ASSESSMENTS.

SEC. 1984. ASSESSMENTS. (a) Assessment Rate and Exemptions.— Section 7 of the Honey Research, Promotion, and Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4606) is further amended— (1) in subsection (e)(1) by striking the second and third sentences and inserting the following: “The assessment rate shall be $0.01 per pound, with payment to be made in the manner described in section 9.”; and (2) by striking paragraph (2) of subsection (e) and inserting the following new paragraph: “(2) (A) Honey that is consumed at home by the producer or importer or donated by the producer or importer to a nonprofit, government, or other entity, as determined appropriate by the Secretary, rather than sold shall be exempt from assessment under the order, except that donated honey that later is sold in a commercial outlet by a donee or a donee’s assignee shall be subject to assessment on such sale. “(B) (i) A producer, producer-packer, or importer who produces or imports during any year less than 6,000 pounds of honey shall be eligible for an exemption in such year from paying an assessment on104 STAT. 3906 honey such person distributes directly through local retail outlets, as determined by the Secretary, during such year. “(ii) In order to claim an exemption under this subparagraph, a person shall submit an application to the Honey Board stating the basis on which the person claims the exemption for such year. “(iii) If, after a person claims an exemption from assessments for any year under this subparagraph, such person no longer meets the requirements of this subparagraph for an exemption, such person shall file a report with the Honey Board in the form and manner prescribed by the Board and pay an assessment on or before March 15 of the subsequent year on all honey produced or imported by such person during the year for which the person claimed the exemption. “(3) If a producer, producer-packer, or importer does not pay any assessments under this Act due to the applicability to such person of the exemptions from assessments provided in paragraph (2), then such producer, producer-packer, or importer shall not be considered a producer or importer for purposes of voting in any referendum conducted under this Act during the period the person’s exemption from all assessments is in effect.”. (b) Collection of Assessments; Refunds.— Section 9 of the Honey Research, Promotion, and Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 4608) is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by striking “and (e)” and inserting “(e), and (i)”; (2) in subsection (d) to read as follows: “(d) In any case in which a loan, or a loan deficiency payment is made with respect to honey under the honey price support loan program established under the Agricultural Act of 1949, or successor statute, the Secretary shall provide for the assessment to be deducted from the disbursement of any loan funds or from the loan deficiency payment made to the producer and for the amount of such assessment to be forwarded to the Honey Board. The Secretary shall provide for the producer to receive a statement of the amount of the assessment deducted from the loan funds or loan deficiency payment promptly after each occasion when an assessment is deducted from any such loan funds or payment under this subsection.”; (3) in subsection (f), by inserting after “assessments” the following: “, and persons receiving an exemption from assessments under section 7(e)(2),”; (4) in subsection (h)— (A) by striking “Any” and inserting “(1)(A) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2), any”; (B) by striking “to importers” and inserting “an importer”; (C) by striking “from importers” and inserting “from such importer”; and (D) by adding at the end the following: “(B) A producer that has obtained a honey price support loan under the Agricultural Act of 1949, or successor statute, may obtain a refund if the producer has submitted to the Honey Board the statement received under subsection (d) of the amount of assessment deducted from the loan funds and has otherwise complied with this subsection, even though the loan with respect to which the assessment was collected may still be outstanding and final settlement has not been made. 104 STAT. 3907 “(2) With respect to the order in effect on the date of the enactment of this paragraph, following the referendum on such order required under section 13(b)(2), a producer or importer may obtain a refund of an assessment under such order as provided in paragraph (1) only if the Secretary determines that the proposal to terminate refunds under the order is defeated in such referendum.”; and (5) by inserting after subsection (h) the following new subsection: “(i) If a first handler or the Secretary fails to collect an assessment from a producer under this section, the producer shall be responsible for the payment of the assessment to the Honey Board.”.