71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
Enrolled
House Bill 3811
Sponsored by Representative KROPF
CHAPTER ................
AN ACT
Relating to agricultural cooperatives; creating new provisions;
amending ORS 62.015, 62.845, 646.535 and 646.740; and declaring
an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 62.015 is amended to read:
62.015. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires
otherwise:
(1) 'Anniversary' means that day each year exactly one or more
years after:
(a) The date of filing by the Secretary of State of the
articles of incorporation in the case of a domestic cooperative.
(b) The date of filing by the Secretary of State of an
application for authority to transact business in the case of a
foreign cooperative.
(2) 'Articles' means articles of incorporation, articles of
conversion and articles of merger.
(3) 'Board' means board of directors.
(4) 'Cooperative' means a cooperative corporation which is
subject to the provisions of this chapter.
(5) 'Corporation' means a corporation which is not a
cooperative.
(6) 'Foreign cooperative' means a cooperative corporation
organized under laws other than the laws of this state.
(7) 'Member' means a person who has been qualified and accepted
for membership in a cooperative.
(8) 'Membership stock' means any class of stock, continuous
ownership of which is required for membership in a cooperative.
{ + (9) 'Negotiate' means to confer with another in order to
come to terms. + }
{ - (9) - } { + (10) + } 'Person' includes individuals,
corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, joint stock
companies, trusts, estates and foreign and domestic cooperative
corporations.
{ - (10) - } { + (11) + } 'Shareholder' means a holder of
shares of capital stock of a cooperative other than membership
stock.
SECTION 2. ORS 62.845 is amended to read:
62.845. { + (1) + } It is the public policy of the State of
Oregon to encourage the efficient production and distribution of
agricultural and other products derived from natural resources or
labor resources of this state. Accordingly, { - no - }
{ + a + } cooperative
Enrolled House Bill 3811 (HB 3811-A) Page 1
{ - which - } { + that + } operates in compliance with the
provisions of this chapter and { - which - } { + that + }
does not during its fiscal year market products for nonmember
patrons in an amount greater in value than the products marketed
for its members { - , shall - } { + may not + } be deemed to
be a conspiracy or combination in restraint of trade, or an
illegal monopoly; nor shall the contracts of such cooperative
authorized by this chapter, whether or not required by the
cooperative as a condition of membership or of doing business
with the cooperative, be construed as an unlawful restraint of
trade, or as part of a conspiracy or combination to accomplish an
improper or illegal purpose or act.
{ + (2) A negotiating committee of dealers, as defined in ORS
646.515 (3), that operates in compliance with the provisions of
section 4 of this 2001 Act to negotiate with a cooperative the
price for which the members of the cooperative will sell
agricultural products to be produced by the members, or the price
to be paid for the services of producing agricultural products by
the members or under the control of the members, may not be
deemed to be engaged in unlawful restraint of trade or to be
participants in a conspiracy or combination to accomplish an
improper or illegal purpose or act. + }
SECTION 3. { + Section 4 of this 2001 Act is added to and made
a part of ORS chapter 62. + }
SECTION 4. { + (1) As used in this section:
(a) 'Parties' or 'party' means perennial ryegrass seed
producers, perennial ryegrass seed associations, perennial
ryegrass seed cooperatives or perennial ryegrass seed dealers
that are participants in the state regulatory program described
in subsection (2) of this section.
(b) 'Regulatory program' means the state regulatory program
described in subsection (2) of this section that is actively
supervised by the Director of Agriculture and that authorizes
parties to engage in certain collective bargaining and
negotiations to establish the price of perennial ryegrass to be
produced and sold to perennial ryegrass seed dealers in the
future.
(2)(a) It is the intent of this section and ORS 646.535 (2) and
646.740 (10) to displace competition with a regulatory program in
the perennial ryegrass seed industry to a limited degree. The
regulatory program is intended to grant immunity from federal and
state antitrust laws to perennial ryegrass seed producers and
perennial ryegrass seed dealers for the limited purpose of
allowing the producers and the dealers to bargain collectively
and to arrive at a negotiated price for the sale of perennial
ryegrass seed by the producers to the dealers. The activities of
any party that comply with the provisions of this section may not
be considered to be in restraint of trade, a conspiracy or
combination or any other unlawful activity in violation of any
provision of ORS 646.705 to 646.826 or federal antitrust laws.
(b) A perennial ryegrass seed cooperative or marketing
association may negotiate with one or more dealers, as defined in
ORS 646.515, of perennial ryegrass seed to establish the price at
which members of the cooperative or association will sell
products to be produced by its members or under the control of
its members. The perennial ryegrass seed dealers may negotiate
the price of the perennial ryegrass seed products through a
committee that sets forth the views of the dealers and votes on
any issues being negotiated as authorized by this section,
including the price of perennial ryegrass seed products.
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(c) The Director of Agriculture is authorized to actively
supervise the conduct of a perennial ryegrass seed agricultural
cooperative organized under this chapter, a representative
committee of perennial ryegrass seed dealers and any perennial
ryegrass seed association in establishing the price of perennial
ryegrass seed to be produced and sold to seed dealers at a future
date. The director is authorized to supervise the negotiations
between the parties, review the prices established by the
negotiations and approve the prices proposed by the parties
before the prices take effect. The director must approve the
proposed prices and any adjustments to previously approved prices
before the prices may be implemented.
