II 112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1905 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 18, 2011 Mrs. Gillibrand introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to support crop insurance for specialty crops, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Specialty Crop Insurance Act of 2011.

2.

Advance payments for underserved regions and crops

Section 522(b)(2) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(b)(2)) is amended by striking subparagraph (E) and inserting the following: (E)

Approval

(i)

In general

The Board may approve up to 50 percent of the projected total research and development costs to be paid in advance to an applicant, in accordance with the procedures developed by the Board for the making of the payments, if, after consideration of the reviewer reports described in subparagraph (D) and such other information as the Board determines appropriate, the Board determines— (I)the concept, in good faith, will likely result in a viable and marketable policy consistent with section 508(h); (II)in the sole opinion of the Board, the concept, if developed into a policy and approved by the Board, would provide crop insurance coverage— (aa)in a significantly improved form; (bb)to a crop or region not traditionally served by the Federal crop insurance program; or (cc)in a form that addresses a recognized flaw or problem in the program; (III)the applicant agrees to provide such reports as the Corporation determines are necessary to monitor the development effort; (IV)the proposed budget and timetable are reasonable; and (V)the concept proposal meets any other requirements that the Board determines appropriate. (ii)

Waiver

The Board may waive the 50-percent cap on costs paid under clause (i) if, in the sole discretion of the Board, the Board determines that— (I)the concept proposal provides coverage for a region or crop that is underserved by the Federal crop insurance program, including specialty crops; and (II)the submitter of the concept proposal does not have sufficient financial resources to fund the development of the concept or the submission. .

3.

Authority to conduct research and development

(a)

In general

Section 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is amended— (1)in the subsection heading by striking contracting; (2)in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking may enter into contracts to carry out research and development to and inserting may conduct activities or enter into contracts to carry out research and development to maintain or improve existing policies or develop new policies to; (3)in paragraph (2)— (A)in subparagraph (A), by inserting conduct research and development or after The Corporation may; and (B)in subparagraph (B), by inserting conducting research and development or after Before; (4)in paragraph (5), by inserting after expert review in accordance with section 505(e) after approved by the Board; and (5)in paragraph (6), by striking a pasture, range, and forage program and inserting policies that increase participation by producers of underserved agricultural commodities, including specialty crops. (b)

Funding

Section 522(e) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(e)) is amended— (1)in paragraph (2)— (A)by striking (A) Authority.— and inserting (A) Conducting and contracting for research and development.—; (B)in subparagraph (A), by inserting conduct research and development and after the Corporation may use to; and (C)in subparagraph (B), by inserting conduct research and development and after for the fiscal year to; (2)in paragraph (3), by striking to provide either reimbursement payments or contract payments; and (3)by striking paragraph (4).