PUBLIC LAW 107-171—MAY 13, 2002 116 STAT. 203 "(2) HEARING.— The Secretary shall provide each appellant an opportunity for a hearing before an administrative law judge in accordance with sections 554 and 556 of title 5, United States Code. The expenses for conducting the hearing shall be reimbursed by the Commodity Credit Corporation. " (c) SPECIAL APPEAL PROCESS REGARDING BEET SUGAR ALLOCA- TIONS.— "(1) APPEAL AUTHORIZED. —Beginning after the 2006 crop year, a processor that has an allocation of the beet sugar allotment under this part (referred to in this subsection as a 'petitioner') may file a notice of appeal with the Secretary regarding the petitioner's beet sugar allocation. Except as pi^o- vided in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall consider the appeal if the notice alleges that any processor that has a beet sugar allocation has failed to fill at least 82.5 percent of its allocation of the beet sugar allotment with sugar produced by iy or received from the Commodity Credit Corporation in 2 oiit of the 3 crop years preceding the crop year in which the appeal is filed. A processor that is alleged to have failed to fill at least 82.5 percent of its allocation shall be allowed to fully participate in the appeal. "(2) ExcEPTlONS.An appeal under paragraph (1) shall not be based on the failure of a processor to fill at least 82.5 percent of its allocation because of drought, flood, hail, or other weather disaster, as determined by the Secretary. The determination by the Secretary shall not require a formal disaster declaration. "(3) RESPONSE TO APPEAL.— Upon the petitioner making an appeal to the Secretary, and upon a review by the Secretary of how processors have filled their allocations, the Secretary may— "(A) assign an increased allocation for beet sugar to the petitioner that provides a fair and equitable distribution of the allocations for beet sugar, taking into account— "(i) production history during the period beginning on April 4, 1996, and through the date of enactment of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002; "(ii) capital investment during that period; "(iii) increases in United States sugar consumption; and "(iv) the ability or inability of processors to fill the allocations they have received under this part; and "(B) reduce, correspondingly, the allocation for beet sugar of each processor determined to have failed to fill at least 82.5 percent of its allocation of the beet sugar allotment as described in paragraph (1). "(4) FILING DEADLINE.—For purposes of the filing deadline specified in subsection (b)(1), the 20-day period shall commence on the date on which the Secretary announces the allocations for the subsequent crop year or October 1, whichever is earlier. "SEC. 359j. ADMINISTRATION. 7 USC 1359jj. "(a) USE OF CERTAIN AGENCIES. —In carrying out this part, the Secretary may use the services of local committees of sugar beet or sugarcane producers, sugarcane processors, or sugar beet
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