§4906 Required terms in plans

Summary

Create a National Watermelon Promotion Board and set rules for how it works. The Board must run the program, make rules to carry it out, handle complaints, and suggest changes. The Secretary of Agriculture appoints board members from nominees. The board includes equal numbers of producer and handler representatives and one public representative. If importers are covered, there must be one or more importer representatives, in proportion to the share of assessments importers pay, and at least one. If groups fail to nominate, the Secretary can appoint members. A producer who buys 25 percent or more of their own production from others, or whose total handled volume exceeds 50 percent of their own production, can only serve as a handler representative. The Secretary must review importer representation every 5 years using the prior 3 years of assessment data. Board members get no pay but are reimbursed for reasonable expenses. The Board must send the Secretary a budget for expenses like research, development, advertising, promotion, and administration. The Secretary sets assessment rates to pay those costs, following the public notice-and-comment rules in section 553 of title 5 (sections 556 and 557 do not apply). Board funds may only be used for the listed purposes, cannot promote private brands or use false claims, and cannot be used to influence government action except as allowed elsewhere. Assessments are charged per unit equally to producers and handlers; people who both produce and handle pay both assessments. If importers are covered, they pay a rate equal to the combined producer and handler rate. Producers, handlers, and covered importers who oppose the program can request a refund under Board rules, on a form and within a period of at least 90 days; if the request and proof are timely, the Board must refund within 60 days. A past referendum can have eliminated refunds for plans in effect before December 14, 1993. Importers shipping less than 150,000 pounds per year may apply for a refund based on the domestic producer rate; the Secretary can change that weight threshold after public notice and comment to reflect changes in the 5-year average yield per acre. The Board must get Secretary approval before starting programs, may enter into contracts with Secretary approval and pay with collected funds, keep records, file reports, have a full audit each fiscal period, and may make rules to certify who is a "producer" (as defined elsewhere).