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1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 172C.1 DEFINITIONS.
1 2 1. "Livestock" means live cattle, swine, or sheep.
1 3 2. "Packer" means a person who is engaged in the business
1 4 of slaughtering livestock or receiving, purchasing, or
1 5 soliciting livestock for slaughtering, the meat products of
1 6 which are directly or indirectly to be offered for resale or
1 7 for public consumption. As used in this chapter, "packer"
1 8 includes an agent of the packer engaged in buying or
1 9 soliciting livestock for slaughter on behalf of a packer.
1 10 "Packer" does not include any of the following:
1 11 a. A cold storage plant regulated under chapter 171.
1 12 b. A frozen food locker plant regulated under chapter 172.
1 13 c. A livestock market as defined in section 455B.161.
1 14 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 172C.2 PRICE DISCRIMINATION –
1 15 PROHIBITION.
1 16 1. Except as provided in subsection 2, a packer purchasing
1 17 or soliciting livestock for slaughter in this state shall not
1 18 discriminate in prices paid or offered to be paid to sellers
1 19 of that livestock.
1 20 2. This section shall not apply to any of the following:
1 21 a. A person exempted from the license and financial
1 22 responsibility provisions of chapter 172A pursuant to section
1 23 172A.6.
1 24 b. A person purchasing or soliciting cattle, including
1 25 calves, for slaughter.
1 26 c. The sale and purchase of livestock if all of the
1 27 following requirements are met:
1 28 (1) The price differential is based on one of the
1 29 following:
1 30 (a) The quality of the livestock, if the packer purchases
1 31 or solicits the livestock based upon a payment method
1 32 specifying prices paid for criteria relating to carcass merit.
1 33 (b) Actual and quantifiable costs related to transporting
1 34 and acquiring the livestock by the packer.
1 35 (c) An agreement for the delivery of livestock at a
2 1 specified date or time.
2 2 (2) After making a differential payment to a seller, the
2 3 packer publishes information relating to the differential
2 4 pricing, including the payment method for carcass merit,
2 5 transportation and acquisition pricing, and an offer to enter
2 6 into an agreement for the delivery of livestock at a specified
2 7 date or time according to the same terms and conditions
2 8 offered to other sellers.
2 9 3. A packer shall provide all sellers with the same terms
2 10 and conditions offered to a seller who receives a differential
2 11 price based on any of the criteria described in subsection 2,
2 12 paragraph "c", subparagraph (1).
2 13 4. The packer shall, at the beginning of each day in which
2 14 livestock are purchased, post in a conspicuous place at the
2 15 point of delivery, all prices for livestock to be paid that
2 16 day.
2 17 5. An agreement made by a packer in violation of this
2 18 section is voidable.
2 19 6. A packer acting in violation of this section is guilty
2 20 of a fraudulent practice as provided in chapter 714.
2 21 7. The attorney general shall enforce this section. The
2 22 department shall refer any violations of this chapter to the
2 23 attorney general. The attorney general or any person injured
2 24 by a violation of this section may bring an action in district
2 25 court to restrain a packer from violating this section. A
2 26 seller who receives a discriminatory price or who is offered
2 27 only a discriminatory price for livestock based upon a
2 28 violation of this section by a packer, has a civil cause of
2 29 action against the packer and, if successful, shall be awarded
2 30 treble damages.
2 31 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 172C.3 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
2 32 1. A packer shall make available for publication and to a
2 33 board of trade approved by the secretary of state, a daily
2 34 report setting forth information regarding prices paid for
2 35 livestock, under each contract in force, in which the packer
3 1 and an Iowa resident are parties for the purchase of the
3 2 livestock by the packer, and which sets a date for delivery
3 3 more than twenty days after the making of the contract.
3 4 2. The reports shall be completed on forms prepared by the
3 5 secretary of state for comparison with cash market prices for
3 6 livestock according to procedures required by the secretary of
3 7 state. However, a report shall not include information
3 8 regarding the identity of a seller.
3 9 3. The failure of a packer to report as required by this
3 10 section is punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed one
3 11 thousand dollars for each day that a timely or truthful report
3 12 is not published. The secretary of state shall refer to the
3 13 attorney general any packer or packer's agent who the
3 14 secretary of state believes is in violation of this section.
3 15 The attorney general may, upon referral from the secretary of
3 16 state, file an action in district court to enforce this
3 17 section.
3 18 EXPLANATION
3 19 This bill creates a new chapter 172C which regulates meat
3 20 packers. A "packer" is a person who is engaged in the
3 21 business of slaughtering livestock or receiving, purchasing,
3 22 or soliciting livestock for slaughter. The definition
3 23 includes a packer's agent, but does not include a cold storage
3 24 plant, a frozen food locker plant, or a livestock market.
3 25 This bill prohibits price discrimination in the purchase of
3 26 livestock by a packer. This prohibition does not apply in
3 27 several cases, including to a person exempted from the license
3 28 and financial responsibility provisions of chapter 172A
3 29 regulating livestock brokers and dealers. The bill's
3 30 prohibition does not apply to a person purchasing cattle for
3 31 slaughter. The prohibition also does not apply if first, the
3 32 price differential is based on the quality of the livestock,
3 33 transportation costs, or the delivery of livestock at a
3 34 specified date or time, and second, information relating to
3 35 the price differential is published. The packer must offer to
4 1 enter into an agreement with other sellers for the delivery of
4 2 livestock according to the same terms and conditions as
4 3 provided in the published notice. In addition, the packer
4 4 must, at the beginning of each day in which livestock are
4 5 purchased, post in a conspicuous place at the point of
4 6 delivery, all prices for livestock to be paid that day. The
4 7 bill provides that an agreement made in violation of the
4 8 bill's requirements is voidable. The packer violating the
4 9 provision is guilty of a fraudulent practice. The bill
4 10 provides that the attorney general is responsible for
4 11 enforcing the provision. The bill provides that the attorney
4 12 general or an injured seller may seek injunctive relief. The
4 13 injured seller may be awarded treble damages in a court
4 14 action.
4 15 The bill also provides that a packer must make available
4 16 for publication, and to a board of trade, a daily report
4 17 containing prices paid for livestock under each contract in
4 18 force in which the packer and an Iowa resident are parties, if
4 19 delivery under the contract is set more than 20 days after the
4 20 contract is executed. The failure to make a timely report is
4 21 punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each
4 22 day that a timely or truthful report is not published. The
4 23 attorney general is also charged to enforce this part of the
4 24 bill's requirements.
4 25 LSB 1353XS 77
4 26 da/cf/24.1
Text: SF00048 Text: SF00050 Text: SF00000 - SF00099 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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