§ 30 — Massachusetts dairy promotion board; membership; assessment and collection of fee upon milk delivered by producers; audit

Section 30. (a) There shall be established a Massachusetts dairy promotion board which shall consist of 9 members: 1 of whom shall be the secretary of administration and finance or his designee; 1 of whom shall be the commissioner of the department of agricultural resources or his designee, who shall serve as chair; and 7 members to be appointed by the commissioner, 1 of whom shall be selected from a list of 3 individuals nominated by the Massachusetts Cooperative of Milk Producers Federation; 1 of whom shall be a Massachusetts producer dealer selected from a list of 3 individuals nominated by the New England Producer Handlers Association; 2 of whom shall be selected from a list of 5 individuals nominated by the Massachusetts Association of Dairy Farmers; 2 of whom shall be selected from a list of 5 individuals nominated by Agri-mark Cooperative; and 1 of whom shall be selected from a list of 3 individuals nominated by the Massachusetts Food Association. Each member shall serve a term of 3 years. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall be appointed in a like manner and shall serve for only the unexpired term of such director. Any member shall be eligible for reappointment. A producer member who changes the geographic market into which the member sells milk or who ceases the production of milk in the commonwealth shall be considered to have vacated membership if the change or cessation continues in excess of 3 months. A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of at least a majority of members present at a meeting shall be required to transact business and carry out the purpose of the board. The members of the board shall serve without compensation, but each member shall be entitled to reimbursement for his actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties.(b) The board shall develop programs and policies with the objective of increasing the consumption of Massachusetts dairy products. The programs and policies may include, but shall not be limited to, promotional activities such as paid advertising, sales promotion and publicity to advance the image and sales of, and demand for: Massachusetts dairy products generally; research activities including, but not limited to, studies testing the effectiveness of market development and promotion efforts, studies relating to the nutritional value of milk and dairy products and other related efforts to expand demand for dairy products; and education which includes those activities intended to broaden the understanding of sound nutritional principles, including the role of milk and dairy products in a balanced diet.(c) The board shall adopt rules, regulations or guidelines necessary to carry out this section, and may authorize the commissioner to administer any programs as determined by the board to carry out its purposes.(d) The board shall assess a fee of 10 cents per hundredweight upon milk delivered by Massachusetts milk producers or such fee that is commensurate with the credit allowed for producer contributions to state qualified programs under the Dairy Production Stabilization Act of 1983, codified at 7 U.S.C. section 4504 (g) as amended. The fee shall be collected as follows: (1) a dealer who purchases milk directly from producers shall withhold from each Massachusetts milk producer a fee of 10 cents per hundredweight on all milk produced and shall forward that fee to the board not later than the last day of the month following the month in which the milk was produced; and (2) all producer dealers shall pay to the board a fee of 10 cents per hundredweight on all milk produced by the producer dealer not later than the last day of the month following the month in which the milk was produced. All monies collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into the dairy promotion trust fund established by section 48A of chapter 10.(e) The board may receive and expend funds from any source, public or private, to carry out the purposes of this section. The monies collected and deposited into the Dairy Promotion Trust Fund established under section 31 shall be controlled exclusively by the board subject to an annual spending plan that shall be approved by the secretary of administration and finance.(f) The board shall keep books, records and accounts of all its activities, which shall be open to inspection. The books and records of the board shall be subject to an audit by the state auditor, in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards, as often as the state auditor determines is necessary. The state auditor shall present the results of the audit to the board, the commissioner, the state treasurer and the house and senate committees on ways and means. The board shall also prepare an annual report that shall include: a summary of all receipts and expenditures, including expenditures for specific promotional, educational or research programs; a description of the various promotional, educational or research programs operated, contracted or sponsored by the board; and a directory of current board members, including their affiliation and term of office thereof and shall provide a copy of the annual report to the house and senate committee on ways and means and the executive office of administration and finance.