§7417 Referenda

Summary

The Secretary must or may hold votes to find out if the people covered by a commodity order want it to start, continue, be suspended, ended, or changed. Eligible voters are people who must pay the order’s assessment and who, during a period the Secretary sets, produced, handled, or imported the commodity. The Secretary can run an initial vote for those who would pay the assessment and may require the industry to post money to cover vote costs. If no initial vote was held, the Secretary must hold a vote no later than 3 years after assessments begin. A later vote must happen no later than 7 years after assessments begin, or when the board asks, or when at least 10 percent of eligible voters ask. The Secretary may also hold a vote anytime about continuing, suspending, ending, or changing the order. An order can say it is approved by a simple majority of voters, or by voters for approval who represent a majority of the commodity’s volume, or by both rules. The board must repay the Secretary’s expenses. The Secretary decides how the vote is run, can require advance registration by mail or in person, allows mail or in-person ballots, and must notify the industry at least 30 days before voting with instructions on registration and voting.