1. The secretary shall call and the department shall conduct a referendum upon the department's receipt of a petition which is signed by at least twenty producers requesting a referendum to determine whether to establish an Iowa egg council and to impose an assessment as provided in section 196A.4A. The referendum shall be conducted within sixty days following receipt of the petition. The petitioners shall guarantee payment of the cost of the referendum by providing evidence of financial security as required by the department.
2. The department shall give notice of the referendum on the question whether to establish a council and to impose an assessment by publishing the notice for a period of not less than five days in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the state. The notice shall state the voting places, period of time for voting, and other information deemed necessary by the department. A referendum shall not be commenced until five days after the last date of publication.
3. Each producer who signs a statement certifying that the producer is a bona fide producer shall be entitled to one vote. At the close of the referendum, the secretary shall count and tabulate the ballots cast. If a majority of voters favor establishing an Iowa egg council and imposing an assessment, a council shall be established, and an assessment shall be imposed commencing not more than sixty days following the referendum as determined by the council and shall continue for a period of five years unless extended as provided in section 196A.4C. If a majority of the voters do not favor establishing the council and imposing the assessment, the council shall not be established and an assessment shall not be imposed until another referendum is held under this chapter and a majority of the voters approve establishing a council and imposing the assessment. If a referendum should fail, another referendum shall not be held within one hundred eighty days.
4. Immediately after passage of the question at the referendum, the secretary shall appoint seven members to the council in accordance with section 196A.5 based on nominations made by the Iowa poultry association. The association shall nominate and the secretary shall appoint two members representing large producers, two members representing medium producers, and three members representing small producers. The department, in consultation with the association, shall determine initial classifications for small, medium, and large producers. The secretary shall complete the appointments within thirty days following passage of the question at the referendum.
[C75, 77, 79, 81, § 196A.4]
95 Acts, ch 7, § 5
Referred to in § 196A.4C
Iowa General Assembly
Search: Iowa Code 1997
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