SSB 1133 (LSB 1596XC (1) 91)

SENATE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT BILL BY CHAIRPERSON SWEENEY)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the powers and duties of the Iowa sheep and wool promotion board, by changing its name to the Iowa sheep promotion board, eliminating the assessment on wool, changing the assessment rate on sheep, and providing for the collection and expenditure of moneys imposed by the assessment.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 182.1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   182.1  Definitions.
   As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
   1.  “Assessment” means an excise tax on the sale of sheep or wool as provided in this chapter.
   2.  “Board” means the Iowa sheep and wool promotion board established pursuant to section 182.5.
   3.  a.  “Concentration point” means a location or facility where sheep are assembled for purposes of sale or resale for feeding, breeding, or slaughtering, and where contact may occur between groups of sheep from various sources.
   b.  “Concentration point” includes a public stockyard, auction market, street market, state or federal market, untested consignment sales location, buying station, or a livestock dealer’s yard, truck, or facility.
   4.  “Department” means the department of agriculture and land stewardship.
   4.  5.  “District” means an official crop reporting district formed by the United States department of agriculture and set out in the annual farm census published by the Iowa department of agriculture and land stewardship.
   5.  6.  “First purchaser” means a person who purchases sheep or wool from a producer.
   6.  7.  “Producer” means a person who is actively engaged within this state in the business of producing or marketing and selling sheep or wool and who receives income from the production of sheep or wool.
   7.  8.  “Sale”, “sell”, or “sold” means a commercial transaction in which the property ownership interest in or to sheep or wool is transferred from the producer to a first purchaser in exchange for full or partial consideration.
   8.  9.  “Secretary” means the secretary of agriculture.
   9.  10.  “Sheep” means an animal of the ovine species, regardless of age, produced or marketed in this state.
   10.  11.  “Sheep product” means an item derived from a live or slaughtered sheep, including but not limited to bones, milk, manure, mutton or lamb, sheepskin, or wool.
   12.  “Wool” means the natural fiber produced by sheep.
    Sec. 2.  Section 182.3, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   182.3  Notice of referendum.
   1.  The secretary shall give notice of the referendum on the question of whether to establish an Iowa sheep and wool promotion board and to impose the 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 secretary.
   2.  A referendum shall not be commenced until five days after the last date of the notice’s publication.
    Sec. 3.  Section 182.4, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   182.4  Establishment of sheep and wool promotion board —— assessment —— termination.
   1.  Each producer who signs a statement certifying that the producer is a bona fide producer is 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 sheep and wool promotion board and imposing an assessment, an Iowa sheep and wool promotion board shall be established. The assessment shall be imposed commencing not more than sixty days following the referendum as determined by the Iowa sheep and wool promotion board, and shall continue until terminated by a referendum as provided in subsection 2. If a majority of the voters do not favor establishing an Iowa sheep and wool promotion board and imposing the assessment, the assessment shall not be imposed and the board shall not be established until another referendum is held under this chapter and a majority of the voters favor establishing a board and imposing the assessment. If a referendum fails, another referendum shall not be held within one hundred eighty days.
   2.  Upon receipt of a petition signed by at least twenty-five producers in each district requesting a referendum election to determine whether to terminate the establishment of the Iowa sheep and wool promotion board and to terminate the imposition of the assessment, the secretary shall call a referendum to be conducted within sixty days following the receipt of the petition. The petitioners shall guarantee the payment of the costs of a referendum held under this subsection. If the majority of the voters of a referendum do not favor termination, an additional referendum may shall be held when the secretary receives a petition signed by at least twenty-five producers in each district. However, the additional referendum shall not be held within one hundred eighty days.
    Sec. 4.  Section 182.5, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   182.5  Composition of board.
   The Iowa sheep and wool promotion board established pursuant to section 182.4 shall be composed of nine producers. The dean of the college of agriculture and life sciences of Iowa state university of science and technology or the dean’s representative and the secretary or the secretary’s designee shall serve as ex officio, nonvoting members of the board. The board shall annually elect a chairperson from its membership.
    Sec. 5.  Section 182.10, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   182.10  Vacancies.
   The Iowa sheep promotion board shall by appointment fill an unexpired term if a vacancy occurs on the board. The board shall select a producer as an appointee based on the criteria established by the board.
    Sec. 6.  Section 182.11, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   182.11  Purposes of board.
   The purposes of the Iowa sheep promotion board shall be to include all of the following:
   1.  Enter To enter into contracts or agreements with or make grants to recognized and qualified agencies, individuals, or organizations persons for the development and carrying out administration of research and education programs directed toward better and more efficient production, marketing, and utilization of sheep and wool and their sheep products.