(d) The director may compel the parties to take whatever action
the director considers necessary to:
(A) Ensure that the parties are engaging in conduct that is
authorized under this section;
(B) Ensure that the policies of this state are being fulfilled
under the regulatory program; and
(C) Enjoin conduct by any of the parties that is not authorized
by the director or conduct that the director finds does not
advance the interests of this state in carrying out the
regulatory program.
(e) The Director of Agriculture may adopt rules to carry out
the director's authority under this section.
(f) The director may designate persons as the director deems
necessary to carry out the responsibility of actively supervising
the conduct of the parties, including serving as intermediaries
between prospective parties. Persons designated by the director
must be employees of the State Department of Agriculture.
(g) The director by rule shall set and collect fees from the
parties who are participants in a regulatory program. The fees
shall be deposited in the Department of Agriculture Account
established under ORS 561.150.
(h) The director shall supervise the labeling of perennial
ryegrass seeds to ensure compliance with ORS 633.520, 633.531 and
633.541. + }
SECTION 5. ORS 646.535 is amended to read:
646.535. { + (1) + } { - No - } { + A + } dealer
{ - shall - } { + may not + } knowingly engage in the
following unfair trade practices:
{ - (1) - } { + (a) + } Interfere with, restrain, coerce or
boycott a producer in the exercise of the rights guaranteed
pursuant to ORS 646.525; { - or - }
{ - (2) - } { + (b) + } Discriminate against a producer
with respect to price or other terms of purchase of raw
agricultural commodities, by reason of the producer's membership
in or contract with cooperative bargaining associations; or
{ - (3) - } { + (c) + } Pay or loan money, or give any
other thing of value to a producer as an inducement or reward for
refusing to or ceasing to belong to a cooperative bargaining
association.
{ + (2) A perennial ryegrass seed dealer who participates in
negotiating committee activities described in section 4 of this
2001 Act does not violate subsection (1) of this section. + }
SECTION 6. ORS 646.740 is amended to read:
646.740. { - No - } { + The + } provisions of ORS 136.617,
646.705 to 646.805 and 646.990 { - shall - } { + may not + }
be construed to make illegal:
(1) The activities of any labor organization or individual
working men and women permitted by ORS chapters 661 to 663;
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(2) The right of producers of agricultural commodities and
commercial fishermen to join, belong to and act through
cooperative bargaining associations under ORS 646.515 to 646.545.
For the purpose of this subsection, activities of cooperative
bargaining associations and their members that are lawful under
15 U.S.C. 521 and 522 or 7 U.S.C. 291 and 292 are lawful under
ORS 646.515 to 646.545;
(3) The activities of any person subject to regulation by the
Public Utility Commission under ORS chapters 756 to 759 to the
extent that such activities are so regulated and are lawful
thereunder or the activities of any person conducted or carried
out in accordance with any agreement or procedure approved as
provided in 49 U.S.C. 5b or 5c;
(4) The activities of any person subject to regulation by the
Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services
under ORS chapters 731 to 750 to the extent that such activities
are so regulated and are lawful thereunder;
(5) The activities of any state or national banking institution
or savings and loan association, and of any other lending
institution, to the extent that such activities are regulated by
the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services
under ORS chapters 706 to 725 and are lawful thereunder;
(6) Any other activity specifically authorized under state law
or local ordinance;
(7) The activities of any metropolitan service district formed
under ORS chapter 268 and the activities of any person subject to
regulation by a metropolitan service district formed under ORS
chapter 268 to the extent that those activities are so regulated
and are lawful thereunder;
(8) The activities of any person conducted or carried out in
accordance with the terms and conditions of a certificate issued
pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 4001 to 4021; { - or - }
(9) The activities of a health care provider authorized by and
in accordance with ORS 442.700 to 442.760 to the extent the
activities are regulated and lawful under ORS 442.700 to 442.760
{ - . - } { + ; or + }
{ + (10) The negotiating activities of a dealer in
agricultural commodities that are carried out and supervised
under section 4 of this 2001 Act. + }
SECTION 7. { + Section 4 of this 2001 Act and the amendments
to ORS 62.015, 62.845, 646.535 and 646.740 by sections 1, 2, 5
and 6 of this 2001 Act apply only to negotiations begun on or
after the effective date of this 2001 Act. + }
SECTION 8. { + This 2001 Act being necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency
is declared to exist, and this 2001 Act takes effect on its
passage. + }
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Enrolled House Bill 3811 (HB 3811-A) Page 4
Passed by House April 11, 2001
...........................................................
Chief Clerk of House
...........................................................
Speaker of House
Passed by Senate May 2, 2001
...........................................................
President of Senate
Enrolled House Bill 3811 (HB 3811-A) Page 5
Received by Governor:
......M.,............., 2001
Approved:
......M.,............., 2001
...........................................................
Governor
Filed in Office of Secretary of State:
......M.,............., 2001
...........................................................
Secretary of State
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