Section 285.321 - Producer premium; limitation; payment; deduction from proceeds; notice to producer; forwarding for deposit into fund; manner of notice; retention of books and records; availability f
FARM PRODUCE INSURANCE ACT (EXCERPT)
Act 198 of 2003
285.321 Producer premium; limitation; payment; deduction from proceeds; notice to producer; forwarding for deposit into fund; manner of notice; retention of books and records; availability for inspection or verification; disclosure; certification of amount of money in fund.
Sec. 11.
(1) Except as provided in this section, beginning January 1, 2005, each producer shall pay to the authority a producer premium of not more than 0.2% of the net proceeds from all farm produce sold by the producer to a licensee in this state. If the farm produce is sold to a licensee, the licensee shall deduct the producer premium from the proceeds of sale and pay the premium to the authority on behalf of the producer as provided in subsection (3).
(2) A producer premium imposed under this section is in addition to any other fees or assessments required by law.
(3) Beginning January 1, 2005, when purchasing farm produce from a producer, a licensee or its agent or representative shall deduct the producer premium described in subsection (1) from the proceeds of sale and notify the producer of the amount of the deduction in writing. The licensee shall forward the producer premium to the authority for deposit into the fund on behalf of the producer within 30 days of the close of each quarter of the fiscal year. Until the authority has received $5,000,000.00 in producer premiums under this act from licensees, a licensee that forwards producer premiums it has collected to the authority within the time period described in this subsection may retain 0.1% of the producer premiums collected.
(4) Before January 1, 2005, the department by first-class mail shall notify each licensee of the requirements of subsection (3).
(5) A licensee shall clearly indicate in its books and records the individual producer premiums collected by the licensee under subsection (3) and retain those books and records for at least 3 years. A licensee shall make the portion of the books and records of the licensee reflecting the premiums collected available for inspection by the director during regular business hours. The department shall take steps reasonably necessary to verify the accuracy of the portion of the licensee's books and records that reflect the premiums collected. The board shall reimburse the department for the costs related to the verification from the fund as an administrative expense under section 9(2).
(6) The director shall require that a licensee make its books and records available to the department for the inspection or verification described in subsection (5). Financial information submitted to the department or the authority by a licensee for purposes of this subsection and subsection (5) is confidential and is not subject to the disclosure requirements of the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246, except that disclosure of financial information may be made in any of the following circumstances:
(a) With the written consent of the licensee.
(b) Pursuant to a court proceeding.
(c) The disclosure is made to the director or an agent or employee of the department.
(d) The disclosure is made to an agent or employee of a state or the federal government authorized by law to see or review the information.
(e) The information is disclosed in the form of an information summary or profile, or as part of a statistical study that includes data on more than 1 grain dealer, that does not identify the grain dealer to whom any specific information applies.
(7) At each annual meeting, the board shall certify the amount of money in the fund at the end of the preceding fiscal year. A producer shall continue to pay and a licensee shall continue to collect producer premiums until the board certifies that the fund contained more than $5,000,000.00 at the end of the preceding fiscal year. In any fiscal year where the board has certified that the fund contained more than $5,000,000.00 at the end of the preceding fiscal year, a producer is not required to pay and a licensee is not required to collect producer premiums until 1 of the following occurs:
(a) The board certifies that the fund contained less than $3,000,000.00 at the end of the preceding fiscal year. In any year where the board has certified that the fund contained less than $3,000,000.00 at the end of the preceding fiscal year, the obligation of each producer to pay and each licensee to collect producer premiums is reinstated.
(b) The obligation of each producer to pay and each licensee to collect producer premiums is reinstated in any fiscal year in which all of the following are met:
(i) The board certifies that the fund contained at least $3,000,000.00 at the end of the preceding fiscal year.
(ii) The board is aware of a failure of a licensee.
(iii) As determined by the board, the amount required to satisfy valid claims equals or exceeds the amount of money in the fund.
History: 2003, Act 198, Imd. Eff. Nov. 10, 2003