SC-243 Qualification and Acceptance Statement

OMB No. 0581-0215

Return by:

_____________

Administrative Committee for Pistachios

Federal Marketing Order 983

Qualification and Acceptance Statement

The following information is required for use by the Secretary of Agriculture to determine your eligibility and willingness to serve on the Administrative Committee for Pistachios (Committee). Please complete this form and return it by ________, 20__.

Your Full Name:
Mailing Address, City, State and Zip:
Telephone Number:	Fax Number:	Email Address:

Qualification (definitions for producer, handler, affiliation, proprietary capacity and public member attached)

 PRODUCER Are you a pistachio producer, an officer of a pistachio producer, or an employee of a pistachio producer?

Yes  No 

Producer Tax ID:	Number of years in the pistachio business:	District (s) of production: District 1 2 3 4 (Circle the district(s))	Number of acres in production:
Who handled your pistachios this crop year?	Number of pounds produced (this crop year):	Is your operation small (as defined by the Small Business Administration (13 CFS 121.201) for a PRODUCER as having annual receipts less than $3,750,000)? Y  N 	Are you an organic producer? Y  N 

 HANDLER Are you a pistachio handler, an officer for a pistachio handler, or an employee of a pistachio handler?

Yes  No 

Volume of pistachios handled this crop year:

Handler Tax ID:

Years in the pistachio business:

Is your operation small (as defined by the Small Business Administration (13 CFS 121.201) for a HANDLER as those whose annual receipts are less than $34,000,000)? Y  N 

Are you an organic handler? Y  N 

 PUBLIC MEMBER Are you affiliated with any pistachio handler or producer as an owner, employee, officer, director, or in any other capacity? (See definitions: for example, do you have any ownership/control of any handler or grower entity, either directly or through a corporation, cooperative, partnership, etc.?)

Yes  No 

Affiliation(s):

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0581-0215. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 10 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

 Do you have a financial interest or proprietary capacity in an organization that is involved in producing, handling, grading, or marketing pistachios? If so, please list:

 Are you a member of a producer cooperative, cooperative marketing association, cooperative bargaining association, handler cooperative, shareholder in a corporation, limited liability corporation, trust, association, or any other organization(s) furthering the interest of pistachio producers or handlers? If so, state the name of each, the type of organization, and your position in any and all organizations in which you are affiliated or a member:

Marketing order committee members in their official capacities are prohibited from taking any action specifically designed to influence legislation, including any attempt to influence public opinion concerning legislation. Committee members may not communicate with any official of a State or Federal legislative body for the purpose of attempting to influence legislation. Committee members are also prohibited from attempting to influence State or Federal government actions or policies or those of foreign governments, except as specifically authorized under the marketing order or expressly approved by the Secretary. Committee members are specifically precluded from authorizing the expenditure of marketing order funds for the purpose of attempting to influence legislation or government actions. These same prohibitions apply to committee managers, staff, and contractors except that committee managers may consult with U.S. Department of Agriculture employees during the pendency of informal rulemaking actions.

If marketing order committee or subcommittee members are sued individually or jointly for errors in judgment, mistakes or other acts either of omission or commission (except for acts of dishonesty, willful misconduct, or gross negligence) in the conduct of their duties under the marketing agreement or order, they may be authorized legal defense by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Alternatively, legal defense may be provided through private counsel, if recommended by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and approved by DOJ. USDA and DOJ enjoy an excellent working relationship with respect to providing legal representation for committee members and employees, either by DOJ or through authorized private counsel. USDA is committed to a comprehensive legal defense policy of all committee members and employees acting within the scope of their authorized committee duties and responsibilities.

Marketing order committee members are expected to maintain an appropriate level of conduct and professionalism at all committee meetings. Failure to do so may result in removal from office.

Certification of Qualification and Acceptance

I certify that I meet the eligibility requirements of the California, Arizona and New Mexico Pistachio Marketing Order. I have read and agree to comply with Committee membership requirements as outlined in this form, and that I am willing to serve on the Administrative Committee for Pistachios as a:

Producer member Handler member Public member

Signature: 

Date:

The original signed copy of this form needs to be on file with the Administrative Committee for Pistachios. Please fax or email a copy of the completed form by ___________, 20___, and then mail the original.

Administrative Committee for Pistachios

4938 E. Yale Ave., Suite 102

Fresno, CA 93727

Phone: (559) 255-6480 Fax: (559) 255-6485 E-mail: [email protected]

DEFINITIONS

PRODUCER: means any person engaged, within the production area and in a proprietary capacity, in the production of pistachios for sale.

PERSON: means an individual, partnership, limited liability corporation, corporation, trust, association, or any other business unit.

HANDLER: means any person who handles pistachios. Handle means to engage in:

1. Receiving pistachios;

2. Hulling and drying pistachios;

3. Further preparing pistachios by sorting, sizing, shelling, roasting, cleaning, salting, and/or packaging for marketing in or transporting to any and all markets in the current of interstate or foreign commerce; and/or

4. Placing pistachios into the current of commerce from within the production area to points outside thereof: Provided, however, that transportation within the production area between handlers and from the orchard to the processing facility is not handling.

PUBLIC MEMBER: means any person who is not a producer or handler and does not have a financial interest in any pistachio growing or handling operation.

PROPRIETARY CAPACITY: Proprietary capacity means the capacity or interest of a producer or handler that, either directly or through one or more intermediaries, is a property owner together with all the appurtenant rights of an owner including the right to vote the interest in that capacity as an individual, a shareholder, member of a cooperative, partner, trustee or in any other capacity with respect to any other business unit.

AFFILIATION: This term normally appears as "affiliate of," or "affiliated with," and means a person such as a producer or handler who is: a producer or handler that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, owns or controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with the producer or handler specified; or a producer or handler that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, is connected in a proprietary capacity, or shares the ownership or control of the specified producer or handler with one or more other producers or handlers. As used in this part, the term “control” (including the terms “controlling,” “controlled by,” and “under the common control with”) means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a handler or a producer, whether through voting securities, membership in a cooperative, by contract or otherwise.

DISTRICTS:

District 1: Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, and Ventura counties

District 2: Fresno, Kings, Madera, and Merced counties

District 3: Counties not in District 1 or 2

District 4: Arizona and New Mexico

The following statements are made in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (U.S.C. 552a) and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, as amended. The authority for requesting the information to be supplied on this form is the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, Secs. 1-19, 48 Stat. 31, as amended, (7 U.S.C. 601-674). Furnishing the requested information is necessary for the administration of the marketing order program. Submission of the Tax Identification Number (TIN) is mandatory, and will be used to validate ballots and determine affiliation or entity identity. Please note that ballots will not become invalid if a TIN is not disclosed. The making of any false statements or representations in any matter within the jurisdiction of any agency of the United States, knowing it to be false, is a violation of title 18, section 1001 of the United States Code, which provides for fine or imprisonment, or both.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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