7 U.S.C. § 87
No person licensed or authorized by the Secretary to perform any official function under this chapter, or employed by the Secretary in otherwise carrying out any of the provisions of this chapter, shall, during the term of such license, authorization, or employment, (a) be financially interested (directly or otherwise) in any business entity owning or operating any grain elevator or warehouse or engaged in the merchandising of grain, or (b) be in the employment of, or accept gratuities from, any such entity, or (c) be engaged in any other kind of activity specified by regulation of the Secretary as involving a conflict of interest: Provided, however, That the Secretary may license qualified employees of any grain elevators or warehouses to perform official sampling functions, under such conditions as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe, and the Secretary may by regulation provide such other exceptions to the restrictions of this section as the Secretary determines are consistent with the purposes of this chapter.
The provisions of this section shall not prevent an official agency or State agency delegated authority under this chapter from engaging in the business of weighing grain.
7 U.S.C. § 87
EDITORIAL NOTES
AMENDMENTS1994-Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 103-354 substituted "Secretary" for "Administrator" wherever appearing.Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 103-437 substituted "Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry" for "Committee on Agriculture and Forestry".1993- Pub. L. 103-156, §12(j), which directed amendment of "Section 11", without specifying the name of the Act being amended, was executed to this section, which is section 11 of the United States Grain Standards Act, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103-156, §12(j)(1), substituted "the Administrator" for "he" before "determines". Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 103-156, §12(j)(2)(A), substituted "the producer" for "he".Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 103-156, §12(j)(2)(B), substituted "the Administrator" for "he" in two places. 1977-Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 95-113, §1604(h)(1), substituted "to perform official weighing or supervision of weighing" for "to perform supervision of weighing".Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 95-113, §1606(g), substituted "official weighing or supervision of weighing" for "official weighing".Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 95-113, §1604(h)(2), substituted "to perform official inspection or perform official weighing or supervision of weighing except that" for "to perform official inspection or perform supervision of weighing except that" and "member, director, officer" for "member, officer". Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 95-113, §1604(h)(3), inserted "or State agency delegated authority under this chapter" after "official agency". 1976-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94-582, §13(a)-(c), substituted "Administrator" for "Secretary" wherever appearing and "perform any official function" for "perform any official inspection function", and designated first paragraph provisions, as amended, as subsec. (a), respectively. Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 94-582, §13(c), added subsecs. (b) and (c). 1968- Pub. L. 90-487 substituted provisions prohibiting a conflict of interest on the part of inspectors who are interested financially in a grain elevator or in grain merchandising, for provisions covering the separability of provisions of this chapter.
STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1977 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 95-113 effective Oct. 1, 1977, see section 1901 of Pub. L. 95-113 set out as a note under section 1307 of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 94-582 effective 30 days after Oct. 21, 1976, see section 27 of Pub. L. 94-582 as amended, set out as a note under section 74 of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1968 AMENDMENTFor effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 90-487 see section 2 of Pub. L. 90-487 set out as a note under section 78 of this title.
- Secretary
- the term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States or delegates of the Secretary;
- State
- the term "State" means any one of the States (including Puerto Rico) or territories or possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia);
- United States
- the term "United States" means the States (including Puerto Rico) and the territories and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia);
- grain
- the term "grain" means corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, flaxseed, sorghum, soybeans, mixed grain, and any other food grains, feed grains, and oilseeds for which standards are established under section 76 of this title;
- official agency
- the term "official agency" means any State or local governmental agency, or any person, designated by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (f) of section 79 of this title for the conduct of official inspection (other than appeal inspection), or subsection (c) of section 79a of this title for the conduct of official weighing or supervision of weighing (other than appeal weighing);
- official inspection
- the term "official inspection" means the determination (by original inspection, and when requested, reinspection and appeal inspection) and the certification, by official inspection personnel of the kind, class, quality, or condition of grain, under standards provided for in this chapter, or the condition of vessels and other carriers or receptacles for the transportation of grain insofar as it may affect the quality or condition of such grain; or other facts relating to grain under other criteria approved by the Secretary under this chapter (the term "officially inspected" shall be construed accordingly);
- official weighing
- the term "official weighing" means the determination and certification by official inspection personnel of the quantity of a lot of grain under standards provided for in this chapter, based on the actual performance of weighing or the physical supervision thereof, including the physical inspection and testing for accuracy of the weights and scales and the physical inspection of the premises at which the weighing is performed and the monitoring of the discharge of grain into the elevator or conveyance (the terms "officially weigh" and "officially weighed" shall be construed accordingly);
- person
- the term "person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other business entity;
- supervision of weighing
- the term "supervision of weighing" means such supervision by official inspection personnel of the grain-weighing process as is determined by the Secretary to be adequate to reasonably assure the integrity and accuracy of the weighing and of certificates which set forth the weight of the grain and such physical inspection by such personnel of the premises at which the grain weighing is performed as will reasonably assure that all the grain intended to be weighed has been weighed and discharged into the elevator or conveyance; and