§8706 Referenda

Summary

Before an order can start, the Secretary must hold a vote during the 60 days right before the order’s proposed start date. Each eligible manufacturer gets one vote. A manufacturer is eligible if it made concrete masonry products for at least 180 days before the first day of the voting period. The order only becomes effective if more than half of the manufacturers who vote approve it and those who approve operate more than half of the machine cavities in use among the voting manufacturers. The Secretary decides how the vote is run, must notify manufacturers at least 30 days before voting, requires registration after that notice, sets voting procedures, and keeps ballots and voter identities confidential. If the order is approved, the Secretary must hold more referendums if the Board asks, or starting 5 years after approval and every 5 years after if at least 25 percent of eligible voters ask for one. If a referendum favors suspending or ending the order by the same majority rule, the Secretary must stop collecting assessments within 180 days and wind down programs as soon as practicable. The Board must pay the Secretary back from assessments for the cost of running any referendum.