(a) Authorization

The Secretary is authorized (1) to issue a license to any individual upon presentation to the Secretary of satisfactory evidence that such individual is competent, and is employed (or is supervised under a contractual arrangement) by an official agency or a State agency delegated authority under section 79 or 79a of this title, to perform all or specified functions involved in original inspection or reinspection functions involved in official inspection, or in the official weighing or the supervision of weighing, other than appeal weighing, of grain in the United States; (2) to authorize any competent employee of the Secretary to (A) perform all or specified original inspection, reinspection, or appeal inspection functions involved in official inspection of grain in the United States, or of United States grain in Canadian ports, (B) perform official weighing or supervision of weighing (including appeal weighing) of grain in the United States, or of United States grain in Canadian ports, (C) supervise the official inspection, official weighing, or supervision of weighing of grain in the United States and of United States grain in Canadian ports or the testing of equipment, and (D) perform monitoring activities in foreign ports with respect to grain officially inspected and officially weighed under this chapter; (3) to contract with any person or governmental agency to perform specified sampling, laboratory testing, inspection, weighing, and similar technical functions and to license competent persons to perform such functions pursuant to such contract; and (4) to contract with any competent person for the performance of monitoring activities in foreign ports with respect to grain officially inspected and officially weighed under this chapter. Except as otherwise provided in sections 79(i) and 79a(d) of this title, no person shall perform any official inspection or weighing function for purposes of this chapter unless such person holds an unsuspended and unrevoked license or authorization from the Secretary under this chapter.

(b) Duration of licenses; suspension; reinstatement

Terms Used In 7 USC 84

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Department of Agriculture: means the United States Department of Agriculture. See 7 USC 75
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • 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. See 7 USC 75
  • individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
  • 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). See 7 USC 75
  • 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. See 7 USC 75
  • official inspection personnel: means persons licensed or otherwise authorized by the Secretary pursuant to section 84 of this title to perform all or specified functions involved in official inspection, official weighing, or supervision of weighing, or in the supervision of official inspection, official weighing or supervision of weighing. See 7 USC 75
  • 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). See 7 USC 75
  • officially inspected: shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
  • officially weighed: shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
  • person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other business entity. See 7 USC 75
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States or delegates of the Secretary. See 7 USC 75
  • State: means any one of the States (including Puerto Rico) or territories or possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia). See 7 USC 75
  • 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. See 7 USC 75
  • United States: means the States (including Puerto Rico) and the territories and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia). See 7 USC 75

All classes of licenses issued under this chapter shall terminate every 5 years on a date or dates to be fixed by regulation of the Secretary: Provided, That any license shall be suspended automatically when the licensee ceases to be employed by an official agency or by a State agency under a delegation of authority pursuant to this chapter or to operate under the terms of a contract for the conduct of any functions under this chapter: Provided further, That subject to subsection (c) of this section such license shall be reinstated if the licensee is employed by an official agency or by a State agency under a delegation of authority pursuant to this chapter or resumes operation under such a contract within one year of the suspension date and the license has not expired in the interim.

(c) Examination of applicants; reexaminations

The Secretary may require such examinations and reexaminations as the Secretary may deem warranted to determine the competence of any applicants for licenses, licensees, or employees of the Secretary, to perform any official inspection or weighing function under this chapter.

(d) Inspectors performing under contract not deemed Federal employees

Persons employed or supervised under a contractual arrangement by an official agency (including persons employed or supervised under a contractual arrangement by a State agency under a delegation of authority pursuant to this chapter) and persons performing official inspection functions under contract with the Secretary shall not, unless otherwise employed by the Federal Government, be determined to be employees of the Federal Government of the United States: Provided, That such persons shall be considered in the performance of any official inspection, official weighing, or supervision of weighing function as prescribed by this chapter or by the rules and regulations of the Secretary, as persons acting for or on behalf of the United States, for the purpose of determining the application of section 201 of title 18, to such persons and as employees of the Department of Agriculture assigned to perform inspection functions for the purposes of sections 1114 and 111 of title 18.

(e) Hiring of official inspection personnel and supervisory personnel without regard to laws governing appointments to the competitive service

The Secretary may hire (without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service) as official inspection personnel any individual who is licensed (on October 21, 1976) to perform functions of official inspection under this chapter and as personnel to perform supervisory weighing or official weighing functions any individual who, on October 21, 1976, was performing similar functions: Provided, That the Secretary determines that such individual is of good moral character and is technically and professionally qualified for the duties to which the individual will be assigned. The Secretary may compensate such personnel at any rate within the appropriate grade of the General Schedule as the Secretary deems necessary without regard to section 5333 of title 5.

(f) Periodic rotation of personnel

The Secretary shall provide for the periodic rotation of supervisory personnel and official inspection personnel employed by the Secretary as the Secretary deems necessary to preserve the integrity of the official inspection and weighing system provided by this chapter.

(g) Recruitment, training, and supervision of personnel; work production standards; exemption for certain personnel

The Secretary shall develop and effectuate standards for the recruiting, training, and supervising of official inspection personnel and appropriate work production standards for such personnel, which shall be applicable to the Secretary, all State agencies under delegation of authority pursuant to this chapter, and all official agencies and all persons licensed or authorized to perform functions under this chapter: Provided, That persons licensed or authorized on October 21, 1976, to perform any official function under this chapter, shall be exempted from the uniform recruiting and training provisions of this subsection and regulations or standards issued pursuant thereto if the Secretary determines that such persons are technically and professionally qualified for the duties to which they will be assigned and they agree to complete whatever additional training the Secretary deems necessary.

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