§ 3405. Wheat Industry Council

Any order issued pursuant to this chapter shall contain such terms and conditions as to provide—

(a) Establishment; powers

for the establishment and appointment by the Secretary of a Wheat Industry Council which shall consist of not more than twenty members and alternates therefor, and for the definition of its powers and duties which shall include only the powers enumerated in this section, and shall specifically include the powers to (1) administer such order in accordance with its terms and provisions, (2) make rules and regulations to effectuate the terms and provisions of such order, (3) receive, investigate, and report to the Secretary complaints of violations of such order, and (4) recommend to the Secretary amendments to such order. The term of an appointment to the Council shall be for two years with no member serving more than three consecutive terms, except that initial appointments shall be proportionately for two-year and three-year terms;

(b) Membership

that the Council and alternates therefor shall be composed of wheat producers or representatives of wheat producers, processors or representatives of processors, end product manufacturers or representatives of end product manufacturers, and consumers or representatives of consumers appointed by the Secretary from nominations submitted by eligible organizations or associations certified pursuant to section 3413 of this title, or, if the Secretary determines that a substantial number of wheat producers, processors, end product manufacturers, or consumers are not members of, or their interests are not represented by any such eligible organizations or associations then from nominations made by such wheat producers, processors, end product manufacturers, and consumers in the manner authorized by the Secretary, so that the representation of wheat producers, proc­essors, end product manufacturers, and consumers on the Council shall be equal: Provided, That in making such appointments, the Secretary shall take into account, to the extent practicable, the geographical distribution of wheat producers, processors, end product manufacturers, and consumers throughout the United States;

(c) Research and nutrition education plans

that the Council shall, subject to the provisions of clause (g) of this section, develop and submit to the Secretary for approval any research plans or projects and nutrition education plans or projects resulting from research, and that any such plan or project must be approved by the Secretary before becoming effective;

(d) Budgets

that the Council shall, subject to the provisions of clause (g) of this section, submit to the Secretary for approval budgets on a fiscal period basis of its anticipated expenses and disbursements in the administration of the order, including probable costs of research and nutrition education projects;

(e) Processed wheat assessment; payment by end product manufacturers

that, except as provided in sections 3404(d) and 3406 of this title, each end product manufacturer shall pay to the Council, pursuant to regulations issued under the order, an assessment based on the number of hundredweights of processed wheat purchased, including intra-company transfers of processed wheat, for use in the manufacture of end products, from processors, distributors, or (in the case of intra-company transfers) related companies or divisions of the same company. Such assessment shall be used for such expenses and expenditures defined above, including provisions for a reasonable reserve, and any referendum and administrative costs incurred by the Secretary and the Council under this chapter, as the Secretary finds are reasonable and likely to be incurred under the order during any period specified by the Secretary. The circumstances under which such a purchase or intra-company transfer will be deemed to have occurred will be prescribed by the Secretary in the order. Such assessment shall be calculated and set aside on the books and records of the end product manufacturer at the time of each purchase or intra-company transfer of processed wheat, and shall be remitted to the Council in the manner prescribed by the order. In order to enable end product manufacturers to calculate the amount of processed wheat they have purchased, persons selling or transferring processed wheat in combination with other ingredients to such end product manufacturers for use in the manufacture of end products, shall disclose to such end product manufacturers, as prescribed by the Secretary in the order, the amount or proportion of processed wheat contained in such products. The rate of assessment shall not exceed five cents per hundredweight of processed wheat purchased or transferred. The Secretary may maintain a suit against any person subject to such assessment for the collection of such assessment, and the several district courts of the United States are hereby vested with jurisdiction to entertain such suits regardless of the amount in controversy;

(f) Maintenance of records

that the Council shall maintain such books and records, which shall be available to the Secretary for inspection and audit, and prepare and submit such reports from time to time, to the Secretary as the Secretary may prescribe, and for appropriate accounting by the Council, with respect to the receipt and disbursement of all funds entrusted to it;

(g) Contracts

that the Council, with the approval of the Secretary, may enter into contracts or agreements for the development and conduct of the activities authorized under the order pursuant to terms and conditions specified in clauses (a) and (b) of section 3404 of this title and for the payment of the cost thereof with funds collected through the assessments pursuant to the order. Any such contract or agreement shall provide that the contractors shall develop and submit to the Council a plan or project together with a budget or budgets which shall show estimated costs to be incurred for such plan or project, and that any such plan or project shall become effective upon the approval of the Secretary, and further, shall provide that the contracting party shall keep accurate records of all of its transactions and make periodic reports to the Council of activities conducted and an accounting for funds received and expended, and such other reports as the Secretary may require;

(h) Investment of assessment funds

that the Council, with the approval of the Secretary, may invest, pending disbursement pursuant to a plan or project, funds collected through assessments authorized under this title in, and only in, obligations of the United States or any agency thereof, in general obligations of any State or any political subdivision thereof, in any interest-bearing account or certificate of deposit of a bank which is a member of the Federal Reserve System, or in obligations fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States;

(i) Lobbying restriction

that no funds collected by the Council under the order shall in any manner be used for the purpose of influencing governmental policy or action, except as provided by clause (a)(4) of this section; and

(j) Reimbursement of expenses

that the Council members, and alternates therefor, shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses incurred in performing their duties as members of the Council.

(Pub. L. 95–113, title XVII, § 1706, Sept. 29, 1977, 91 Stat. 1034.)