Text: HF00596                           Text: HF00598
Text: HF00500 - HF00599                 Text: HF Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index



House File 597

Partial Bill History

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  Section 22.7, Code 1999, is amended by adding
  1  2 the following new subsection:
  1  3    NEW SUBSECTION.  38.  Information contained in a livestock
  1  4 contract submitted to the secretary of state to the extent
  1  5 designated pursuant to section 172C.3.
  1  6    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  172C.1  DEFINITIONS.
  1  7    As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
  1  8 requires:
  1  9    1.  "Contract information" means all information contained
  1 10 in a livestock contract, including all provisions, terms, and
  1 11 conditions of the contract.
  1 12    2.  "Family farm entity" means the same as defined in
  1 13 section 10.1.
  1 14    3.  "Livestock" means the same as defined in section 717.1.
  1 15    4.  "Livestock contract" means a livestock production
  1 16 contract or a livestock marketing contract.
  1 17    5.  "Livestock contractor" means a production contractor or
  1 18 a marketing contractor.
  1 19    6.  "Livestock producer" means a person who is paid by a
  1 20 production contractor to produce livestock on the premises of
  1 21 the person under a production contract or who markets
  1 22 livestock to a marketing contractor under a marketing
  1 23 contract.
  1 24    7.  "Marketing contract" means a contract executed by a
  1 25 livestock producer and a marketing contractor for the sale of
  1 26 livestock produced by a livestock producer on land in which
  1 27 the livestock producer holds a legal interest, if the
  1 28 marketing contractor does not own the livestock during
  1 29 production or make management decisions substantially
  1 30 contributing to or affecting the production of the livestock.
  1 31    8.  "Marketing contractor" means a person who executes a
  1 32 livestock marketing contract with a livestock producer.
  1 33    9.  "Produce" means to provide for the care and feeding of
  1 34 livestock.
  1 35    10.  "Production contract" means a contract executed by a
  2  1 livestock producer and a production contractor for the
  2  2 production of livestock on land in which the livestock
  2  3 producer holds a legal interest, if the production contractor
  2  4 owns the livestock during production and makes management
  2  5 decisions substantially contributing to or affecting the
  2  6 production of the livestock.
  2  7    11.  "Production contractor" means a person who executes a
  2  8 production contract with a farmer.
  2  9    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  172C.2  PROVISIONS OF
  2 10 CONFIDENTIALITY PROHIBITED.
  2 11    1.  Except as provided in this section, a provision of a
  2 12 livestock contract is void, if the provision requires that
  2 13 information in the contract, including but not limited to any
  2 14 term or condition, be confidential.
  2 15    2.  This section does not affect other provisions of the
  2 16 contract which can be given effect without the voided
  2 17 provision.
  2 18    3.  The secretary of state, in consultation with the
  2 19 attorney general, may provide by rule that the requirements of
  2 20 subsection 1 do not require either party to divulge the
  2 21 contract information to another person.
  2 22    4.  This secretary of state does not apply to a provision
  2 23 that is a trade secret as provided in chapter 550.
  2 24    Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  172C.3  CONTRACT INFORMATION.
  2 25    1.  The secretary of state, in cooperation with the
  2 26 attorney general, shall establish a system for the submission
  2 27 of contract information to the secretary.  Except as otherwise
  2 28 provided in this section, a livestock contractor shall submit
  2 29 the contract information to the secretary of state according
  2 30 to rules adopted by the secretary of state in consultation
  2 31 with the attorney general.  The secretary of state may require
  2 32 that the contract information be submitted in an electronic
  2 33 format according to procedures required by the secretary of
  2 34 state.  The secretary of state shall provide for the routine
  2 35 dissemination of the contract information for public
  3  1 examination.  However, the secretary of state, in cooperation
  3  2 with the attorney general, may designate some contract
  3  3 information as a confidential record under section 22.7,
  3  4 including information that identifies the names of livestock
  3  5 producers, if the release of the information would serve no
  3  6 public purpose.
  3  7    2.  The attorney general shall have access to all contract
  3  8 information required to be submitted to the secretary of
  3  9 state.  The attorney general may provide an analysis of
  3 10 contract information in order to assist livestock producers
  3 11 who are negotiating with livestock contractors.  The attorney
  3 12 general shall assist any committee of the general assembly
  3 13 studying the effects of livestock contracting practices.
  3 14    3.  The secretary of state, in consultation with the
  3 15 attorney general, may provide by rule that the requirements of
  3 16 subsection 1 do not apply to a livestock contract, under any
  3 17 of the following circumstances:
  3 18    a.  For a production contract, if any of the following
  3 19 applies:
  3 20    (1)  Consideration owed to the livestock producer under all
  3 21 production contracts executed by the livestock producer and
  3 22 the production contractor during any twelve-month period is
  3 23 less than three thousand dollars.
  3 24    (2)  The livestock producer is related to the production
  3 25 contractor as a spouse, parent, grandparent, lineal ascendant
  3 26 of a grandparent or spouse, or other lineal descendant of a
  3 27 grandparent or spouse.
  3 28    (3)  The production contractor owns a legal interest in the
  3 29 land where the livestock is produced.  For purposes of this
  3 30 subparagraph, a marketing contract or a security interest does
  3 31 not give rise to a legal interest in land.
  3 32    (4)  The livestock producer and the production contractor
  3 33 are part of the same family farm entity.
  3 34    (5)  The livestock is used for breeding.
  3 35    (6)  The livestock is used exclusively for research.
  4  1    b.  For a marketing contract, if any of the following
  4  2 applies:
  4  3    (1)  The marketing contractor is a frozen food locker plant
