CHAPTER 381
SB 235-FN-A – FINAL VERSION
16May2007… 1516h
07Jun2007… 1954h
06/27/07 2283CofC
06/27/07 2389eba
2007 SESSION
08/04
SENATE BILL 235-FN-A
AN ACT establishing a milk producers emergency relief fund.
SPONSORS: Sen. Gallus, Dist 1; Sen. Burling, Dist 5; Rep. King, Coos 1; Rep. Phinizy, Sull 5; Rep. Remick, Coos 2; Rep. O'Connell, Hills 6
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
This bill establishes a milk producers emergency relief fund.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
16May2007… 1516h
07Jun2007… 1954h
06/27/07 2283CofC
06/27/07 2389eba
07-0434 08/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT establishing a milk producers emergency relief fund.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
381:1 New Subdivision; Milk Producers Emergency Relief Fund. Amend RSA 184 by inserting after section 105 the following new subdivision:
Milk Producers Emergency Relief Fund
184:106 Definitions. In this subdivision:
I. “Annual production” means the total quantity of milk produced in a 12-month period beginning June 1 and ending May 31 of the next calendar year. Total quantity is expressed in hundredweight.
II. “Base price” means the price of milk calculated each month by adding to the Boston Blend Price the amount per hundredweight received by milk producers as a monthly payment from the federal government due to low milk prices.
III. “Board” means the milk producers emergency relief fund board.
IV. “Boston Blend Price” means the Suffolk County, Massachusetts statistical uniform price of milk as determined for each month by the Northeast Market Administrator of the United States Department of Agriculture and expressed per hundredweight of milk.
V. “Commissioner” means the commissioner of the department of agriculture, markets, and food.
VI. “Department” means the department of agriculture, markets, and food.
VII. “Milk producer” means “milk producer” as defined in RSA 184:79, IX, except that governmental or institutional entities shall be excluded.
VIII. “Target price” means the short-run break-even point for annual production. Target price shall be determined in accordance with RSA 184:108.
184:107 Milk Producers Emergency Relief Fund Established.
I. There is established a milk producers emergency relief fund in the office of the state treasurer. This fund shall be administered by the commissioner who shall deposit into the fund any appropriations made to the department from the general fund to be used consistent with the definitions and provisions of this subdivision, to reimburse New Hampshire producers of raw milk when the base price of milk falls below the target price. The fund shall be nonlapsing and shall be continually appropriated to the department. The treasurer may invest the proceeds of the fund as provided by law and any income earned on such investment shall be credited to the fund.
II. Beginning with the month of July in 2008, for each month that the base price is below the target price, each participating milk producer in the state shall receive an amount of money equal to the month’s production in hundredweight multiplied by the difference between the target price and the base price for the month. The commissioner shall make payment from the fund on a quarterly basis after all information necessary to compute payment amounts is available for the applicable prior 3-month period.
III. In the event there is an insufficient balance in the fund to make full payment to all producers, the commissioner shall prorate payments to each producer to the extent funds are available. Any amount not paid to a producer shall be carried forward and later paid should sufficient funds become available.
184:108 Target Price. The target price for New Hampshire milk producers shall be $16.94 per hundredweight and shall be adjusted as provided in RSA 184:110, II.
184:109 Milk Producers Emergency Relief Fund Board Established; Membership.
I. There is established the milk producers emergency relief fund board, to be composed of the following members:
(a) The commissioner.
(b) Four members appointed by the governor, who shall have no official business or professional connection or relation with any segment of the dairy industry.
(c) One member of the house of representatives who shall be a member of the house environment and agriculture committee, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(d) One member of the senate, appointed by the senate president.
II. The board shall select a chairperson from among its members at its organizational meeting.
III. The board members shall serve without compensation, except that while attending to the duties of the board, the legislative members shall be reimbursed for mileage at the legislative rate and the non-legislative members shall be reimbursed for mileage at the state employee rate.
IV. Any member of the board having an individual interest, or an interest in another business, which may conflict with an issue under consideration by the board, shall not participate in any deliberations or vote of the board on the issue before the board.
V. The initial terms of the board members under subparagraph I(b) shall expire on January 1, 2010. New board members appointed under subparagraph I(b) shall have 4-year terms. Legislative members shall serve terms coterminous with their legislative terms. Upon term expiration, each appointed member shall hold office until a successor is appointed. Board members may be reappointed to subsequent terms, including those members whose terms expire as of January 1, 2010. Should a board member under subparagraph I(b) not fill out a term for any reason, a successor shall be appointed by the governor for the remainder of that term.
184:110 Board Powers and Duties.
I. The board shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to:
(a) Developing eligibility criteria for obtaining relief from the milk producers emergency relief fund.
(b) Procedures for processing applications for compensation from the milk producers emergency relief fund and verifying claims.
(c) Procedures for calculating payments to milk producers.
II. The board shall review, and adjust as necessary, the target price at any time, but shall do so at least semi-annually by October 1 and April 1 of each year. The first such review and adjustment of the target price shall be completed no later than April 1, 2008. The board shall hold at least one public hearing prior to each adjustment of the target price. Adjustment of the target price shall be exempt from rulemaking under RSA 541-A.
III. The board shall submit to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate a report, no later than October 1 of each year, on the status of the milk producers emergency relief fund and the state of the milk industry. The report in even-numbered years shall include a request for any necessary appropriation in the next biennium from the general fund. Any appropriations to the board shall be included in the department’s operating budget for each biennium. The first such report shall be submitted no later than October 1, 2008.
IV. The board, using fund moneys with the approval of the governor and council, may employ legal counsel as necessary to perform its duties in administering the milk producers emergency relief fund.
V. The board may request that the attorney general issue subpoenas, examine witnesses, or request any other information on behalf of the board for the purposes of determining eligibility for compensation under this subdivision.
381:2 Minimum Prices. Amend RSA 434:56 to read as follows:
434:56 Establishment of Minimum Producer Dairy Prices. Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 184:106-110, the commissioner, after consulting with the [agricultural advisory] milk producers emergency relief fund board, may establish by order an equitable minimum price to be paid to [dairy] milk producers for raw milk produced in New Hampshire on the basis of the use thereof in the various classes, grades and forms. The commissioner, after consulting with the [agricultural advisory] board, may from time to time make, amend or rescind an order if the commissioner finds that the federal milk marketing order covering New Hampshire is adequate or inadequate as the case may be to ensure a stable raw milk production and distribution system in the state. [In no case shall the commissioner establish by order a price greater than the average price established for comparable classes, grades and forms of raw milk in the contiguous states.]
381:3 New Subparagraph; Application of Receipts; Emergency Milk Producers Relief Fund. Amend RSA 6:12, I(b) by inserting after subparagraph (252) the following new subparagraph:
(253) Moneys deposited in the milk producers emergency relief fund established under RSA 184:107.
381:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
Approved: July 18, 2007
Effective: July 1, 2007