GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 1999

HOUSE BILL 1009
RATIFIED BILL

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FUNDS FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH BY INCREASING THE ASSESSMENT ON FERTILIZER, COMMERCIAL FEED, OR THEIR INGREDIENTS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1. G.S. 106-568.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 106-568.2.  Policy as to referendum and assessment.
It is declared to be in the public interest and highly advantageous to the economic development of the State that farmers, producers, and growers of agricultural commodities using commercial feed and/or fertilizers or their ingredients be permitted by referendum held among themselves to levy upon themselves an assessment of fifteen cents (15¢) per ton on mixed fertilizers, commercial feed, and their ingredients (except lime and land plaster) to provide funds through the Agricultural Foundation to supplement the established program of agricultural research and dissemination of research facts.
It is further declared to be in the public interest and highly advantageous to the economic development of the State that tobacco producers be permitted by referendum to levy upon themselves an assessment not to exceed ten cents (10¢) per hundred pounds of tobacco marketed to provide funds through the North Carolina Tobacco Research Commission for research and dissemination of research facts concerning tobacco."
Section 2.  G.S. 106-568.8(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Fertilizer and feed assessments.  In the event two-thirds or more of the eligible farmers and producers participating in said referendum vote in favor of such assessment, then said assessment shall be collected for a period of six years under rules, regulations, and methods as provided for in this Article. The assessments shall be added to the wholesale purchase price of each ton of fertilizer, commercial feed, and/or their ingredients (except lime and land plaster) by the manufacturer of said fertilizer and feed. The assessment so collected shall be paid by the manufacturer into the hands of the North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture on the same tonnage and at the same time and in the same manner as prescribed for the reporting of the inspection tax on commercial feeds and fertilizers as prescribed by G.S. 106-284.40 and 106-671. The Commissioner shall then remit the assessment for the total tonnage as reported by all manufacturers of commercial feeds, fertilizers, and their ingredients to the treasurer of the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, Inc., who shall disburse such funds for the purposes herein enumerated and not inconsistent with provisions contained in the charter and bylaws of the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, Inc. Signed copies of the receipts for such remittances made by the Commissioner to the treasurer of the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, Inc., shall be furnished the Commissioner of Agriculture, the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, and the North Carolina State Grange. The treasurer of the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, Inc., shall make an annual report at each annual meeting of the Foundation directors of total receipts and disbursements for the year and shall file a copy of said report with the Commissioner of Agriculture and shall make available a copy of said report for publication.
It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Agriculture to audit and check the remittances of the assessment by the manufacturer to the Commissioner in the same manner and at the same time as audits and checks are made of remittances of the inspection tax on commercial feeds and fertilizers.
Any commercial feed excluded from the payment of the inspection fee required by G.S. 106-284.40 shall nevertheless be subject to the assessment provided for by this Article and to quarterly tonnage reports to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services as provided for in G.S. 106-284.40(c)."
Section 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law; however, the increased assessment of five cents (5¢) per ton under G.S. 106-568.2, as amended by Section 1 of this act, shall not be levied nor collected before January 1, 2001.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 31st day of May, 1999.

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	Dennis A. Wicker
	President of the Senate

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	James B. Black
	Speaker of the House of Representatives

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	James B. Hunt, Jr.
	Governor

Approved 	.m. this 	 day of 	, 19