[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1229 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1229

  To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to provide for the 
 application of mandatory minimum maturity standards applicable to all 
                  domestic and imported Hass avocados.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 26, 2007

  Mrs. Boxer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to provide for the 
 application of mandatory minimum maturity standards applicable to all 
                  domestic and imported Hass avocados.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Hass Avocado Quality Assurance Act 
of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Hass avocados are an integral food source in the United 
        States that are a valuable and healthy part of the human diet 
        and are enjoyed by millions of persons every year for a 
        multitude of everyday and special occasions.
            (2) Hass avocados are a significant tree fruit crop grown 
        by many individual producers both domestically and abroad.
            (3) Hass avocados move in interstate and foreign commerce 
        and Hass avocados that do not move in interstate or foreign 
        channels of commerce but only in intrastate commerce directly 
        affect interstate commerce of Hass avocados.
            (4) The maintenance and expansion of markets in existence 
        on the date of enactment of this Act, and the development of 
        new or improved markets or uses for Hass avocados, are needed 
        to preserve and strengthen the economic viability of the 
        domestic Hass avocado industry for the benefit of producers, 
        importers, and other persons associated with the producing, 
        importing, marketing, processing, and consuming of Hass 
        avocados.
            (5) The marketing of immature Hass avocados adversely 
        affects demand for all Hass avocados because immature avocados 
        are unpalatable and unfit for human consumption and, when 
        marketed, result in dissatisfied customers who will cease 
        purchasing Hass avocados.
            (6) There is no better method of ensuring the maturity of 
        Hass avocados than through requiring that Hass avocados meet an 
        established mandatory minimum maturity standard, as measured by 
        percentage of dry matter.
            (7) The application of consistent and mandatory minimum 
        maturity standards for all Hass avocados is necessary for the 
        maintenance, expansion, and development of markets for Hass 
        avocados.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to set forth certain 
mandatory quality standards in the form of mandatory minimum maturity 
requirements for all Hass avocados, and to provide the Secretary with 
the authority necessary to ensure that such standards are met, with the 
intention of--
            (1) strengthening the position of the Hass avocado industry 
        in the domestic marketplace; and
            (2) maintaining, developing, and expanding markets and uses 
        for Hass avocados.

SEC. 3. MATURITY REQUIREMENTS FOR HASS AVOCADOS.

    Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 209. MATURITY REQUIREMENTS FOR HASS AVOCADOS.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of the Hass Avocado Quality Assurance Act of 2007, the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall issue final regulations to ensure that 
all Hass avocados sold to consumers in the United States meet the 
minimum maturity standards (as measured by percentage of dry matter) 
for sale to a consumer of the State of California, as required by 
regulations issued pursuant to chapter 9 of division 17 of the 
California Food and Agricultural Code or any succeeding provision of 
California law governing the minimum maturity standards of Hass 
avocados for sale to a consumer.
    ``(b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) and the regulations issued 
pursuant to subsection (a) shall not apply to Hass avocados--
            ``(1) intended for consumption by charitable institutions;
            ``(2) intended for distribution by relief agencies;
            ``(3) intended for commercial processing into products; or
            ``(4) that the Secretary determines should not be subject 
        to such subsection or such regulations.
    ``(c) Use of Existing Inspectors.--The Secretary shall, to the 
greatest extent practicable, use inspectors that inspect avocados for 
compliance with section 8e of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 
608e-1), reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing 
Agreement Act of 1937, to conduct inspections under this section.
    ``(d) Penalties.--
            ``(1) Diversion.--The Secretary may divert, export, or 
        repack and reinspect any Hass avocados that do not meet the 
        requirements of this section or the regulations issued pursuant 
        to this section.
            ``(2) Civil penalties.--The Secretary may require any 
        person who violates this section or the regulations issued 
        pursuant to this section to--
                    ``(A) forfeit to the United States a sum equal to 
                the value of the commodity at the time of violation, 
                which forfeiture shall be recoverable in a civil suit 
                brought in the name of the United States; or
                    ``(B) on conviction, be fined not less than $50 or 
                more than $5,000 for each violation.
    ``(e) Fees.--The Secretary may prescribe and collect fees to cover 
the costs of providing for the inspection of Hass avocados under this 
section. All fees and penalties collected shall be credited to the 
accounts that incur such costs and shall remain available until 
expended without fiscal year limitation.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 
section.''.

SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act or the amendment made by this Act, or 
the application of such provision to any person or circumstance, is 
held invalid, the remainder of this Act and the amendment made by this 
Act, and the application of such provision to other persons not 
similarly situated or to other circumstances, shall not be affected by 
such invalidation.
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