(a) The Insurance Fund shall submit to the executive head or designated officer or officers of each party state a budget for the Insurance Fund for the period required by the laws of that party state for a presentation to the party state’s legislature.
(b) Each budget shall contain specific recommendations of the amount or amounts to be appropriated by each party state. The request for appropriations shall be apportioned among the party states as follows: one-tenth of the total budget in equal shares and the remainder in proportion to the value of agricultural and forest crops and products, excluding animals and animal products, produced in each party state. In determining the value of such crops and products, the Insurance Fund may employ any sources of information which present the most equitable and accurate comparisons among the party states. Each budget and request for appropriations shall indicate the source used to obtain information concerning the value of products.
(c) The financial assets of the Insurance Fund shall be maintained in two accounts to be designated, respectively, as the “operating account” and the “claims account”. The operating account shall consist only of assets necessary to administer the Insurance Fund during the next ensuing 2-year period. The claims account shall contain all moneys not included in the operating account and may not exceed the amount reasonably estimated to be sufficient to pay all legitimate claims on the Insurance Fund for a period of 3 years. When the claims account reaches its maximum limit or will reach its maximum limit by the addition of moneys requested for appropriation by the party states, the Governing Board shall reduce its budget requests on a pro rata basis to keep the claims account within the maximum limit. Any moneys in the claims account because of conditional donations, grants, or gifts shall be included in calculations made pursuant to this section only to the extent that such moneys are available to meet demands arising out of the claims.
(d) The Insurance Fund may not pledge the credit of any party state. The Insurance Fund may meet any of its obligations with moneys available to it under § 1019(g) of this title if the Governing Board takes specific action to set aside such moneys before incurring any obligation to be met in whole or in part in such a manner. Except where the Insurance Fund uses moneys available to it under § 1019(g) of this title, the Insurance Fund may not incur any obligation before the allotment of moneys by the party states adequate to meet the obligation.
(e) The Insurance Fund shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements. The receipts and disbursements of the Insurance Fund are subject to the audit and accounting procedures established under its bylaws. However, all receipts and disbursements of funds handled by the Insurance Fund shall be audited annually by a certified or licensed public accountant and a report of the audit shall be included in and become part of the annual report of the Insurance Fund.
(f) The accounts of the Insurance Fund shall be open at any reasonable time for inspection by authorized officers of the party states and any persons authorized by the Insurance Fund.
History —Jan. 20, 2010, No. 10, § 9.