the report available to each producer who pays the
assessment levied under section 924.26 of the Revised Code or
otherwise contributes to the program and to other interested
persons.
(B) In addition to the reports required by division (A) of
this section, the operating committee shall submit to the director
of agriculture both of the following:
(1) An annual financial statement prepared by a certified
public accountant holding a permit issued by the accountancy board
under Chapter 4701. of the Revised Code. The operating committee
shall file the financial statement with the director not more than
sixty days after the end of each fiscal year.
(2) A monthly unaudited financial statement.
Sec. 924.28. The grain marketing program may be suspended or
terminated in the same manner in which other marketing programs
are suspended or terminated under sections 924.12 and 924.13 of
the Revised Code.
Sec. 924.29. The director of agriculture may institute an
action at law or in equity that appears necessary to enforce
compliance with sections 924.20 to 924.30 of the Revised Code,
rules, or the grain marketing program that is established in
compliance with those sections and rules.
Sec. 924.30. (A) No person shall knowingly fail or refuse to
withhold or remit an assessment levied under section 924.26 of the
Revised Code.
(B) Before instituting an enforcement action for a violation
of this section, the director of agriculture shall give the
alleged violator an opportunity to present the alleged violator's
views to the director as to why the action should not be
instituted.
Sec. 924.99. Whoever violates division (A) of section 924.16
or of section 924.30 of the Revised
Code is guilty of a
misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
Sec. 3717.53. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Food nutrition information" includes the caloric, fat,
carbohydrate, cholesterol, fiber, sugar, potassium, protein,
vitamin, mineral, and sodium content of food.
(2) "Political subdivision" and "local legislation" have the
same meanings as in section 905.501 of the Revised Code.
(B) The director of agriculture has sole and exclusive
authority in this state to regulate the provision of food
nutrition information at food service operations. The director may
adopt rules for that purpose in accordance with Chapter 119. of
the Revised Code, including rules that establish a schedule of
civil penalties for violations of this section and rules adopted
under it. Subject to the approval of the joint committee on agency
rule review, portions of the rules may be adopted by referencing
all or any part of any federal regulations pertaining to the
provision of food nutrition information.
The regulation of the provision of food nutrition information
at food service operations is a matter of general statewide
interest that requires statewide regulation, and rules adopted
under this section constitute a comprehensive plan with respect to
all aspects of the regulation of the provision of food nutrition
information at food service operations in this state. Rules
adopted under this section shall be applied uniformly throughout
this state.
(C) No political subdivision shall enact, adopt, or continue
in effect local legislation relating to the provision of food
nutrition information at food service operations.
SECTION 2. That existing sections 924.01, 924.02, 924.08,
924.09, and 924.99 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
SECTION 3. In fiscal year 2009, up to
$200,000 from a
non-General Revenue Fund
source to be determined by the Director
of Development, shall be
used for the Ohio
BioProducts
Innovation Center to conduct a
material flow study,
which shall
examine biobased resources in
Ohio and the flow of
materials
through the chain of harvesting,
refining, and
production of a
commercialized product; and up to
$350,000 from a non-General
Revenue Fund source to be determined by the Director of
Development shall be used for the Ohio BioProducts Innovation
Center to
conduct a techno-economic analysis to determine the
economic
feasibility of using bioderived chemicals over
petroleum-derived
or other types of chemicals in the polymer
industry.
SECTION 4. The sections of law contained in Sections 3 and 4
of this act, and the
items of which they are composed, are
not
subject to the
referendum. Therefore, under Ohio
Constitution,
Article II,
Section 1d and section 1.471 of the
Revised Code,
the sections of
law contained in Sections 3 and 4 of this act and
the items of which they are composed
go into
immediate effect
when this act becomes law.
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