HB1859I-Introduced Bill Text
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 1859
89TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE THOMASON (163).
Read 1st time February 26, 1998 and 1000 copies ordered printed.
ANNE C. WALKER, Chief Clerk
L4019.01I
AN ACT
To repeal section 263.527, RSMo Supp. 1997, relating to boll weevil eradication, and to enact in
lieu thereof one new section relating to the same subject.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 263.527, RSMo Supp. 1997, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu
thereof, to be known as section 263.527, to read as follows:
263.527. 1. At the request of the certified organization, the department shall authorize a
statewide referendum among cotton growers on the question of whether an assessment shall be
levied upon cotton growers in the state to offset, in whole or in part, the cost of boll weevil
suppression or eradication programs authorized by sections 263.500 to 263.537 or any other law
of this state. Such program shall be designed on a regional basis so as to reflect the differences
in boll weevil infestation and the relative cost of financing a boll weevil suppression and
eradication program in the respective regions.
2. The assessment levied under sections 263.500 to 263.537 shall be based upon the number of
acres of cotton planted in the eradication area. The amount of the assessment, the period of time
for which it shall be levied, how it shall be levied, when it shall be paid, and the geographical
area to be covered by the assessment shall be determined by the department in consultation with
the official cotton board of directors established in section 263.523. The department shall
promulgate regulations pursuant to this section.
3. [All] Each affected federal Farm Service Agency certified cotton [growers and landowners]
grower with a cotton base shall be entitled to one vote in any such referendum [based upon the
number of acres owned or worked by such growers and landowners which are dedicated to the
production or manufacture of cotton, with each acre representing one vote]. The department
shall determine any questions of eligibility to vote.
4. Each eligible cotton grower shall be mailed a ballot upon which to cast a vote for or against
the boll weevil suppression and eradication program.
5. If at least two-thirds of those voting vote in favor of the assessment, then the assessment shall
be collected by the department from the affected cotton growers. All such moneys collected shall
be deposited in the boll weevil suppression and eradication fund created pursuant to section
263.537.
6. The assessments collected by the department under sections 263.500 to 263.537 shall be
promptly remitted to the certified organization under such terms and conditions as the department
shall deem necessary to ensure that such assessments are used in a sound program of eradication
or suppression of the boll weevil.
7. The certified organization shall provide to the department an annual audit of its accounts
performed by a certified public accountant.
8. The assessments collected by the department under sections 263.500 to 263.537 shall not be
state funds.
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