12 2 STA T . 1 0 22 PUBLIC LA W 110 – 2 34—M A Y 22 , 200 8orthed o cum e n t s re li edu p on w ere determined in a de q uate or in v alid , unless the person si g ning the program document k nowingl y and will f ully falsified the evidence of signature authority or a signature .(b)AF F IRMAT I ON . — ( 1 ) I N GE NERA L .— N othing in this section prohibits the S ec - retary from asking a proper party to affirm any document that otherwise would be considered approved under subsection (a). ( 2 ) NO RETROA C TI V E EFFECT.—A denial of benefits based on a lack of affirmation under paragraph (1) shall not be retroactive with respect to third-party producers who were not the sub j ect of the erroneous representation of authority, if the third-party producers— (A) relied on the prior approval by the Secretary of the documents in good faith
and ( B ) substantively complied with all program require- ments SEC.16 1 8 . MOD E RNIZAT ION O F FARM SER V ICE A G ENC Y . Not later than 1 80 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to the C ommittee on Agriculture and the Committee on Appropriations of the H ouse of R epresenta- tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and F orestry and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a report pre- pared by a third party that describes— (1) the data processing and information technology chal- lenges e x perienced in local offices of the Farm Service Agency; (2) the impact of those challenges on service to producers, on efficiency of personnel, and on implementation of this Act; ( 3 ) the need for information technology system upgrades of the Farm Service Agency relative to other agencies of the D epartment of Agriculture; ( 4 ) the detailed plan needed to fulfill the needs of the Department that are identified in paragraph (3), including hardware, software, and infrastructure requirements; ( 5 ) the estimated cost and timeframe for long-term mod- erni z ation and stabilization of Farm Service Agency information technology systems; ( 6 ) the benefits associated with such modernization and stabilization; and ( 7 ) an evaluation of the existence of appropriate oversight within the Department to ensure that funds needed for systems upgrades can be appropriately managed. SEC. 161 9 . INFORMATION GAT H ERING. (a) G EO SP ATIAL S Y STEMS.— T he Secretary shall ensure that all the geospatial data of the agencies of the Department of Agriculture are portable and standardized. (b) L IMITATION ON DISCLOS U RES.— (1) DEFINITION OF AGRICULTURAL OPERATION.—In this sub- section, the term ‘ ‘agricultural operation ’ ’ includes the produc- tion and marketing of agricultural commodities and livestock. (2) P RO H I B ITION.— E xcept as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4), the Secretary, any officer or employee of the Depart- ment of Agriculture, or any contractor or cooperator of the Department, shall not disclose— 7USC8 7 91.Deadlin e. R e ports .
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