Title 2

A certified association may enter into agreements with like associations, commissions, or other agencies of other states for the purpose of conducting a similar ratite industry promotional program jointly with the associations, commissions, or other agencies in other states, and …

A certified association receiving and disbursing funds shall, within 60 days following the end of each calendar year, or within a period of 60 days following the close of its fiscal year, cause an audit of its books and accounts to be conducted by a certified public accountant, d…

The board may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the intent and purposes of this chapter, including rules and regulations governing the holding of a referendum by a certified association, the collection, deposit, handling, withdrawal, and disbursement of asse…

The commissioner shall, through the Department of Agriculture and Industries, enforce and collect the assessments levied upon feed sold to ratite producers by feed distributors in the state for ratite consumption and shall enforce the rules and regulations of the board. The board…

Any feed distributor who sells feed in the state that is intended for ratite consumption who willfully fails or refuses to deduct and pay to the commissioner any assessment shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined an amount equal to three times the am…

It is hereby declared to be in the interest of the public welfare that ratite producers are encouraged to act jointly and in cooperation with ratite industry related businesses and with the commissioner and the board in promoting and stimulating through research, education, adver…

No association, meeting, or activity undertaken pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and intended to benefit the Alabama ratite industry shall be deemed or considered illegal or in restraint of trade. (Acts 1997, No. 97-638, p. 1163, §3.)

It is hereby further declared to be in the public interest and highly advantageous to the economy of the state that ratite producers be permitted by referendum, as provided in this chapter, to levy upon themselves an assessment and to provide for the collection of the assessment …

(a) Any Alabama nonprofit association of ratite producers organized for the promotion and betterment of the ratite industry may apply to the board for certification and approval for the purpose of conducting a referendum among ratite producers of the state, on the question of lev…

(a) Upon certification by the board, an association may hold and conduct on the part of the Alabama ratite producers a referendum on the question of whether to levy upon themselves an assessment. The referendum shall be conducted on a statewide or area basis as determined by the …

(a) If in any referendum, a majority of the ratite producers of the geographic area in which the referendum is conducted and eligible to participate and voting in the referendum, vote in favor of the levying and collection of the assessment proposed in the referendum, then the as…

In the event a referendum levying an assessment is passed, the commissioner shall within 30 days notify in writing feed distributors that on or after the date designated in the notice, which shall be not less than 30 nor more than 60 days after the mailing of the notice by the co…

The commissioner shall remit to the treasurer of the certified association, on a quarterly basis between the first and fifteenth day of January, April, July, and October of each year, all assessment moneys collected by the commissioner, less an amount not to exceed three percent …