(a) There is hereby established a Mushroom Council of not less than four or more than nine members. The Council shall be composed of producers appointed by the Secretary under Sec. 1209.33, except that, as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, importers shall be appointed by the Secretary to the Council under Sec. 1209.33 once imports, on average, reach at least 50,000,000 pounds of mushrooms annually.
(b) For purposes of nominating and appointing producers to the Council, the United States shall be divided into three geographic regions and the number of Council members from each region shall be as follows:
(1) Region 1: All other States including the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico except for Pennsylvania and California--2 Members.
(2) Region 2: The State of Pennsylvania--4 Members.
(3) Region 3: The State of California--2 Members.
(c) Importers shall be represented by a single, separate region, referred to as Region 4, consisting of the United States when imports, on average, equal or exceed 50,000,000 pounds of mushrooms annually.
(d) At least every five years, and not more than every three years, the Council shall review changes in the geographic distribution of mushroom production volume throughout the United States and import volume, using the average annual mushroom production and imports over the preceding four years, and, based on such review, shall recommend to the Secretary reapportionment of the regions established in paragraph (b) of this section, or modification of the number of members from such regions, as determined under the rules established in paragraph (e), of this section or both, as necessary to best reflect the geographic distribution of mushroom production volume in the United States and representation of imports, if applicable.
(e) Subject to the nine-member maximum limitation, the following procedure will be used to determine the number of members for each region to serve on the Council under paragraph (d) of this section:
(1) Each region that produces, on average, at least 50,000,000 pounds of mushrooms annually shall be entitled to one representative on the Council.
(2) As provided in paragraph (c) of this section, importers shall be represented by a single, separate region, which shall be entitled to one representative, if such region imports, on average, at least 50,000,000 pounds of mushrooms annually.
(3) If the annual production of a region is greater than 110,000,000 pounds, but less than or equal to 180,000,000 pounds, the region shall be represented by 1 additional member.
(4) If the annual production of a region is greater than 180,000,000 pounds, but less than or equal to 260,000,000 pounds, the region shall be represented by 2 additional members.
(5) If the annual production of a region is greater than 260,000,000 pounds, the region shall be represented by 3 additional members.
(6) Should, in the aggregate, regions be entitled to levels of representation under paragraphs (e)(1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) of this section that would exceed the nine-member limit on the Council under the Act, the seat or seats assigned shall be assigned to that region or those regions with greater on-average production or import volume than the other regions otherwise eligible at that increment level.
(f) In determining the volume of mushrooms produced in the United States or imported into the United States for purposes of this section, the Council and the Secretary shall:
(1) Only consider mushrooms produced or imported by producers and importers, respectively, as those terms are defined in Sec. Sec. 1209.8 and 1209.15; and
(2) Use the information received by the Council under Sec. 1209.60, and data published by the Department.
(g) For purposes of the provisions of this section relating to the appointment of producers and importers to serve on the Council, the term producer or importer refers to any individual who is a producer or importer, respectively, or if the producer or importer is an entity other than an individual, an individual who is an officer or employee of such producer or importer. [58 FR 3449, Jan. 8, 1993, as amended at 74 FR 50919, Oct. 2, 2009]