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U.S. Code as of:
01/03/05
Section 3405. Wheat Industry Council
Any order issued pursuant to this chapter shall contain such
terms and conditions as to provide -
(a) Establishment; powers
for the establishment and appointment by the Secretary of a
Wheat Industry Council which shall consist of not more than
twenty members and alternates therefor, and for the definition of
its powers and duties which shall include only the powers
enumerated in this section, and shall specifically include the
powers to (1) administer such order in accordance with its terms
and provisions, (2) make rules and regulations to effectuate the
terms and provisions of such order, (3) receive, investigate, and
report to the Secretary complaints of violations of such order,
and (4) recommend to the Secretary amendments to such order. The
term of an appointment to the Council shall be for two years with
no member serving more than three consecutive terms, except that
initial appointments shall be proportionately for two-year and
three-year terms;
(b) Membership
that the Council and alternates therefor shall be composed of
wheat producers or representatives of wheat producers, processors
or representatives of processors, end product manufacturers or
representatives of end product manufacturers, and consumers or
representatives of consumers appointed by the Secretary from
nominations submitted by eligible organizations or associations
certified pursuant to section 3413 of this title, or, if the
Secretary determines that a substantial number of wheat
producers, processors, end product manufacturers, or consumers
are not members of, or their interests are not represented by any
such eligible organizations or associations then from nominations
made by such wheat producers, processors, end product
manufacturers, and consumers in the manner authorized by the
Secretary, so that the representation of wheat producers,
processors, end product manufacturers, and consumers on the
Council shall be equal: Provided, That in making such
appointments, the Secretary shall take into account, to the
extent practicable, the geographical distribution of wheat
producers, processors, end product manufacturers, and consumers
throughout the United States;
(c) Research and nutrition education plans
that the Council shall, subject to the provisions of clause (g)
of this section, develop and submit to the Secretary for approval
any research plans or projects and nutrition education plans or
projects resulting from research, and that any such plan or
project must be approved by the Secretary before becoming
effective;
(d) Budgets
that the Council shall, subject to the provisions of clause (g)
of this section, submit to the Secretary for approval budgets on
a fiscal period basis of its anticipated expenses and
disbursements in the administration of the order, including
probable costs of research and nutrition education projects;
(e) Processed wheat assessment; payment by end product
manufacturers
that, except as provided in sections 3404(d) and 3406 of this
title, each end product manufacturer shall pay to the Council,
pursuant to regulations issued under the order, an assessment
based on the number of hundredweights of processed wheat
purchased, including intra-company transfers of processed wheat,
for use in the manufacture of end products, from processors,
distributors, or (in the case of intra-company transfers) related
companies or divisions of the same company. Such assessment shall
be used for such expenses and expenditures defined above,
including provisions for a reasonable reserve, and any referendum
and administrative costs incurred by the Secretary and the
Council under this chapter, as the Secretary finds are reasonable
and likely to be incurred under the order during any period
specified by the Secretary. The circumstances under which such a
purchase or intra-company transfer will be deemed to have
occurred will be prescribed by the Secretary in the order. Such
assessment shall be calculated and set aside on the books and
records of the end product manufacturer at the time of each
purchase or intra-company transfer of processed wheat, and shall
be remitted to the Council in the manner prescribed by the order.
In order to enable end product manufacturers to calculate the
amount of processed wheat they have purchased, persons selling or
transferring processed wheat in combination with other
ingredients to such end product manufacturers for use in the
manufacture of end products, shall disclose to such end product
manufacturers, as prescribed by the Secretary in the order, the
amount or proportion of processed wheat contained in such
products. The rate of assessment shall not exceed five cents per
hundredweight of processed wheat purchased or transferred. The
Secretary may maintain a suit against any person subject to such
assessment for the collection of such assessment, and the several
district courts of the United States are hereby vested with
jurisdiction to entertain such suits regardless of the amount in
controversy;
(f) Maintenance of records
that the Council shall maintain such books and records, which
shall be available to the Secretary for inspection and audit, and
prepare and submit such reports from time to time, to the
Secretary as the Secretary may prescribe, and for appropriate
accounting by the Council, with respect to the receipt and
disbursement of all funds entrusted to it;
(g) Contracts
that the Council, with the approval of the Secretary, may enter
into contracts or agreements for the development and conduct of
the activities authorized under the order pursuant to terms and
conditions specified in clauses (a) and (b) of section of this
title and for the payment of the cost thereof with funds
collected through the assessments pursuant to the order. Any such
contract or agreement shall provide that the contractors shall
develop and submit to the Council a plan or project together with
a budget or budgets which shall show estimated costs to be
incurred for such plan or project, and that any such plan or
project shall become effective upon the approval of the
Secretary, and further, shall provide that the contracting party
shall keep accurate records of all of its transactions and make
periodic reports to the Council of activities conducted and an
accounting for funds received and expended, and such other
reports as the Secretary may require;
(h) Investment of assessment funds
that the Council, with the approval of the Secretary, may
invest, pending disbursement pursuant to a plan or project, funds
collected through assessments authorized under this title in, and
only in, obligations of the United States or any agency thereof,
in general obligations of any State or any political subdivision
thereof, in any interest-bearing account or certificate of
deposit of a bank which is a member of the Federal Reserve
System, or in obligations fully guaranteed as to principal and
interest by the United States;
(i) Lobbying restriction
that no funds collected by the Council under the order shall in
any manner be used for the purpose of influencing governmental
policy or action, except as provided by clause (a)(4) of this
section; and
(j) Reimbursement of expenses
that the Council members, and alternates therefor, shall serve
without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for their
reasonable expenses incurred in performing their duties as
members of the Council.
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