§ 106-794. Payment and collection of assessment.
§ 106‑794. Paymentand collection of assessment.
(a) The assessment shall not be collected unless more than halfof the votes cast in the referendum are in favor of the assessment. If morethan half of the votes cast in the referendum are in favor of the assessment,then the Association shall notify the Department of the amount of theassessment and the effective date of the assessment. The Department shallnotify all buyers and pork producers of the assessment.
(b) Each pork producer must pay an assessment on each porcineanimal sold to a buyer.
(c) A buyer of a porcine animal shall collect the assessmentwhen buying a porcine animal by deducting the assessment from the price paidfor the animal. The buyer shall remit collected assessments to the Departmentno later than the 10th day of the following month. The Department shallprovide forms to buyers for reporting the assessment. If the total assessmentscollected by a buyer in a month are less than twenty‑five dollars($25.00), the buyer may keep the assessments until the total amount due is atleast twenty‑five dollars ($25.00) or the end of the quarter, whichevercomes first. All buyers shall file at least one report in each calendarquarter, regardless of the amount due.
(d) A buyer of porcine animals shall keep records of the numberof porcine animals purchased and the date purchased. All information orrecords regarding purchases of porcine animals by individual buyers shall bekept confidential by employees or agents of the Department and the Association,and shall not be disclosed except by court order.
(e) The Association may bring an action to recover any unpaidassessments, plus the reasonable costs, including attorney fees, incurred inthe action. (1991, c. 605, s.1.)