CHAPTER 74
HB 1348 – FINAL VERSION
12Mar2008… 0860h
2008 SESSION
08/04
HOUSE BILL 1348
AN ACT relative to the milk producers emergency relief fund.
COMMITTEE: Environment and Agriculture
This bill:
I. Repeals the emergency dairy assistance program.
II. Allows the department of agriculture, markets and food to reclaim money from milk producers who go out of business before August 1, 2009.
III. Allocates any money leftover from the emergency dairy assistance program to the general fund.
IV. Makes various changes to the milk producers emergency relief fund board.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12Mar2008… 0860h
08-2606
08/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT relative to the milk producers emergency relief fund.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
74:1 Repeal. The following are repealed:
I. RSA 184-B:1, relative to establishing the emergency dairy assistance program.
II. RSA 184-B:2, relative to administration of the emergency dairy assistance program.
III. RSA 184-B:3, relative to emergency dairy assistance program advisory board.
IV. RSA 184-B:4, relative to appeals from the emergency dairy assistance program.
V. RSA 184-B:5, relative to butterfat content.
74:2 Milk Producers Emergency Relief Fund Established. Amend RSA 184:107 to read as follows:
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. In addition, the commissioner is authorized to accept public sector and private sector grants, gifts, or donations of any kind for the purpose of funding the provisions of this subdivision. The commissioner may employ legal counsel as deemed necessary.
II. Beginning with the month of July in 2008, for each month that the base price is below the target price, each eligible participating milk producer in the state shall be eligible to 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.
IV. The commissioner shall continue to ensure compliance with agreements previously signed by milk producers under the provisions of RSA 184-B:2, V until August 1, 2009 or such later date that he or she deems advisable. If a milk producer does not comply with an agreement singed under the provisions of RSA 184-B:2, V he or she shall reimburse moneys received under this chapter to the commissioner. Such moneys shall be deposited into the general fund.
74:3 Target Price. Amend RSA 184:108 to read as follows:
184:108 Target Price. The target price for [New Hampshire] eligible participating milk producers shall be $16.94 per hundredweight and shall be adjusted as provided in RSA 184:110, II.
74:4 Milk Producers Emergency Relief Board. Amend RSA 184:109, II to read as follows:
II. The board shall meet in the first month of each year for an organizational meeting. The board shall select a chairperson and other officers it deems necessary from among its members at [its] each annual organizational meeting. The board shall also adopt procedural rules at its organizational meeting.
74:5 Milk Producers Emergency Relief Board. Amend RSA 184:109, V to read as follows:
V. The initial terms of the board members appointed 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] on January 1, 2010. Should a board member appointed under subparagraph I(b) not fill out [a] his or her term for any reason, a successor shall be appointed by the governor for the remainder of that term.
74:6 Board Powers and Duties. Amend RSA 184:110 to read as follows:
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] compensation 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.
(d) Procedures for accounting for payments made and amounts carried forward pursuant to RSA 184:107, III.
II. The board [shall] may 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 such 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 milk producers emergency relief 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.
74:7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.
Approved: May 21, 2008
Effective Date: July 1, 2008