§ 610. — Administration.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 7USC610]
TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 26--AGRICULTURAL ADJUSTMENT
SUBCHAPTER III--COMMODITY BENEFITS
Sec. 610. Administration
(a) Appointment of officers and employees; impounding appropriations
The Secretary of Agriculture may appoint such officers and
employees, subject to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of
chapter 53 of title 5, and such experts, as are necessary to execute the
functions vested in him by this chapter: Provided, That the Secretary
shall establish the Agricultural Adjustment Administration in the
Department of Agriculture for the administration of the functions vested
in him by this chapter: And provided further, That the State
Administrator appointed to administer this chapter in each State shall
be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate. Section 8 of Title II of the Act entitled ``An Act to maintain
the credit of the United States Government,'' approved March 20, 1933,
to the extent that it provides for the impoundment of appropriations on
account of reductions in compensation, shall not operate to require such
impoundment under appropriations contained in this chapter.
(b) State and local committees or associations of producers; handlers'
share of expenses of authority or agency
(1) The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to establish, for the
more effective administration of the functions vested in him by this
chapter, State and local committees, or associations of producers, and
to permit cooperative associations of producers, when in his judgment
they are qualified to do so, to act as agents of their members and
patrons in connection with the distribution of payments authorized to be
made under section 608 of this title. The Secretary, in the
administration of this chapter, shall accord such recognition and
encouragement to producer-owned and producer-controlled cooperative
associations as will be in harmony with the policy toward cooperative
associations set forth in existing Acts of Congress, and as will tend to
promote efficient methods of marketing and distribution.
(2)(i) Each order relating to milk and its products issued by the
Secretary under this chapter shall provide that each handler subject
thereto shall pay to any authority or agency established under such
order such handler's pro rata share (as approved by the Secretary) of
such expenses as the Secretary may find will necessarily be incurred by
such authority or agency, during any period specified by him, for the
maintenance and functioning of such authority or agency, other than
expenses incurred in receiving, handling, holding, or disposing of any
quantity of milk or products thereof received, handled, held, or
disposed of by such authority or agency for the benefit or account of
persons other than handlers subject to such order. The pro rata share of
the expenses payable by a cooperative association of producers shall be
computed on the basis of the quantity of milk or product thereof covered
by such order which is distributed, processed, or shipped by such
cooperative association of producers.
(ii) Each order relating to any other commodity or product issued by
the Secretary under this chapter shall provide that each handler subject
thereto shall pay to any authority or agency established under such
order such handler's pro rata share (as approved by the Secretary) of
such expenses as the Secretary may find are reasonable and are likely to
be incurred by such authority or agency, during any period specified by
him, for such purposes as the Secretary may, pursuant to such order,
determine to be appropriate, and for the maintenance and functioning of
such authority or agency, other than expenses incurred in receiving,
handling, holding, or disposing of any quantity of a commodity received,
handled, held, or disposed of by such authority or agency for the
benefit or account of persons other than handlers subject to such order.
The pro rata share of the expenses payable by a cooperative association
of producers shall be computed on the basis of the quantity of the
agricultural commodity or product thereof covered by such order which is
distributed, processed, or shipped by such cooperative association of
producers. The payment of assessments for the maintenance and
functioning of such authority or agency, as provided for herein, may be
required under a marketing agreement or marketing order throughout the
period the marketing agreement or order is in effect and irrespective of
whether particular provisions thereof are suspended or become
inoperative.
(iii) Any authority or agency established under an order may
maintain in its own name, or in the name of its members, a suit against
any handler subject to an order for the collection of such handler's pro
rata share of expenses. The several district courts of the United States
are vested with jurisdiction to entertain such suits regardless of the
amount in controversy.
(c) Regulations; penalty for violation
The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized, with the approval of the
President, to make such regulations with the force and effect of law as
may be necessary to carry out the powers vested in him by this chapter.
Any violation of any regulation shall be subject to such penalty, not in
excess of $100, as may be provided therein.
(d) Regulations of Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to make such regulations
as may be necessary to carry out the powers vested in him by this
chapter.
(e) Review of official acts
The action of any officer, employee, or agent in determining the
amount of and in making any payment authorized to be made under section
608 of this title shall not be subject to review by any officer of the
Government other than the Secretary of Agriculture or Secretary of the
Treasury.
