SPIRO T. AGNEW, Governor                        1585

farmers, producers and growers commercially producing the com-
modities herein referred to shall he permitted by referendum to be
held among the respective groups and subject to the provisions of
this article, to levy upon themselves an assessment on such respec-
tive commodities or upon the acreage used in the production of the
same and provide for the collection of the same, for the purpose of
financing or contributing towards the financing of a program of
advertising and other methods designed to increase the consumption
of and the domestic as well as foreign markets for such agricultural
products. Such assessments may also be used for the purpose of
financing or contributing toward the financing of a program of
production, use and sale of any and all such agricultural commodities.

83E.

Any existing Commission ASSOCIATION, council, hoard or other
agency fairly representative of the growers and producers of any
agricultural commodity herein referred to, and any such commission
ASSOCIATION, council, board or other agency hereafter created for
and fairly representative of the growers or producers of any such
agricultural commodity herein referred to, may at any time after the
passage and ratification of this article make application to the Board
of Agriculture of the State of Maryland for certification and approval
for the purpose of conducting a referendum among the growers or
producers of such particular agricultural commodity, for commercial
purposes, upon the question of levying an assessment under the pro-
visions of this article, collecting and utilizing the same for the pur-
poses stated in such referendum.

83F.

Upon the filing with the Board of Agriculture of such application
on the part of any commission ASSOCIATION, council, board or
other agency, the said Board of Agriculture shall within thirty
NINETY days thereafter meet and consider such application; and if
upon such consideration the said Board of Agriculture shall find that
the commission ASSOCIATION, council, board or other agency
making such application is fairly representative of and has been duly
chosen and delegated as representative of the growers producing such
commodity, and shall otherwise find and determine that such applica-
tion is in conformity with the provisions of this article and the pur-
poses herein stated, then and in such an event it shall be the duty of
the Board of Agriculture to certify such commission ASSOCIATION,
council, board or other agency as the duly delegated and authorized
group or agency representative of the commercial growers and
producers of such agricultural commodity, and shall likewise certify
that such agency is duly authorized to conduct among the growers
and producers of such commodity a referendum for the purposes
herein stated.

83G.

Upon being so certified by the said Board of Agriculture in the
manner hereinbefore set forth, such commission ASSOCIATION,
council, board or other agency shall thereupon be fully authorized and
empowered to hold and conduct on the part of the producers and
growers of such particular agricultural commodity a referendum on