Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 2019
Latest action · Mar 28, 2019 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 28, 2019
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 2019
This bill establishes restrictions and requirements for checkoff programs, which are programs overseen by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote and provide research and information for a particular agricultural commodity without reference to specific producers or brands.
The bill prohibits boards established to carry out a checkoff program or a USDA order issued under a checkoff program from entering into a contract or agreement to carry out program activities with a party that engages in activities to influence any government policy or action that relates to agriculture.
A board or its employees or agents acting in their official capacity may not engage in any
- act that may involve a conflict of interest;
- anticompetitive activity;
- unfair or deceptive act or practice; or
- act that may be disparaging to, or in any way negatively portray, another agricultural commodity or product.
Upon approval of USDA, a board may enter directly into contracts and agreements to carry out generic promotion, research, or other activities authorized by law if the agreement or contract requires records accounting for the funds received to be submitted to the board.
The board must meet specified requirements regarding the publication of budgets and disbursements of funds.
The USDA Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office must conduct specified audits regarding checkoff programs.
Cosponsors 3
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Mar 28, 2019.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Original | Mar 28, 2019 |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Original | Mar 28, 2019 |
| R-KY | Rand Paul | Original | Mar 28, 2019 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 28, 2019Introduced in Senate
- Mar 28, 2019Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 934 | Voluntary Checkoff Program Participation Act | Related bill | Mar 28, 2019 |
| HR 5563 | Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 2020 | Related bill | Jan 9, 2020 |
| HR 5699 | Voluntary Checkoff Program Participation Act | Related bill | Jan 29, 2020 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Agriculture and Food.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 28, 2019Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.