(f) Geographical application
The provisions of this chapter shall be applicable to the United
States and its possessions, except the Virgin Islands, American Samoa,
the Canal Zone, and the island of Guam; except that, in the case of
sugar beets and sugarcane, the President, if he finds it necessary in
order to effectuate the declared policy of this chapter, is authorized
by proclamation to make the provisions of this chapter applicable to the
Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Canal Zone, and/or the island of
Guam.
(g) Officers; dealing or speculating in agricultural products; penalties
No person shall, while acting in any official capacity in the
administration of this chapter, speculate, directly or indirectly, in
any agricultural commodity or product thereof to which this chapter
applies, or in contracts relating thereto, or in the stock or membership
interest of any association or corporation engaged in handling,
processing, or disposing of any such commodity or product. Any person
violating this subsection shall upon conviction thereof be fined not
more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
(h) Adoption of Federal Trade Commission Act; hearings; report of
violations to Attorney General
For the efficient administration of the provisions of this chapter,
the provisions, including penalties, of sections 48, 49, and 50 of title
15, are made applicable to the jurisdiction, powers, and duties of the
Secretary in administering the provisions of this chapter, and to any
person subject to the provisions of this chapter, whether or not a
corporation. Hearings authorized or required under this chapter shall be
conducted by the Secretary of Agriculture or such officer or employee of
the Department as he may designate for the purpose. The Secretary may
report any violation of any agreement entered into under this chapter,
to the Attorney General of the United States, who shall cause
appropriate proceedings to enforce such agreement to be commenced and
prosecuted in the proper courts of the United States without delay.
(i) Cooperation with State authorities; imparting information
The Secretary of Agriculture upon the request of the duly
constituted authorities of any State is directed, in order to effectuate
the declared policy of this chapter and in order to obtain uniformity in
the formulation, administration, and enforcement of Federal and State
programs relating to the regulation of the handling of agricultural
commodities or products thereof, to confer with and hold joint hearings
with the duly constituted authorities of any State, and is authorized to
cooperate with such authorities; to accept and utilize, with the consent
of the State, such State and local officers and employees as may be
necessary; to avail himself of the records and facilities of such
authorities; to issue orders (subject to the provisions of section 608c
of this title) complementary to orders or other regulations issued by
such authorities; and to make available to such State authorities the
records and facilities of the Department of Agriculture: Provided, That
information furnished to the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to
section 608d(1) of this title shall be made available only to the extent
that such information is relevant to transactions within the regulatory
jurisdiction of such authorities, and then only upon a written agreement
by such authorities that the information so furnished shall be kept
confidential by them in a manner similar to that required of Federal
officers and employees under the provisions of section 608d(2) of this
title.
(j) Definitions
The term ``interstate or foreign commerce'' means commerce between
any State, Territory, or possession, or the District of Columbia, and
any place outside thereof; or between points within the same State,
Territory, or possession, or the District of Columbia, but through any
place outside thereof; or within any Territory or possession, or the
District of Columbia. For the purpose of this chapter (but in nowise
limiting the foregoing definition) a marketing transaction in respect to
an agricultural commodity or the product thereof shall be considered in
interstate or foreign commerce if such commodity or product is part of
that current of interstate or foreign commerce usual in the handling of
the commodity or product whereby they, or either of them, are sent from
one State to end their transit, after purchase, in another, including
all cases where purchase or sale is either for shipment to another State
or for the processing within the State and the shipment outside the
State of the products so processed. Agricultural commodities or products
thereof normally in such current of interstate or foreign commerce shall
not be considered out of such current through resort being had to any
means or device intended to remove transactions in respect thereto from
the provisions of said sections. As used herein, the word ``State''
includes Territory, the District of Columbia, possession of the United
States, and foreign nations.
(May 12, 1933, ch. 25, title I, Sec. 10, 48 Stat. 37; June 16, 1933, ch.
98, title VIII, Sec. 86, 48 Stat. 273; May 9, 1934, ch. 263, Sec. 7, 48
Stat. 675; Aug. 24, 1935, ch. 641, Secs. 16-18, 49 Stat. 767; Aug. 26,
1935, ch. 685, 49 Stat. 801; June 22, 1936, ch. 690, Sec. 601(a), 49
Stat. 1739; June 3, 1937, ch. 296, Secs. 1, 2(g)-(i), 50 Stat. 246, 248;
Proc. No. 2695, eff. July 4, 1946, 11 F.R. 7817, 60 Stat. 1352; Aug. 1,
1947, ch. 425, Sec. 3, 61 Stat. 709; Oct. 28, 1949, ch. 782, title XI,
Sec. 1106(a), 63 Stat. 972.)
