The Board shall authorize the holding of a referendum as set forth in this article. The Commissioner shall be fully empowered and directed to hold and conduct a referendum on the question of whether or not the producers of apples in the Commonwealth are willing to pay an excise tax on apples to support additional research, education, publicity, and industry development of the apple industry. The amount of tax to be voted upon in the referendum shall be 2.5 cents ($0.025) per tree run bushel of apples grown by producers in the Commonwealth. The cost of conducting a referendum under this section shall be paid by the Virginia State Horticultural Society.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 3.2-1208

  • Board: means the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
  • Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
  • Tree run bushel: means a container, with a content of not less than 2,140 cubic inches or more than 2,500 cubic inches, of apples that have not yet been graded or sized. See Virginia Code 3.2-1200

2005, cc. 864, 875, § 3.1-636.1; 2008, c. 860.