   2.  Provide To provide methods and means, including, but not limited to, public relations and other promotion techniques for the maintenance of present markets for sheep and sheep products.
   3.  Assist To assist in the development of new or larger markets, both domestic and foreign, for sheep and wool and their sheep products.
    Sec. 7.  Section 182.12, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   182.12  Powers and duties of board.
   The Iowa sheep promotion board may do any of the following:
   1.  Administer and enforce this chapter and perform acts reasonably necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section chapter.
   2.  Employ and discharge assistants and professional counsel as necessary, prescribe their duties and powers, and fix their compensation.
   3.  Establish offices, incur expenses, and enter into any contracts or agreements necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
   4.  Adopt, rescind, and amend all proper and necessary rules for the exercise of its powers and duties.
   5.  Enter into arrangements for the collection of the per-head assessment on sheep and wool.
   6.  Formulate and execute assessment procedures and methods of for the imposition and collection of the per-head assessment on sheep.
   7.  Receive and investigate complaints and violations of this chapter and take necessary related action.
   8.  Confer and cooperate with the department, legally constituted authorities of other states, and the United States.
   9.  Establish one or more accounts in adequately protected financial institutions to receive, hold, and disburse board moneys.
    Sec. 8.  Section 182.13A, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   182.13A  Not a state agency.
   The Iowa sheep and wool promotion board is not an agency of state government.
    Sec. 9.  Section 182.13B, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  If a majority of voters at a referendum conducted pursuant to section 182.4 approve the establishment of an Iowa sheep and wool promotion board and the imposition of an assessment, the assessment shall be imposed on wool and sheep at the following rates: twenty cents per head sold by a producer to a first purchaser. 
   a.  For wool, two cents imposed on each pound of wool sold by a producer.
   b.  For sheep, ten cents imposed on each head of sheep sold by a producer.
    Sec. 10.  Section 182.14, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   182.14  Assessment.
   1.  An assessment provided in this chapter shall be imposed on the a producer as follows:
   a.  If the a producer sells wool or sheep to the a first purchaser within this state, the following shall apply:
   (1)  If the  sale occurs at a concentration point, the assessment shall be imposed at the time of delivery. The first purchaser shall deduct the assessment from the price paid to the producer at the time of sale.  The board may establish a system that requires the first purchaser to deduct the assessment and remit the deducted amount to the board by electronic funds transfer.
   (2)  If the sale does not occur at a concentration point, the producer shall deduct the assessment from the amount received from the sale and shall forward the deducted amount deducted to the board within thirty days following each calendar quarter. However, the board may establish a system that requires the first purchaser to deduct the assessment and remit the deducted amount to the board by electronic funds transfer.
   b.  If the producer sells, ships, or otherwise disposes of wool or sheep to any person outside this state, the producer shall deduct the assessment from the amount received from the sale and shall forward the amount deducted to the board.  The board may establish a system that requires the first purchaser to deduct the assessment and remit the deducted amount to the board by electronic funds transfer.
   2.  The assessment imposed by this section chapter shall be remitted to the board not later than thirty days following each calendar quarter during which the assessment amount was deducted.
    Sec. 11.  Section 182.15, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   182.15  Invoice required.
   1.  At the time of sale, the first purchaser shall sign and deliver to the producer a separate invoices invoice for each purchase. The invoices An invoice shall show all of the following:
   a.  The name and address of the producer and the seller, if different from the producer.
   b.  The name and address of the first purchaser.
   c.  The pounds of wool or head of number of sheep sold.
   d.  The date of the purchase.
   e.  The rate of withholding the assessment and the total amount of the assessment withheld collected.
   2.  Invoices An invoice shall be legibly written and shall not be altered.
    Sec. 12.  Section 182.18, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   182.18  Use of moneys.
   1.  Moneys collected controlled by the Iowa sheep promotion board under this chapter are subject to audit performed by the auditor of state and.
   2.  The moneys shall be used expended by the Iowa sheep and wool promotion board first for the payment of collection and refund expenses, second for payment of the costs and expenses arising in connection with conducting referendums, third for the purposes identified in section 182.11, and fourth for the cost of conducting audits for by the auditor of state.
   3.  Moneys of the board remaining If moneys remain after a referendum is held at which a majority of the voters favor termination of terminating the board and the assessment under section 182.4, the board shall continue to be expended exist and expend the moneys in accordance with this chapter until the moneys are exhausted. The auditor of state may seek reimbursement for the cost of the audit.
   2.  4.  The board shall not engage in any political activity, and it shall be a condition of any allocation of funds moneys under this chapter that any organization person receiving funds moneys shall not expend the funds moneys on political activity or on any attempt to influence legislation.
