A. Oilseed producers may petition for a referendum to determine if the assessment is to be continued at any time. The President of the State Board of Agriculture shall call and conduct a referendum if the petitions bear signatures of ten percent (10%) of the oilseed producers. No more than one referendum shall be conducted in any one thirty-six-month period. The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry shall determine if the petition bears the required number of valid signatures. The President shall announce the referendum at least thirty (30) days prior to the day of voting. At least thirty (30) days before the referendum, the Department shall mail a notice of the referendum to all known oilseed producers in the State of Oklahoma who market oilseed in commercial quantities. The notice shall specify the dates, times, and places for holding the referendum, and shall include a sample ballot with the following wording:
DO YOU FAVOR A CONTINUATION OF THE THREE CENTS ($0.03) PER HUNDREDWEIGHT (CWT) ASSESSMENT ON OILSEED MARKETED IN OKLAHOMA FOR UTILIZATION, RESEARCH, EDUCATION, PROMOTION, AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT?
YES ( )NO ( )
B. Places within each county for conducting the referendum shall be designated by the Agricultural Extension Division of Oklahoma State University, and voting in each county shall be supervised by the county agricultural extension agent, or person designated by the Department. The Oklahoma Oilseed Commission shall ensure sufficient ballots and supplies necessary for the conduct of the voting and tabulation of returns. Certified results of the referendum in each district shall be transmitted within twenty-four (24) hours after voting ends to the President, and the ballots shall be transmitted to the President within forty-eight (48) hours. Ballots shall be preserved by the President for a period of at least three (3) months.
C. 1. The results of the referendum shall be determined by the President, and the results certified to the Governor who shall issue a proclamation declaring the results.
2. The Commission shall bear expenses of advertising and conducting the referendum.
D. Whenever the question of levying the assessments is disapproved, by failure of sixty percent (60%) of the oilseed producers voting in the referendum to favor continuation of the assessments, the proclamation declaring the result shall provide for the termination of the assessments on April 30, following the date of the referendum.
Added by Laws 2008, c. 154, § 12, eff. Nov. 1, 2008. Amended by Laws 2017, c. 117, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2017.
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