Georgia Code
Article 2 - Agricultural Commodity Commissions Generally
§ 2-8-23. Approval by Producers Prerequisite to Issuance of Marketing Order or Major Amendment; Notice; Rules and Regulations; Expiration; Extensions; Referendum

History. Ga. L. 1961, p. 301, § 14; Ga. L. 1964, p. 141, §§ 2, 3; Ga. L. 1969, p. 763, §§ 15, 16; Code 1981, § 2-8-15 ; Code 1981, § 2-8-23 , as redesignated by Ga. L. 1989, p. 1420, § 1; Ga. L. 2021, p. 614, § 3/SB 247; Ga. L. 2022, p. 352, § 2/HB 1428.
The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, rewrote paragraph (a)(1), which read: “No marketing order or major amendment thereto, directly affecting producers or producer marketing, issued pursuant to this article, shall be made effective by the commission or the Commissioner until the finding of one or more of the following:
“(A) That such marketing order or amendment thereto has been assented to in writing by not less than 65 percent of the producers who are engaged within the area specified in such marketing order or amendment thereto in the production for market or the producer marketing of not less than 51 percent of the agricultural commodity specified therein in commercial quantities;
“(B) That such marketing order or amendment thereto has been assented to in writing by producers who produce not less than 65 percent of the volume of such agricultural commodity and by 51 percent of the total number of producers so engaged; or
“(C) That such marketing order or amendment thereto has been approved or favored by producers in a referendum among producers directly affected if the valid votes cast in such referendum in favor of such marketing order or amendment thereto represent not less than 51 percent of the total number of producers of the commodity of record with the department who marketed not less than 51 percent of the total quantity of the commodity marketed in the next preceding marketing season by the total number of producers of record with the department.”; deleted the former last two sentences of paragraph (a)(3), which read: “If from such tabulation the Commissioner or the commission finds that the number of producers voting in favor of such marketing order or amendment thereto is not less than 51 percent of the total number of producers of record with the department and that such producers who voted in favor of the marketing order or amendment thereto marketed not less than 51 percent of the total volume of such commodity marketed by all producers of record with the department during the marketing season next preceding such referendum, the Commissioner or the commission may make such marketing order or amendment thereto effective. The Commissioner and the commission are authorized to prescribe such additional procedures as may be necessary to conduct such referendum.”; inserted “or she” near the middle of the first and last sentences of paragraph (a)(4); substituted “the Commissioner’s or commission’s” for “his or its” in the second sentence of paragraph (c)(1); deleted “a notice thereof shall be posted on a public bulletin board maintained at the Department of Agriculture; and” following “or termination thereof,” in the first sentence of subsection (d); substituted “publication, mailing of notice,” for “posting, publication,” near the beginning of the second sentence of subsection (e); and deleted “posting” following “this Code section relative to” in the second sentence of subsection (f).
The 2022 amendment, effective May 2, 2022, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted “appointed” for “appointive” in the first sentence of paragraph (c)(1); and deleted “posting and” preceding “publication” in the second sentence in subsection (d).
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2021, a comma following “to” was deleted in the second sentence of subsection (f).

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