As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(1) BOARD. The State Board of Agriculture and Industries.

(2) COMMISSIONER. The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries.

(3) FEED DISTRIBUTOR. Any person residing in Alabama, or any Alabama corporation, or Alabama legal business entity that sells directly to a ratite producer feed of any sort that is intended for ratite consumption regardless of where the feed is manufactured.

(4) RATITE. One of a variety of flightless birds including an ostrich, emu, rhea, cassowary, or kiwi.

(5) RATITE PRODUCER. Any person residing in Alabama, or any Alabama corporation, or Alabama legal business entity that owns or has a financial investment in ratites located in Alabama.

There shall be no refunds made to either feed distributors or ratite producers of assessments collected by the commissioner.

Before any money is remitted by the commissioner to the treasurer of the certified association, the treasurer shall furnish to the commissioner a bond approved by the commissioner in an amount not less than the estimated annual total amount of the assessments handled by the treasurer. The surety on the bond shall be a corporate surety company duly qualified and licensed to do business in the state, and the bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful handling, proper accounting, and properly authorized expenditure of all funds received and disbursed by the principal named in the bond.

The funds derived from any assessments levied upon the sale of ratite feed shall be used and expended by the certified association for the purpose of promoting and stimulating advertising, education, research, production, and sales of ratites and the consumption and use of ratite products. Any funds expended by the certified association not authorized for a promotional program previously approved shall be deemed an unauthorized and illegal expenditure of the funds. Any funds approved for expenditure by a certified association for an approved promotional program for the ratite industry are hereby appropriated for disbursement and expenditure by the certified association to carry out any approved promotional program or programs. It shall not be necessary for the Legislature to make any specific or general appropriation for any disbursements or expenditures nor shall any disbursements or expenditures be subject to the budget and allotment requirements of Article 4, Chapter 4, Title 41, and disbursements and expenditures may not be restricted or subject to any other requirements for general or special appropriations.

A certified association may enter into agreements with like associations, commissions, or other agencies of other states for the purpose of conducting a similar ratite industry promotional program jointly with the associations, commissions, or other agencies in other states, and the certified association may contribute a proportionate share of the cost and expenses necessary for the program.

A certified association receiving and disbursing funds shall, within 60 days following the end of each calendar year, or within a period of 60 days following the close of its fiscal year, cause an audit of its books and accounts to be conducted by a certified public accountant, disclosing receipts, disbursements, expenditures, and other pertinent information, and a copy of the auditor's report shall be forwarded to the board for inspection and review. The Department of Examiners of Public Accounts shall audit, review, and investigate the receipts and disbursements of funds in the same manner that those duties are performed for examination and audits of agencies and departments of the state. Any examination or audit required by this section shall be open to public inspection. Within 90 days following the close of a certified association's fiscal year, if it has received any funds from assessments levied and collected pursuant to this chapter, the association shall publish a verified statement in the publications of the certified association showing the amount received and collected and the amounts spent for each project and item.

The board may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the intent and purposes of this chapter, including rules and regulations governing the holding of a referendum by a certified association, the collection, deposit, handling, withdrawal, and disbursement of assessments collected, and any other reasonable rules and regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the intent and purposes of this chapter.

The commissioner shall, through the Department of Agriculture and Industries, enforce and collect the assessments levied upon feed sold to ratite producers by feed distributors in the state for ratite consumption and shall enforce the rules and regulations of the board. The board may at any time revoke or cancel the certification of an association if the association is not carrying out its promotional program in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Before any certification may be revoked, the certified association shall be given notice and an opportunity to be heard by the board upon the question of whether its certification should be revoked.

Any feed distributor who sells feed in the state that is intended for ratite consumption who willfully fails or refuses to deduct and pay to the commissioner any assessment shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined an amount equal to three times the amount of the assessment the feed distributor failed or refused to collect and remit as required under this chapter. The amount of any fine shall be remitted to the commissioner and shall be transferred by the commissioner to the account of the certified association entitled to the assessment.

It is hereby declared to be in the interest of the public welfare that ratite producers are encouraged to act jointly and in cooperation with ratite industry related businesses and with the commissioner and the board in promoting and stimulating through research, education, advertising, and other methods, the increased and efficient production, distribution, use, and sale of ratites and ratite products. It is further the intent and purpose of this chapter to provide a method and procedure for financing a promotional program for the ratite industry pursuant to powers conferred upon the Legislature by Amendment ____ to the Alabama Constitution of 1901.

No association, meeting, or activity undertaken pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and intended to benefit the Alabama ratite industry shall be deemed or considered illegal or in restraint of trade.

