§ 84. — Licensing of inspectors.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 7USC84]
TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 3--GRAIN STANDARDS
Sec. 84. Licensing of inspectors
(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
All classes of licenses issued under this chapter shall terminate
triennially 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.
(Aug. 11, 1916, ch. 313, pt. B, Sec. 8, 39 Stat. 485; Pub. L. 90-487,
Sec. 1, Aug. 15, 1968, 82 Stat. 764; Pub. L. 94-582, Sec. 10, Oct. 21,
1976, 90 Stat. 2877; Pub. L. 95-113, title XVI, Secs. 1604(g), 1606(f),
Sept. 29, 1977, 91 Stat. 1028, 1030; Pub. L. 103-156, Secs. 6, 12(g),
Nov. 24, 1993, 107 Stat. 1526, 1528; Pub. L. 103-354, title II,
Sec. 293(a)(7), (8), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3237; Pub. L. 106-472,
title I, Sec. 106, Nov. 9, 2000, 114 Stat. 2060.)
References in Text
The provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive
service, referred to in subsec. (e), are classified to section 3301 et
seq. of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
The General Schedule, referred to in subsec. (e), is set out under
section 5332 of Title 5.
Amendments
2000--Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 106-472 inserted ``inspection,
weighing,'' after ``laboratory testing,''.
1994--Pub. L. 103-354 substituted ``Secretary'' for
``Administrator'' and ``Service'' wherever appearing.
1993--Pub. L. 103-156, Sec. 12(g), which directed amendment of
``Section 8'', without specifying the name of the Act being amended, was
executed to this section, which is section 8 of the United States Grain
Standards Act, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103-156, Secs. 6(1), 12(g)(1), in cl. (1),
substituted ``presentation to the Administrator'' for ``presentation to
him'' and inserted ``(or is supervised under a contractual
arrangement)'' after ``and is employed'', and in second sentence,
substituted ``Except as otherwise provided in sections 79(i) and 79a(d)
of this title, no person'' for ``No person''.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103-156, Sec. 6(2), substituted ``under the
terms of a contract for the conduct of any functions'' for
``independently under the terms of a contract for the conduct of any
functions involved in official inspection''.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103-156, Sec. 12(g)(2), substituted ``the
Administrator'' for ``he''.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 103-156, Sec. 6(3), inserted ``or supervised
under a contractual arrangement'' after ``Persons employed'' and after
``including persons employed''.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 103-156, Sec. 12(g)(2), substituted ``the
Administrator'' for ``he''.
1977--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 95-113, Sec. 1604(g)(1)(A),
substituted ``weighing, other than appeal weighing, of grain'' for
``weighing of grain''.
Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 95-113, Sec. 1604(g)(1)(B), substituted
``weighing (including appeal weighing) of grain in the United States, or
of United States grain in Canadian ports'' for ``weighing of grain''.
Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 95-113, Sec. 1604(g)(1)(C), substituted
``any person or governmental agency specified sampling, laboratory
testing, and similar technical functions'' for ``any person to perform
specified sampling and laboratory testing''.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 95-113, Sec. 1604(g)(2), inserted provisions
authorizing the Administrator to compensate the personnel at any rate
within the appropriate grade of the General Schedule as the
Administrator deems necessary without regard to section 5333 of title 5.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 95-113, Sec. 1606(f), substituted ``official
inspection and weighing system'' for ``official inspection system''.
1976--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94-582 substituted ``Administrator'' for
``Secretary'' in two places; designated existing provisions as item (1)
and substituted ``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 of grain in the United States'' for ``official
inspection agency to perform all or specified functions involved in
official inspection''; substituted provisions designated as item (2) for
``to authorize any competent employee of the Department of Agriculture
to perform all or specified functions involved in supervisory or appeal
inspection or initial inspection of United States grain in Canadian
ports''; inserted items (3) and (4); struck out authorization to license
any competent individual to perform specified functions involved in
official inspection under a contract with the Department of Agriculture;
and conditioned performance of any official weighing function on the
holding of a license or authorization.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94-582 substituted ``Administrator'' for
``Secretary'', ``official agency'' for ``official inspection agency'' in
two places, and ``subsection (c)'' for ``paragraph (c)'', and inserted
provision respecting employment of licensee by a State agency under a
delegation of authority pursuant to this chapter in two places.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 94-582 substituted ``Administrator'' for
``Secretary'' and ``Service'' for ``Department of Agriculture'' and
included performance of weighing function.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 94-582 substituted ``official agency (including
persons employed by a State agency under a delegation of authority
pursuant to this chapter)'' for ``official inspection agency'' and
``contract with the Service'' for ``contracts with the Department of
Agriculture'' and inserted provision respecting status as persons acting
for or on behalf of the United States in application of sections 118,
201, and 1114 of Title 18.
Subsecs. (e) to (g). Pub. L. 94-582 added subsecs. (e) to (g).
1968--Pub. L. 90-487 substituted provisions for the licensing and
examination and reexamination of inspectors for provisions authorizing
the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate rules and regulations.
Effective Date of 1977 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 95-113 effective Oct. 1, 1977, see section 1901
of Pub. L. 95-113, set out as a note under section 1307 of this title.
Effective Date of 1976 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 94-582 effective 30 days after Oct. 21, 1976,
see section 27 of Pub. L. 94-582, as amended, set out as a note under
section 74 of this title.
Effective Date of 1968 Amendment
For effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 90-487, see section 2 of
Pub. L. 90-487, set out as a note under section 78 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 75, 77, 79, 87b of this
title.
