§4015 Termination of a council

Summary

A council can be ended if at least three participants from the same sector file a written petition with the Secretary. Those three must together have handled at least 20 percent of the value of that sector’s fish or fish products in the 12 months before the month the petition was filed. If the Secretary agrees the petition meets those rules, the Secretary must hold a vote of all sector participants within 90 days. The Secretary must publish a notice at least 30 days before the vote and include the petition’s reasons. The council is ended if a majority of voters choose termination and those voters together represented at least 66 percent of the value handled in that 12-month period. The Secretary will set a date to close the council in an orderly way. The Secretary pays for the vote at first, but petitioners must post a bond or other security beforehand to cover costs. If the vote fails, the Secretary keeps the bond. If the vote succeeds, the Secretary first recovers vote costs from the council’s account and then, if needed, from the petitioners’ bond. After costs are paid, any money left in the council’s account must be returned on a pro rata basis to the participants who originally paid into it.