§8706 Referenda

Summary

The Secretary must hold a vote of eligible manufacturers during the 60 days before a proposed order would take effect. Each eligible manufacturer gets one vote. A manufacturer is eligible if it made concrete masonry products for at least 180 days before the voting period. The order only becomes effective if more than half of the manufacturers who vote approve it, and those approving manufacturers together operate more than half of the machine cavities in use among voters. The Secretary decides how the vote is run, but will notify manufacturers at least 30 days before voting and require voters to register after that notice. Ballots are kept confidential. After approval, the Secretary will hold later referenda if the Board asks, or every 5 years if at least 25% of eligible voters ask. If a vote favors suspension or ending the order, the Secretary must stop collecting assessments within 180 days and wind down programs. The Board must repay the Secretary for referendum costs from assessments.