§4613 Implementation of Amendments Made by Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998

Summary

Require the Secretary to write a new order that puts into effect the changes made by section 605 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (except subsection (m)). The Secretary must publish a proposed order within 90 days after June 23, 1998 and allow public comment. Then, within 240 days after that publication, the Secretary must issue a final order that takes the comments into account and matches the section 605 changes. Once the final order is issued, the Secretary must hold a single referendum only to decide if the amended order will take effect. No single part of the order can be voted on separately. Only persons who were producers, producer-packers, importers, or handlers during the two calendar years before the vote may vote. Producer-packers, importers, and handlers vote as if the amended order had been in place and they had owed the higher assessments during that two-year “representative” period. Vote weights and the amounts of honey tied to votes follow the rules in section 4611; a handler’s vote uses the amount they handled in that period that would have been assessed. The amended order becomes effective only if the Secretary finds it approved under section 4611. If the vote fails, the order that was in effect on June 23, 1998 stays in force, and the Secretary may change the order to match the rules that applied before June 23, 1998. The Secretary may also try again to issue an amended order using the usual procedures, but any change that is subject to a referendum must be approved under section 4611 before it takes effect. If the amended order is approved, any referendum required by section 4612(c) cannot be held until at least 5 years after this referendum.