SB 1673 Summary

• Establishes the "Commodity Research Enhancement Act" enabling nonprofit commodity organizations to petition the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture to conduct referendums on state assessments for agricultural commodities.

• Requires petitions be signed by at least 10% of commodity producers and include the nonprofit organization name, assessment purposes, designated federally approved commodity board recipient, and maximum assessment rate.

• Authorizes referendums to be conducted statewide with assessments approved if either two-thirds of voters approve or more than one-half approve and those voters produced at least 50% of the commodity's production volume.

• Designates the federally approved commodity board to receive and manage state assessment funds separately from other funds, with authority to collect assessments, sue for non-payment, and conduct research, education, and promotion programs.

• Allows producers to request refunds within 60 days of payment and permits subsequent referendums to discontinue assessments or authorize rate increases under the same approval thresholds; automatically repeals state assessment if federal assessment increases unless voters approve continuation within six months.