Sections 2-4101 to 2-4119 shall be known and may be cited as the Dry Pea and Lentil Resources Act.

For purposes of the Dry Pea and Lentil Resources Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) Commercial channels means the sale of any dry peas and lentils for any use when sold to any commercial buyer, dealer, processor, or cooperative or any person, public or private, who resells any dry peas and lentils or product produced from dry peas and lentils;

(2) Commission means the Dry Pea and Lentil Commission;

(3) Dry peas and lentils means dry peas, lentils, chickpeas or garbanzo beans, faba beans, or lupins;

(4) First purchaser means any person, public or private corporation, association, partnership, or limited liability company buying, accepting for shipment, or otherwise acquiring the property rights in or to any dry peas and lentils from a grower and includes a mortgagee, pledgee, lienor, or other person, public or private, having a claim against the grower when the actual or constructive possession of such dry peas and lentils is taken as part payment or in satisfaction of such mortgage, pledge, lien, or claim;

(5) Grower means any landowner personally engaged in growing any dry peas and lentils, a tenant of the landowner personally engaged in growing any dry peas and lentils, and both the owner and the tenant jointly and includes a person, partnership, limited liability company, association, corporation, cooperative, trust, sharecropper, and other business units, devices, and arrangements;

(6) Net market price means the sales price, or other value, per volumetric unit received by a grower for any dry peas and lentils after adjustment for any premium or discount;

(7) Net market value means the value found by multiplying the net market price by the appropriate quantity of the volumetric units or the minimum value in a production contract received by a grower for any dry peas and lentils after adjustments for any premium or discount. For any dry peas and lentils pledged as collateral for a loan issued under any Commodity Credit Corporation price support loan program, net market value means the principal amount of the loan; and

(8) Sale includes any pledge or mortgage of any dry peas and lentils after harvest to any person, public or private.

The Dry Pea and Lentil Commission is created. Members shall be appointed to the commission by the Governor pursuant to section 2-4104.

(1) The commission shall be composed of five members who shall:

(a) Be citizens of Nebraska;

(b) Be at least twenty-one years of age;

(c) Have been actually engaged in growing dry peas and lentils in this state for a period of at least five years;

(d) Reside in the district they represent; and

(e) Derive a substantial portion of their income from growing dry peas and lentils.

(2) The Director of Agriculture and the vice chancellor of the University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources shall serve as nonvoting members of the commission.

(3) With the exception of the nonvoting members, the Governor shall appoint the members to the commission. The Governor shall appoint the initial members no later than July 1, 2021. One member shall be appointed from each of the following five districts:

(a) District 1: The counties of Sioux, Scotts Bluff, Banner, Kimball, Dawes, Box Butte, Morrill, Cheyenne, Sheridan, Garden, and Deuel;

(b) District 2: The counties of Cherry, Grant, Hooker, Thomas, Arthur, McPherson, Logan, Keith, Perkins, Lincoln, Chase, Hayes, Frontier, Dundy, Hitchcock, and Red Willow;

(c) District 3: All counties other than those listed in subdivision (a) or (b) of this subsection;

(d) District 4: The state at-large; and

(e) District 5: The state at-large.

The term of the member first appointed to serve district 1 shall expire on June 30, 2022; the term of the members first appointed to serve district 2 and district 4 shall expire on June 30, 2023; and the term of the members first appointed to serve district 3 and district 5 shall expire on June 30, 2024. As the terms of office of the initial commission members expire as provided in this section, their successors shall be appointed to serve for terms of three years and until their successors are appointed and qualified. A member appointed to fill a vacancy, occurring before the expiration of the term of a member separated from the commission for any cause, shall be appointed for the remainder of the term of the member whose office has been so vacated in the same manner as his or her predecessor. Each commission member may serve a maximum of three consecutive terms.

All voting members of the commission shall be entitled to expenses, as provided for in sections 81-1174 to 81-1177, while attending meetings of the commission or while engaged in the performance of official responsibilities as determined by the commission.

A member of the commission may be removed by the Governor for cause. He or she shall first be given a written copy of the cause or causes for removal and an opportunity to be heard publicly. In addition to all other causes, a member ceasing to (1) be a resident of the state, (2) live in the district from which he or she was appointed, or (3) be actually engaged in growing dry peas and lentils in the state shall be deemed a sufficient cause for removal from the commission.

At the first meeting of the commission, it shall elect a chairperson from among its members. The commission shall meet at least once every year and at such other times as called by the chairperson or by any three voting members of the commission. The majority of the voting members of the commission shall constitute a quorum for transaction of business. The commission may hold meetings by virtual conferencing subject to the Open Meetings Act. No member shall vote by proxy, and the affirmative vote of the majority of all members of the commission shall be necessary for the adoption of rules and regulations.

