PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Secretary must offer every tobacco quota holder a contract that ends tobacco marketing quotas and related price supports and pays the holder for that ending. To get the payment, a person must apply to the Secretary with whatever information, form, and timing the Secretary requires. The payment is meant to be full and fair compensation for ending the quota and price support. The Secretary will set a base quota for each eligible holder. For tobacco quotas measured in pounds, the base is the basic quota on the same farm for the 2002 marketing year. For quotas measured by acres, the base equals the 2002 basic allotment for the farm multiplied by the county average yield per acre for 2001–2003. If a farm sale or a planned permanent transfer of quota existed around October 22, 2004, the Secretary will decide how to divide or assign eligibility fairly based on who owned the receiving farm on or before that date. The total payment equals $7.00 per pound times the base quota. Payments are made in ten equal installments, one each fiscal year from 2005 through 2014 (each installment is 1/10 of the total). If a quota holder who is entitled to payments dies and is survived by a spouse or dependents, the payments go to the surviving spouse; if there is no surviving spouse, they go to the estate.

Title 7, §518a

Agriculture, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Contract offered

The Secretary shall offer to enter into a contract with each tobacco quota holder under which the tobacco quota holder shall be entitled to receive payments under this section in exchange for the termination of tobacco marketing quotas and related price support under the amendments made by section 611 and 612. The contract payments shall constitute full and fair consideration for the termination of such tobacco marketing quotas and related price support.

(b)Eligibility

To be eligible to enter into a contract to receive a contract payment under this section, a person shall submit to the Secretary an application containing such information as the Secretary may require to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the person is a tobacco quota holder. The application shall be submitted within such time, in such form, and in such manner as the Secretary may require.

(c)Base quota level

(1)Establishment

The Secretary shall establish a base quota level applicable to each tobacco quota holder identified under subsection (b).

(2)Poundage quotas

Subject to adjustment under subsection (d), for each kind of tobacco for which the marketing quota is expressed in pounds, the base quota level for each tobacco quota holder shall be equal to the basic quota for quota tobacco established for the 2002 tobacco marketing year under a marketing quota program established under part I of subtitle B of title III of the Agriculture Adjustment Act of 1938 [7 U.S.C. 1311 et seq.] on the farm owned by the tobacco quota holder.

(3)Marketing quotas other than poundage quotas

Subject to adjustment under subsection (d), for each kind of tobacco for which there is marketing quota or allotment on an acreage basis, the base quota level for each tobacco quota holder shall be the quantity equal to the product obtained by multiplying—

(A)the basic tobacco farm marketing quota or allotment for the 2002 marketing year established by the Secretary for quota tobacco owned by the tobacco quota holder; by

(B)the average production yield, per acre, for the period covering the 2001, 2002, and 2003 crop years for that kind of tobacco in the county in which the quota tobacco is located.

(d)Treatment of certain contracts and agreements

(1)Effect of purchase contract

If there was an agreement for the purchase of all or part of a farm described in subsection (c) as of October 22, 2004, and the parties to the sale are unable to agree to the disposition of eligibility for contract payments, the Secretary, taking into account any transfer of quota that has been agreed to, shall provide for the equitable division of the contract payments among the parties by adjusting the determination of who is the tobacco quota holder with respect to particular pounds or allotment of the quota.

(2)Effect of agreement for permanent quota transfer

If the Secretary determines that there was in existence, as of the day before October 22, 2004, an agreement for the permanent transfer of quota, but that the transfer was not completed by that date, the Secretary shall consider the tobacco quota holder to be the party to the agreement that, as of that date, was the owner of the farm to which the quota was to be transferred.

(e)Contract payments

(1)Calculation of total payment amount

The total amount of contract payments to which an eligible tobacco quota holder is entitled under this section, with respect to a kind of tobacco, shall be equal to the product obtained by multiplying—

(A)$7.00 per pound; by

(B)the base quota level of the tobacco quota holder determined under subsection (c) with respect to that kind of tobacco.

(2)Annual payment

During each of fiscal years 2005 through 2014, the Secretary shall make a contract payment under this section to each eligible tobacco quota holder, with respect to a kind of tobacco, in an amount equal to ⅒ of the amount determined under paragraph (1) for the tobacco quota holder for that kind of tobacco.

(f)Death of tobacco quota holder

If a tobacco quota holder who is entitled to contract payments under this section dies and is survived by a spouse or one or more dependents, the right to receive the payments shall transfer to the surviving spouse or, if there is no surviving spouse, to the estate of the tobacco quota holder.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 611 and 612, referred to in subsec. (a), are section 611 and 612 of Pub. L. 108–357, which amended section 609, 1282, 1301, 1303, 1361, 1371, 1373, 1375, 1378, 1379, 1428, 1433c–1, and 1441 of this title and section 714c of Title 15, Commerce and Trade, repealed section 511r, 515 to 515k, 625, 1311 to 1314, 1314–1, 1314b, 1314b–1, 1314b–2, 1314c to 1314j, 1315, 1316, 1445, 1445–1, and 1445–2 of this title, and repealed provisions set out as a note under section 1314c of this title. Part I of subtitle B of title III of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), was classified to subpart I (§ 1311 et seq.) of part B of subchapter II of chapter 35 of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 108–357, title VI, § 611(a), Oct. 22, 2004, 118 Stat. 1522. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1281 of this title and Tables.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section applicable to the 2005 and subsequent crops of tobacco, see section 643 of Pub. L. 108–357, set out as a note under section 518 of this title.

§518a Contract Payments to Tobacco Quota Holders