References in Text
Section 8 of title II of the Act entitled ``An Act to maintain the
credit of the United States Government,'', referred to in subsec. (a),
means act Mar. 20, 1933, ch. 3, title II, Sec. 8, 48 Stat. 15, which is
not classified to the Code.
For definition of Canal Zone, referred to in subsec. (f), see
section 3602(b) of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse.
Codification
In subsec. (a), ``chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of
title 5'' substituted for ``the Classification Act of 1949'' on
authority of Pub. L. 89-554, Sec. 7(b), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 631, the
first section of which enacted Title 5, Government Organization and
Employees.
Provisions of subsec. (a), which authorized appointment of officers
and employees without regard to the civil-service laws and regulations
and which limited the maximum salary payable to any officer or employee
to not more than $10,000 per annum, were omitted from the Code as
obsolete and superseded. Such appointments are now subject to the civil
service laws unless specifically excepted by those laws or by laws
enacted subsequent to Executive Order 8743, Apr. 23, 1941, issued by the
President pursuant to act Nov. 26, 1940, ch. 919, title I, Sec. 1, 54
Stat. 1211, which covered most excepted positions into the classified
(competitive) civil service. The Order is set out as a note under
section 3301 of Title 5.
The salary limitation was superseded by the Classification Act of
1949.
References to the Philippine Islands in subsec. (f) of this section
were omitted from the Code as obsolete in view of the independence of
the Philippine Islands, proclaimed by the President of the United States
in Proc. No. 2695, which is set out as a note under section 1394 of
Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse.
Amendments
1949--Subsec. (a). Act Oct. 28, 1949, substituted ``Classification
Act of 1949'' for ``Classification Act of 1923''.
1947--Subsec. (b)(2). Act Aug. 1, 1947, among other changes inserted
subpar. (i), designated former first and second sentences of subsection
as subpar. (ii) and inserted last sentence relating to the payment of
assessments for the maintenance and functioning of such authority
thereto, and designated former third and fourth sentences of subsection
as subpar. (iii).
1937--Subsec. (c). Act June 3, 1937, Sec. 2(g), struck out last
clause of first sentence which related to regulations establishing
conversion factors for any commodity and article processed therefrom to
determine the amount of tax imposed or refunds to be made with respect
thereto.
Subsec. (f). Act June 3, 1937, Sec. 2(b), struck out sentence which
authorized the President to attach by executive order any or all
possessions to any internal-revenue district for the purpose of carrying
out provisions with respect to the collection of taxes.
Subsec. (j). Act June 3, 1937, Sec. 2(i), added subsec. (j).
1936--Subsec. (d). Act June 22, 1936, reenacted subsec. (d) for
refund purposes.
1935--Subsec. (b). Act Aug. 24, 1935, Sec. 16, among other changes
inserted ``The Secretary, in the administration of this chapter, shall
accord such recognition and encouragement to producer-owned and
producer-controlled cooperative associations as will be in harmony with
the policy toward cooperative associations set forth in existing Acts of
Congress, and as will tend to promote efficient methods of marketing and
distribution.
``(2) Each order issued by the Secretary under this chapter shall
provide that each handler subject thereto shall pay to any authority or
agency established under such order such handler's pro rata share (as
approved by the Secretary) of such expenses as the Secretary may find
will necessarily be incurred by such authority or agency, during any
period specified by him, for the maintenance and functioning of such
authority or agency, other than expenses incurred in receiving,
handling, holding, or disposing of any quantity of a commodity received,
handled, held, or disposed of by such authority or agency for the
benefit or account of persons other than handlers subject to such order.
The pro rata share of the expenses payable by a cooperative association
of producers shall be computed on the basis of the quantity of the
agricultural commodity or product thereof covered by such order which is
distributed, processed, or shipped by such cooperative association of
producers. Any such authority or agency may maintain in its own name, or
in the names of its members, a suit against any handler subject to an
order for the collection of such handler's pro rata share of expenses.
The several District Courts of the United States are hereby vested with
jurisdiction to entertain such suits regardless of the amount in
controversy.''
