To provide for minimum prices for milk handlers.

1. Adds Sec. 7__. (a) Section 8c(5) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(5)), reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, is amended by adding at the end the following: on page 173, line 24

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   Inserted: Sec. 7__. (a) Section 8c(5) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(5)), reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, is amended by adding at the end the following:

   Inserted: "(M) Minimum milk prices for handlers.--

   Inserted: "(i) Application of minimum price requirements.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a milk handler described in clause (ii) shall be subject to all of the minimum and uniform price requirements of a Federal milk marketing order issued pursuant to this section applicable to the county in which the plant of the handler is located, at Federal order class prices, if the handler has packaged fluid milk product route dispositions, or sales of packaged fluid milk products to other plants, in a marketing area located in a State that requires handlers to pay minimum prices for raw milk purchases.

   Inserted: "(ii) Covered milk handlers.--Except as provided in clause (iv), clause (i) applies to a handler of Class I milk products (including a producer-handler or producer operating as a handler) that--

   Inserted: "(I) operates a plant that is located within the boundaries of a Federal order milk marketing area (as those boundaries are in effect on the date of enactment of this subparagraph);

   Inserted: "(II) has packaged fluid milk product route dispositions, or sales of packaged fluid milk products to other plants, in a milk marketing area located in a State that requires handlers to pay minimum prices for raw milk purchases; and

   Inserted: "(III) is not otherwise obligated by a Federal milk marketing order, or a regulated milk pricing plan operated by a State, to pay minimum class prices for the raw milk that is used for the milk dispositions or sales.

   Inserted: "(iii) Obligation to pay minimum class prices.--For the purpose of clause (ii)(III), the Secretary may not consider a handler of Class I milk products to be obligated by a Federal milk marketing order to pay minimum class prices for raw milk unless the handler operates the plant as a fully regulated fluid milk distributing plant under a Federal milk marketing order.

   Inserted: "(iv) Certain handlers exempted.--Clause (i) does not apply to--

   Inserted: "(I) a handler (otherwise described in clause (ii)) that operates a nonpool plant (as defined in section 1000.8(e) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this subparagraph));

   Inserted: "(II) a producer-handler (otherwise described in clause (ii)) for any month during which the producer-handler has route dispositions, and sales to other plants, of packaged fluid milk products equaling less than 3,000,000 pounds of milk; or

   Inserted: "(III) a handler (otherwise described in clause (ii)) for any month during which--

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   Inserted: "(aa) less than 25 percent of the total quantity of fluid milk products physically received at the plant of the handler (excluding concentrated milk received from another plant by agreement for other than Class I use) is disposed of as route disposition or is transferred in the form of packaged fluid milk products to other plants; or

   Inserted: "(bb) less than 25 percent in aggregate of the route disposition or transfers are in a marketing area or areas located in 1 or more States that require handlers to pay minimum prices for raw milk purchases.

   Inserted: "(N) Exemption for certain milk handlers.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no handler with distribution of Class I milk products in the Arizona-Las Vegas marketing area (Order No. 131) shall be exempt during any month from any minimum milk price requirement established by the Secretary under this subsection if the total distribution of Class I products during the preceding month of any such handler's own farm production that exceeds 3,000,000 pounds.".

   Inserted: (b) Section 8c(11) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(11)), reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, is amended--

   Inserted: (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking the last sentence; and

   Inserted: (2) by adding at the end the following:

   Inserted: "(D) Exclusion of nevada from federal milk marketing orders.--In the case of milk and its products, no county or other political subdivision located in the State of Nevada shall be within a marketing area covered by any order issued under this section.".

   Inserted: (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or the amendments made by this section, a milk handler (including a producer-handler or producer operating as a handler) that is subject to regulation under this section or an amendment made by this section shall comply with any requirement under section 1000.27 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation) relating to responsibility of handlers for records or facilities.

   Inserted: (d)(1) This section and the amendments made by this section take effect on the first day of the first month beginning more than 15 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

   Inserted: (2) To accomplish the expedited implementation schedule for the amendment made by subsection (a), effective on the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure that the pool distributing plant provisions of each Federal milk marketing order issued under section 8c(5)(B) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(5)(B)), reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement of 1937, provides that a handler described in section 8c(5)(M) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement of 1937 (as added by subsection (a))), will be fully regulated by the order in which the distributing plant of the handler is located.

   Inserted: (3) Implementation of this section and the amendments made by this section shall not be subject to a referendum under section 8c(19) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(19)), reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937.

   Original wording

   On page 173, after line 24, insert the following:

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As printed