7 U.S.C. § 2617 — Required terms and conditions of plans

The plan must contain these terms and conditions: (a) National Potato Promotion Board. The Secretary must establish a National Potato Promotion Board, called “the board” here, and define its powers and duties. Those powers must include: (1) administering the plan as written; (2) making rules and regulations to carry it out; (3) receiving, investigating, and reporting plan-violation complaints to the Secretary; and (4) recommending plan amendments to the Secretary. (b) Membership. The board must include producer and public representatives appointed by the Secretary from nominations made under this subsection. If importers are covered by a plan, the board must also include up to five importer representatives appointed by the Secretary from importer nominations in the manner the Secretary sets. Producers nominate producer representatives as the Secretary prescribes. The board nominates public representatives as the Secretary prescribes. If producers or importers do not select nominees, or the board does not nominate public representatives, the Secretary may appoint people according to the plan’s representation rules. Producers, and covered importers, do not vote on whether public representatives must be included. (c) Compensation and expenses. Board members serve without pay but must be reimbursed for reasonable job-related expenses. (d) Budget. The board must prepare and submit to the Secretary for approval, for each fiscal period, a budget of expected plan-administration expenses and payments, including likely research, development, advertising, and promotion costs. (e) Assessment rate. The board must recommend, and the Secretary must set, an assessment of no more than 2 cents per 100 pounds of potatoes handled. If producers, and covered importers, approve it under section 2623, the assessment may instead be no more than one-half of 1 percent of the average United States price growers received for potatoes during the immediately preceding 10 calendar years, as reported by the Department of Agriculture. (f) Restrictions. (1) Board funds may be used for potato and potato-product research, development, advertising, and promotion, and for other board administration, maintenance, and operation expenses authorized by the Secretary, including Department of Agriculture referendum and administration costs. Payment of those Department costs does not require producer or covered-importer approval in a referendum. (2) Advertising and sales promotion may not refer to private brand names, make false or unjustified claims for potatoes or potato products, or make false or unjustified statements about competing products’ qualities or uses. (3) Board funds may not be used to influence government policy or action, except as subsection (a)(4) allows. (g) Programs. Subject to subsections (e) and (f), the board must develop and submit research, development, advertising, or promotion programs or projects to the Secretary. A program or project cannot take effect until the Secretary approves it. (h) Contracts. With the Secretary’s approval, the board may contract or make agreements for developing and carrying out those programs or projects and may pay their costs with chapter funds. (i) Records and reports. The board must keep books and records and submit reports when the Secretary requires for proper accounting of entrusted money received and spent. It must also have a complete audit report submitted to the Secretary at the end of each fiscal period.