    Sec. 13.  TRANSITION —— MEMBERSHIP.  Notwithstanding this Act, the members of the Iowa sheep and wool promotion board established pursuant to section 182.5, Code 2025, who were serving on the board immediately prior to the effective date of this Act shall continue to serve on the Iowa sheep promotion board pursuant to section 182.5, as amended by this Act, until their terms expire as provided in section 182.3, as amended by this Act. The Iowa sheep promotion board shall appoint a producer qualified under this Act to fill an unexpired term if a vacancy occurs as provided in section 182.10, as amended by this Act.
    Sec. 14.  TRANSITION —— ASSESSMENT.
   1.  The assessment rate of twenty cents per head of sheep established pursuant to section 182.13B, as amended by this Act, shall be established and collected under chapter 182 without a referendum.
   2.  The assessment rate established pursuant to section 182.13B, as amended by this Act, shall take effect September 1, 2025, unless an earlier date is adopted by resolution of the Iowa sheep promotion board. Until then, the assessment rate imposed on sheep in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this Act shall continue to be in effect.
   3.  This Act does not restrict a referendum to terminate the Iowa sheep promotion board or the assessment as provided in section 182.4.
    Sec. 15.  TRANSITION —— OPERATIONS.  The Iowa sheep promotion board is the successor organization of the Iowa sheep and wool promotion board established in chapter 182.
   1.  The Iowa sheep promotion board shall change its name from the Iowa sheep and wool promotion board to comply with this Act in all official documents in effect and under the control of the Iowa sheep promotion board. The Iowa sheep promotion board shall make all name changes within a practical period determined by the Iowa sheep promotion board but not later than December 30, 2025.
   2.  The name of the Iowa sheep promotion board shall not affect any of the following:
   a.  A rule, regulation, form, order, or directive promulgated by the Iowa sheep and wool promotion board in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this Act.
   b.  A legal or financial obligation incurred by the Iowa sheep and wool promotion board, or any legal or financial obligation owed to the Iowa sheep and wool promotion board, in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this Act until it terminates or is renewed under its own terms.
   c.  Any account, or moneys in any account, controlled by the Iowa sheep and wool promotion board immediately prior to the effective date of this Act. The moneys under the control of the Iowa sheep promotion board shall be expended as provided in sections 182.12 and 182.16.
   d.  Any administrative hearing, cause of action, or statute of limitation relating to the Iowa sheep and wool promotion board in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this Act.
   3.  Any replacement of signs, logos, stationery, insignia, uniforms, and related items due to the effect of the change in name shall be done as part of the normal replacement cycle for such items.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   BACKGROUND. 1985 Iowa Acts, chapter 207 (codified in Code chapter 182), authorized producers of sheep and wool to conduct a referendum for purposes of establishing an Iowa sheep and wool promotion board and collecting an assessment (informally referred to as a checkoff) on the per-head sale of sheep and the per-pound sale of wool (Code section 182.4). The assessment represents a self-tax deducted from the sales price of sheep and wool with a right of refund (Code section 182.17). The moneys are collected by the producer’s first purchaser, if the sale is at a concentration point (e.g., a stockyard or market). Otherwise, the moneys are collected by the producer. In any case, the collected moneys are deposited into an account in a financial institution under the board’s control. The board is required to use the collected moneys to support efforts to promote markets for sheep and wool products and further related research and education efforts (Code section 182.11). The assessment rate is 2 cents for each pound of wool and 10 cents per head of sheep subject to an increased per-head rate of 25 cents or higher by board action if approved by referendum (Code section 182.13B).
   BILL’S PROVISIONS —— ELIMINATION OF WOOL. The bill changes the board’s name to the Iowa sheep promotion board. A producer is limited to a person in the business of producing and selling sheep. The per-pound wool assessment is eliminated and the base per-head assessment is established at 20 cents subject to current procedures that allow for an increase by referendum (Code section 182.13B). The renamed board may establish a system that provides for electronic funds transfer by a first purchaser, at a concentration point, outside the concentration point, or outside the state. Moneys from the assessment must be used to support increasing markets, education, and research involving sheep and sheep products which includes an item derived from a live or slaughtered sheep, including but not limited to bones, milk, manure, mutton or lamb, sheepskin, or wool.
   BILL’S PROVISIONS —— TRANSITION PROVISIONS. The bill does not affect the terms of members of the former Iowa sheep and wool promotion board who will continue to serve as members of the Iowa sheep promotion board until the expiration of the member’s term. The per-head assessment rate of 20 cents is implemented without a referendum. The assessment rate takes effect on September 1, 2025, unless the board elects an earlier effective date by resolution. Until then, the assessment rate is the same as prior to the effective date of the bill. The bill does not limit the power of producers to terminate the board and assessment by referendum (Code section 182.4).