275.330. Procedure after petition received.

MISSOURI STATUTES AND CODES

275.330. Procedure after petition received.

Procedure after petition received.

275.330. 1. When the director receives a petition forpermission to establish a commodity merchandising council heshall:

(1) Determine the legal sufficiency of the petition;

(2) Establish a list of producers of such agriculturalcommodity or make any such existing list current;

(3) Hold a public hearing or hearings on the proposedprogram;

(4) Publish a notice to producers of the commodity to beaffected advising them:

(a) That a petition has been filed with the director;

(b) The time and place or places of the public hearing orhearings;

(d) That to be eligible to vote in the referendum theproducer must register.The director shall give notice in not less than threepublications devoted to agriculture and each of which has astatewide circulation of not less than seventy-five thousand, atleast one month prior to the hearing. The fees for thepublication of notice shall be advanced in cash to the directorby the representative group and no publication of notice shall bepaid for by state funds;

(5) Provide forms to enable producers to register, whichforms shall include the producer's name, mailing address, and theyearly average quantity of such commodity produced or handled byhim in the three years preceding the date of the notice, or insuch lesser period as a producer has produced or handled thecommodity in question;

(6) Approve the petition, in whole or as revised, ordisapprove the petition depending upon the determinations madeafter public hearing;

(7) After approval of a petition, hold a referendum amongthe producers of the commodity to determine whether or not themerchandising council is to be established.

2. The director shall determine the sufficiency of thepetition within twenty-one days after it is submitted to him andshall publish notice of the public hearing and registrationrequirements giving at least ten days' notice prior to publichearing and thirty days' notice to register prior to thereferendum.

3. If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of adoption,and if those producers voting in favor of adoption represent amajority of the production of all registered producers castingvotes, the petition is adopted.

4. If the required percentage by number and by production ofthose voting is in favor of the adoption of the proposal in thepetition, the director shall declare the proposal to be adopted.

5. A proposal to change the amount of the fee to becollected or to make other major changes may be made by atwo-thirds vote of the council or by petition of twenty-fivepercent of the commodity producers. The proposal shall then besubmitted to referendum under which the same percentages bynumber and production shall be required for approval as wererequired for establishment of the original merchandising program.However, the council, by two-thirds vote, may lower the amount ofthe fee to be collected, or may thereafter increase the amount ofthe fee to not more than the rate originally approved without areferendum vote. Such increase or decrease of fees shall notbecome effective except at the beginning of the next state fiscalyear.

6. A proposal to terminate the commodity merchandisingprogram may be made by a majority of the council or by petitionof ten percent of the registered commodity producers. Theproposed termination shall be submitted to referendum under whicha simple majority of those voting shall be required fortermination.

7. No referendum to set up a merchandising council in aparticular commodity, or to change the amount of fee, or to makeother major changes, or to terminate a commodity merchandisingcouncil may be held within twelve months of a referendumconducted for a similar purpose for the same commodity.