Subsec. (e). Act Aug. 24, 1935, Sec. 17, struck out ``rental or
benefit payment'' and inserted in lieu thereof ``payment authorized to
be made under section 8''.
Subsec. (f). Act Aug. 26, 1935, inserted sentence authorizing the
President to attach by executive order any or all possessions to any
internal-revenue district for the purpose of carrying out provisions
with respect to the collection of taxes.
Subsec. (i). Act Aug. 24, 1935, Sec. 18, added subsec. (i).
1934--Subsec. (f). Act May 9, 1934, inserted exception provision.
1933--Subsec. (a). Act June 16, 1933, inserted ``And provided
further, That the State Administrator appointed to administer this
chapter in each State shall be appointed by the President, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate'' at end of first sentence.
Repeals
Act Oct. 28, 1949, ch. 782, cited as a credit to this section, was
repealed (subject to a savings clause) by Pub. L. 89-554, Sept. 6, 1966,
Sec. 8, 80 Stat. 632, 655.
Transfer of Functions
Functions of all officers, agencies, and employees of Department of
Agriculture transferred, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of
Agriculture by 1953 Reorg. Plan No. 2, Sec. 1, eff. June 4, 1953, 18
F.R. 3219, 67 Stat. 633, set out as a note under section 2201 of this
title.
Executive and administrative functions of Federal Trade Commission,
with certain reservations, transferred to Chairman of Commission by 1950
Reorg. Plan No. 8, Sec. 1, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3175, 64 Stat.
1264, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and
Employees.
1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3, Sec. 501, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7877,
60 Stat. 1100, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, transferred functions
of Agricultural Adjustment Administration to Secretary of Agriculture.
In his letter to Congress, the President stated that purpose of this
transfer was to permit Secretary of Agriculture to continue
consolidation already effected in Production and Marketing
Administration. By temporary Executive Orders 9069 and 9577, and Ex.
Ord. No. 9280, Dec. 5, 1942, 7 F.R. 10, 179, and Ex. Ord. No. 9322, Mar.
26, 1943, 8 F.R. 3807, as amended by Ex. Ord. No. 9334, Apr. 19, 1943, 8
F.R. 5423, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration had been
successively consolidated into Agricultural Conservation and Adjustment
Administration, Food Production Administration, and War Food
Administration, which was terminated and its functions transferred to
Secretary of Agriculture by said Ex. Ord. 9577. Secretary of Agriculture
consolidated functions of Agricultural Adjustment Administration into
Production and Marketing Administration by Memorandum 1118, Aug. 18,
1945.
Validity of Section Affirmed
Act June 3, 1937, Sec. 1, affirmed, validated, and reenacted without
change the provisions of subsecs. (a), (b) (2), (c), and (f) to (i) of
this section, except for the amendments to subsecs. (c) and (f) by
section 2 of the act. See note set out under section 601 of this title.
Appropriations for Refunds and Payments of Processing and Related Taxes
and Limitations Thereon
Acts June 25, 1938, ch. 681, 52 Stat. 1150; May 6, 1939, ch. 115,
Sec. 1, 53 Stat. 661, 662; Feb. 12, 1940, ch. 28, Sec. 1, 54 Stat. 36;
Mar. 25, 1940, ch. 71, title I, 54 Stat. 61; May 31, 1941, ch. 156,
title I, Sec. 1, 55 Stat. 218; Mar. 10, 1942, ch. 178, title I, Sec. 1,
56 Stat. 156; June 30, 1943, ch. 179, title I, 57 Stat. 257; Apr. 22,
1944, ch. 175, title I, Sec. 1, 58 Stat. 201; Apr. 24, 1945, ch. 92,
title I, 59 Stat. 62; July 20, 1946, ch. 588, title I, 60 Stat. 574.
Ex. Ord. No. 10199. Regulations Without Approval of President
Ex. Ord. No. 10199, Dec. 21, 1950, 15 F.R. 9217, provided:
By virtue of the authority vested in me by the act of August 8,
1950, Public Law 673, 81st Congress [sections 301 to 303 of Title 3] I
hereby authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make without the
approval of the President such regulations with the force and effect of
law as may be necessary to carry out the powers vested in him by the
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended [this chapter].
Harry S Truman.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 608c, 671, 672, 673, 855,
1392 of this title; title 5 sections 3502, 6312, 8332.
