7 U.S.C. § 7803 — Issuance of orders

(a) In general. (1) Issuance. To carry out this chapter's policy stated in section 7801(b), the Secretary must issue orders under this chapter that apply to producers, importers, and first handlers of Hass avocados, following the process in (b). (2) Scope. Any order must apply nationwide. (3) One order. Only one order can be in effect at any given time. (b) Procedures. (1) Proposal for an order. An existing state-chartered organization of avocado producers, or anyone else who would be affected by this chapter, may ask the Secretary to issue an order and submit a proposal for one. (2) Publication of proposal. Within 60 days of getting a proposal from a state-chartered producer organization, the Secretary must publish the proposed order and give the public a chance to comment on it. (3) Issuance of order. (A) After that public comment period, the Secretary must issue the order, taking the comments into account and including whatever provisions are needed to make sure the order follows this chapter. (B) The order only takes effect after producers approve it in a referendum under section 7805, and it must be issued no later than 180 days after the proposed order was published. (c) Amendments. The Secretary may amend an order from time to time. The same rules that apply to an order also apply to any amendment of it.