It is hereby declared to be the public policy of the State of Nebraska to protect and foster the health, prosperity, and general welfare of its people by protecting and stabilizing the dry pea and lentil industry and the economy of the areas producing dry peas and lentils. The commission shall be the agency of the State of Nebraska for such purpose. In connection with and in furtherance of such purpose, the commission shall have the power to:

(1) Formulate the general policies and programs of the State of Nebraska respecting the discovery, promotion, and development of markets and industries for the utilization of dry peas and lentils grown within the State of Nebraska;

(2) Adopt and devise a program of education and publicity;

(3) Cooperate with local, state, or national organizations, whether public or private, in carrying out the purposes of the Dry Pea and Lentil Resources Act and enter into such contracts as may be necessary;

(4) Adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to promptly and effectively enforce the Dry Pea and Lentil Resources Act. The rules and regulations shall include provisions which prescribe the procedure for adjustment of the excise tax by the commission pursuant to section 2-4111;

(5) Conduct, in addition to the things enumerated in this section, any other program for the development, utilization, and marketing of dry peas and lentils grown in the State of Nebraska. Such programs may include a program to make grants and enter into contracts for research and accumulation of data;

(6) Make refunds for overpayments of the excise tax according to rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the commission; and

(7) Employ personnel and contract for services which are necessary for the proper operation of the Dry Pea and Lentil Resources Act.

The commission may establish an administrative office in the State of Nebraska at such place as may be suitable for the furtherance of the Dry Pea and Lentil Resources Act. The commission shall not purchase, construct, or otherwise obtain title to its own administrative office, but shall be limited to leasing state or commercial office space.

(1) Beginning on July 1, 2021, there is hereby levied an excise tax of one percent of the net market value of dry peas and lentils sold through commercial channels in the State of Nebraska. The tax shall be levied and imposed on the grower at the time of sale or delivery and shall be collected by the first purchaser. Under the Dry Pea and Lentil Resources Act, no dry peas and lentils shall be subject to the tax more than once.

(2) After July 1, 2023, the commission may, whenever it determines that the excise tax levied by this section is yielding more or less than is required to carry out the intent and purposes of the Dry Pea and Lentil Resources Act, reduce or increase such levy for such period as it deems justifiable, but not less than one year, and such levy shall not be less than one percent of net market value and not exceed two percent of the net market value. Any adjustment to the levy shall be by rule and regulation adopted and promulgated by the commission.

In the case of a pledge or mortgage of dry peas and lentils as security for a loan under the federal price support program, the tax shall be deducted from the proceeds of such loan at the time the loan is made.

The tax provided for by section 2-4111 shall be deducted as provided by the Dry Pea and Lentil Resources Act, whether such dry peas and lentils are stored in this or any other state.

The tax levied and imposed by section 2-4111 shall not apply to the sale of dry peas and lentils to the federal government for ultimate use or consumption by the people of the United States, where the State of Nebraska is prohibited from imposing such tax by the Constitution of the United States and laws enacted pursuant thereto.

(1) The first purchaser, at the time of settlement, shall deduct the dry pea and lentil excise tax as provided for in section 2-4111 and shall maintain the necessary records of the excise tax for each purchase of dry peas and lentils on the grain settlement form or check stub showing payment to the grower for each purchase. Such records maintained by the first purchaser shall provide the following information:

(a) Name and address of the grower and seller;

(b) Date of the purchase;

(c) Number of pounds of dry peas and lentils sold;

(d) Total value of the dry peas and lentils sold; and

(e) Amount of the dry pea and lentil excise tax collected on each purchase.

(2) Such records shall be open for inspection and audit by authorized representatives of the commission during normal business hours observed by the first purchaser.

(3) The first purchaser shall render and have on file with the commission by the tenth day of each month on forms prescribed by the commission, a statement of the number of pounds of dry peas and lentils purchased in Nebraska during the prior month. At the time the statement is filed, the first purchaser shall pay and remit to the commission the tax as provided for in section 2-4111.

The Dry Pea and Lentil Fund is created. All taxes collected by the commission pursuant to the Dry Pea and Lentil Resources Act and any repayments relating to the fund, including license fees or royalties, shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the fund. The fund shall be used to carry out such act. The commission shall at each regular meeting review and approve all expenditures made since its last regular meeting. Any money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

The commission shall not be authorized to set up research or development units or agencies of its own, but shall limit its activity to cooperation and contracts with the Department of Agriculture, University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, or other proper local, state, or national organizations, public or private, in carrying out the Dry Pea and Lentil Resources Act.

Any person violating the Dry Pea and Lentil Resources Act shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor.

No funds collected by the commission shall be expended directly or indirectly to promote or oppose any candidate for public office or to influence state legislation. The commission shall not expend more than twenty-five percent of its annual budget to influence federal legislation.