It is hereby further declared to be in the public interest and highly advantageous to the economy of the state that ratite producers be permitted by referendum, as provided in this chapter, to levy upon themselves an assessment and to provide for the collection of the assessment for the financing of a program for research, education, advertising, and other methods designed to increase or promote the efficient and economical production, distribution, and marketing, as well as the increased use, consumption, and sale of ratites and ratite products.

(a) Any Alabama nonprofit association of ratite producers organized for the promotion and betterment of the ratite industry may apply to the board for certification and approval for the purpose of conducting a referendum among ratite producers of the state, on the question of levying an assessment and collecting, expending, and utilizing the assessment for the purpose or purposes authorized under this chapter and as stated in the referendum. Any nonprofit association approved or certified by the board may execute or carry out a promotional program pursuant to this chapter.

(b) Upon any nonprofit association of ratite producers filing an application with the board, the board shall within 30 days thereafter meet and consider the application. If the board is satisfied that the applicant is fairly representative of the ratite producers of the state, and the board finds and determines that the application is in conformity with the provisions and purposes of this chapter, the board shall certify the association as a duly delegated and authorized association and shall certify that the association may conduct among the ratite producers of the state a referendum for the purpose set forth in its application.

(a) Upon certification by the board, an association may hold and conduct on the part of the Alabama ratite producers a referendum on the question of whether to levy upon themselves an assessment. The referendum shall be conducted on a statewide or area basis as determined by the certified association.

(b) The certified association shall, not less than 30 days before the date of any referendum, publicly announce the date, hours, polling places, and rules for voting in the referendum, the geographic areas covered by the referendum, the amount and basis of the assessment proposed to be collected, the means by which the assessment shall be collected, and the general purposes for which the amount collected shall be expended and applied. The notice shall be published by the certified association in its trade publication and written notice shall be given to each county agent in the geographic area covered by the referendum.

(c) Arrangements for, and the management of, any referendum conducted shall be under the direction of the association certified by the board to conduct the referendum, and the association shall furnish all necessary ballots and arrange for the necessary poll holders. All expenses and costs necessary to conduct a referendum shall be borne by the association.

(d) Any referendum conducted shall be held on a statewide or area basis, as determined by the certified association, pursuant to rules and regulations adopted for the holding of a referendum. All ratite producers in the geographic area covered by the referendum, who shall be subject to any assessments levied, shall be entitled to vote in the referendum. In the referendum, individuals eligible to participate shall vote on the question of whether there shall be levied an assessment for a period of five years in an amount set forth in the call for the referendum. The amount of the assessment levied shall be determined by the certified association.

(a) If in any referendum, a majority of the ratite producers of the geographic area in which the referendum is conducted and eligible to participate and voting in the referendum, vote in favor of the levying and collection of the assessment proposed in the referendum, then the assessment shall be levied and collected in the manner provided in this chapter. Following the referendum and within 10 days thereafter, the certified association shall canvass, tabulate, and publicly declare and announce the results of the referendum.

(b) In the event any referendum shall fail to receive the required number of affirmative votes, then the certified association conducting the referendum may call another referendum in the next succeeding year on the question of an assessment and promotional program for a five-year period; provided, that no referendum may be held within a period of 12 months from the date on which the last referendum was held.

(c) In the event a referendum is passed and assessments are levied for the period set forth in the call for the referendum, then the association conducting the referendum may call and conduct during or after the last year of the assessment period another referendum in which the ratite producers may vote on the question of whether the assessment shall be continued or renewed for another designated period of time. Any subsequent referendums authorized in this section shall be subject to all of the requirements of an original referendum conducted under the provisions of this chapter.

In the event a referendum levying an assessment is passed, the commissioner shall within 30 days notify in writing feed distributors that on or after the date designated in the notice, which shall be not less than 30 nor more than 60 days after the mailing of the notice by the commissioner, the amount of the assessment shall be deducted from all feed sales. On or before the tenth day of each calendar month, all assessments so deducted by feed distributors shall be remitted to the commissioner, less three percent of the total assessment deducted, which may be retained by the feed distributor to compensate him or her for the expense of collecting and remitting the assessments. The books and records of all feed distributors shall at all times during regular business hours be open for inspection by the commissioner or his or her duly authorized representatives or agents for the purpose of ascertaining the accuracy of the amounts remitted as required by this section. The commissioner may deduct three percent of all sums remitted to him or her under this section, to defray the expenses incident to collection and administration of this chapter. All amounts deducted by the commissioner shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of the Agricultural Fund.

The commissioner shall remit to the treasurer of the certified association, on a quarterly basis between the first and fifteenth day of January, April, July, and October of each year, all assessment moneys collected by the commissioner, less an amount not to exceed three percent of the total amount collected, which amount shall be deposited in the Agricultural Fund of the State Treasury. The assessment moneys remitted to the treasurer of the certified association shall be used and expended by the association for a promotional program in the manner provided by this chapter and the rules and regulations of the association.