  4  4 regulated under chapter 172.
  4  5    (2)  The contract price paid to the livestock producer is
  4  6 part of price information reported to the agricultural
  4  7 marketing service of the United States department of
  4  8 agriculture.
  4  9    Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  172C.4  FEES.
  4 10    A livestock contractor required to submit contract
  4 11 information to the secretary of state pursuant to section
  4 12 172C.3 shall submit a fee to the secretary of state.  The fee
  4 13 shall equal twenty-five cents for each head of livestock,
  4 14 other than poultry, and ten cents for each head of poultry
  4 15 reported as provided in section 172C.3.  Moneys collected from
  4 16 the fees are appropriated to the secretary of state for
  4 17 purposes of administering this chapter.  At the close of each
  4 18 fiscal year, any remaining moneys collected in fees pursuant
  4 19 to this section shall not revert as provided in section 8.33,
  4 20 but shall be deposited in the manure storage indemnity fund
  4 21 created pursuant to section 455J.2.
  4 22    Sec. 6.  NEW SECTION.  172C.5  PENALTIES.
  4 23    1.  A livestock contractor who includes information in a
  4 24 livestock contract in violation of section 172C.2 is guilty of
  4 25 a fraudulent practice as provided in section 714.8.
  4 26    2.  A livestock contractor failing to submit contract
  4 27 information as required by section 172C.3 is subject to a
  4 28 civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars for each day
  4 29 that timely or complete contract information is not submitted.
  4 30    Sec. 7.  NEW SECTION.  172C.6  ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES.
  4 31    1.  The attorney general's office is the primary agency
  4 32 responsible for enforcing this chapter.  The department shall
  4 33 notify the attorney general if the department has reason to
  4 34 believe a violation of section 172C.3 has occurred.
  4 35    2.  The attorney general shall institute legal action to
  5  1 enforce the provisions of this chapter, including by seeking
  5  2 any of the following:
  5  3    a.  The assessment and collection of civil penalties
  5  4 pursuant to this section.
  5  5    b.  Injunctions brought on behalf of the state to require
  5  6 compliance with this chapter.
  5  7    Sec. 8.  Section 455J.2, subsection 2, Code 1999, is
  5  8 amended to read as follows:
  5  9    2.  The fund consists of moneys from indemnity fees
  5 10 remitted by permittees to the department as provided in
  5 11 section 455J.3; moneys from indemnity fees remitted by persons
  5 12 required to submit manure management plans to the department
  5 13 pursuant to section 455J.4; sums collected on behalf of the
  5 14 fund by the department through legal action or settlement;
  5 15 moneys required to be repaid to the department by a county
  5 16 pursuant to this chapter; civil penalties assessed and
  5 17 collected by the department or the attorney general pursuant
  5 18 to chapter 455B, against animal feeding operations; moneys
  5 19 paid as a settlement involving an enforcement action for a
  5 20 civil penalty subject to assessment and collection against
  5 21 permittees by the department or the attorney general pursuant
  5 22 to chapter 455B; moneys deposited by the secretary of state
  5 23 from reporting fees as provided in section 172C.4; interest,
  5 24 property, and securities acquired through the use of moneys in
  5 25 the fund; or moneys contributed to the fund from other
  5 26 sources.
  5 27    Sec. 9.  Section 714.8, Code 1999, is amended by adding the
  5 28 following new subsection:
  5 29    NEW SUBSECTION.  17.  A livestock contractor who includes a
  5 30 confidentiality provision in a production contract in
  5 31 violation of section 172C.2.  
  5 32                           EXPLANATION
  5 33    This bill creates a new Code chapter regulating livestock
  5 34 contracts, including contracts for the production or marketing
  5 35 of livestock.
  6  1    The bill provides that any provision of a livestock
  6  2 contract that requires the contract information to be
  6  3 confidential is void.
  6  4    The bill requires that the secretary of state, in
  6  5 cooperation with the attorney general, establish a system for
  6  6 the submission to the secretary of state of contract
  6  7 information contained in livestock contracts executed by
  6  8 livestock producers and livestock contractors.  The bill
  6  9 provides that the secretary of state may require that the
  6 10 contract information be submitted in an electronic format.
  6 11 The bill provides that the secretary of state, in cooperation
  6 12 with the attorney general, may designate some contract
  6 13 information as confidential records.
  6 14    The bill establishes a number of exceptions if authorized
  6 15 by the secretary of state, including exceptions based on the
  6 16 amount of consideration paid under the contract, the
  6 17 relationship of the parties, any legal interest in the land
  6 18 owned by the livestock contractor, and whether the contract
  6 19 price is reported to the United States department of
  6 20 agriculture.
  6 21    The bill provides that the attorney general has access to
  6 22 all contract information.  The attorney general may provide an
  6 23 analysis of contract information in order to assist livestock
  6 24 producers who are negotiating contracts with livestock
  6 25 contractors.  The bill provides that the attorney general
  6 26 shall assist the general assembly in studying livestock
  6 27 marketing practices.
  6 28    The bill provides that a livestock contractor required to
  6 29 submit contract information to the secretary of state must
  6 30 submit a fee to the secretary of state, based on the number of
  6 31 head of livestock reported.  The bill provides that at the
  6 32 close of each fiscal year, remaining moneys collected in fees
  6 33 must be deposited in the manure storage indemnity fund.
  6 34    A livestock contractor is subject to a civil penalty of up
  6 35 to $1,000 for each day that the livestock contractor fails to
  7  1 submit contract information as required.  The attorney general
  7  2 is charged to prosecute cases and seek injunctive relief in
  7  3 enforcing the bill's provisions.  
  7  4 LSB 2673HH 78
  7  5 da/jw/5
     

Text: HF00596                           Text: HF00598
Text: HF00500 - HF00599                 Text: HF Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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