Text: HF02119 Text: HF02121 Text: HF02100 - HF02199 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 172E.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 slaughter, if the meat products of 1 6 the slaughtered livestock are, directly or indirectly, to be 1 7 offered for resale or for public consumption and have a total 1 8 annual value of ten million dollars or more. As used in this 1 9 chapter, "packer" includes an agent of the packer engaged in 1 10 buying or soliciting livestock for slaughter on behalf of a 1 11 packer. "Packer" does not include a frozen food locker plant 1 12 regulated under chapter 172. 1 13 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 172E.2 PRICE DISCRIMINATION 1 14 PROHIBITION. 1 15 1. Except as provided in subsection 2, a packer purchasing 1 16 or soliciting livestock for slaughter in this state shall not 1 17 discriminate in prices paid or offered to be paid to sellers 1 18 of that livestock. 1 19 2. This section shall not apply to the purchase of 1 20 livestock by a packer if all of the following requirements are 1 21 met: 1 22 a. The price differential is based on one of the 1 23 following: 1 24 (1) The quality of the livestock, if the packer purchases 1 25 or solicits the livestock based upon a payment method 1 26 specifying prices paid for criteria relating to carcass merit. 1 27 (2) Actual and quantifiable costs related to transporting 1 28 and acquiring the livestock by the packer. 1 29 (3) An agreement for the delivery of livestock at a 1 30 specified date or time. 1 31 b. The packer provides all sellers with the same terms and 1 32 conditions offered to a seller who receives the differential 1 33 price based on any of the criteria described in paragraph "a". 1 34 The packer is not required to provide sellers with the same 1 35 terms and conditions after the close of business day on which 2 1 the packer provided the differential price. The packer shall 2 2 post a notice in a conspicuous place informing sellers of the 2 3 terms and conditions offered to a seller who receives a 2 4 differential price. 2 5 3. An agreement made by a packer in violation of this 2 6 section is voidable. 2 7 4. A packer acting in violation of this section is guilty 2 8 of a fraudulent practice as provided in chapter 714. 2 9 5. The attorney general shall enforce this section. The 2 10 department shall refer any violations of this section to the 2 11 attorney general. The attorney general or any person injured 2 12 by a violation of this section may bring an action in district 2 13 court to restrain a packer from violating this section. A 2 14 seller who receives a discriminatory price or who is offered 2 15 only a discriminatory price for livestock based upon a 2 16 violation of this section by a packer, has a civil cause of 2 17 action against the packer and, if successful, shall be awarded 2 18 treble damages. 2 19 6. The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 2 20 17A necessary in order to administer this chapter. 2 21 EXPLANATION 2 22 This bill creates new Code chapter 172E which regulates 2 23 meat packers. A packer is defined as a person who is engaged 2 24 in the business of slaughtering livestock or receiving, 2 25 purchasing, or soliciting livestock for slaughter. The 2 26 definition includes a packer's agent, but does not include a 2 27 frozen food locker plant. 2 28 This bill prohibits price discrimination in the purchase of 2 29 livestock by a packer. The prohibition does not apply if, 2 30 first, the price differential is based on the quality of the 2 31 livestock, transportation costs, or the delivery of livestock 2 32 at a specified date or time, and second, the packer provides 2 33 all sellers with the same terms and conditions offered to the 2 34 seller who receives the differential price. The bill provides 2 35 that an agreement made in violation of the bill's requirements 3 1 is voidable. The bill requires the department of agriculture 3 2 and land stewardship to adopt rules necessary to administer 3 3 the bill's provisions. A packer violating the provision is 3 4 guilty of a fraudulent practice. The bill provides that the 3 5 attorney general is responsible for enforcing the provision. 3 6 The bill provides that the attorney general or an injured 3 7 seller may seek injunctive relief. The injured seller may be 3 8 awarded treble damages in a court action. 3 9 LSB 5942HH 78 3 10 da/cf/24
Text: HF02119 Text: HF02121 Text: HF02100 - HF02199 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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