§7446 Referenda

Summary

The Secretary must hold a vote of canola and rapeseed producers to decide if an order should keep going. The first vote must happen within 30 months after the order starts. The Secretary should give wide public notice ahead of the vote using news, electronic media, county offices, and other free methods. Only producers who grew canola or rapeseed during a representative period set by the Secretary may vote. The order continues only if a majority of those voting approve. If a majority rejects it, assessment collection must stop within 180 days and the order must be ended as soon as practical. Producers can ask for more votes later. If at least 10% of producers (during the representative period) ask, the Secretary must hold another referendum of all eligible producers to see if the order should be suspended or ended. Starting 5 years after a referendum, and every 5 years after that, producers get a chance to request another vote. Requests can be made in person at county cooperative extension or county FSA offices during a set time or by mail; the Secretary must publish notice and the Board must notify producers at least 60 days before the in-person request period ends. Once enough requests are verified, the Secretary must hold the requested referendum within 1 year. Each vote can last up to 3 days, voters must certify they produced canola or rapeseed during the representative period, absentee mail ballots must be available on request, and the Secretary’s costs are paid from the assessments.