11-40-107. Cooperative advertising and promotion.

(a) The committee may provide for the collection of additional royalties on the sale of Wyoming lean beef to pay for advertising and promotion programs. Such royalties may be levied on all Wyoming lean beef sold to pay for national advertising and promotion programs or only on Wyoming lean beef sold in particular markets or through particular channels of distribution to pay for advertising aimed at those markets, or both. If the volume of sales on which royalty is paid in a market in the previous year is fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) or more, the additional royalties may be imposed on that market only with the consent of the persons paying two-thirds (2/3) of the royalties paid in that previous year. The committee shall define as necessary the markets and may classify sales as being in more than one (1) market. Any other assessment method may be used in whole or in part with the consent of all persons liable for the assessment. The royalties or assessment shall be deposited in a separate account and shall be expended for advertising, promotion, product development and the expenses connected therewith in the market for which the royalty or assessment is collected. The committee may authorize the expenditure of funds in the account or may delegate that authority to the subcommittees provided by subsection (b) of this section.

(b) To administer the advertising and promotion campaigns, the committee shall appoint a subcommittee for each market for which funds are separately collected. The subcommittee shall consist of at least one (1) voting member of the committee and any nonvoting members of the committee representing persons who pay additional royalties or assessments for that market and who shall be entitled to vote within the subcommittee. The full committee may give the subcommittee guidelines and directions it shall follow and may choose to reserve to itself the right to veto all subcommittee actions or particular classes of subcommittee actions. When considering actions or information the knowledge of which could give competitors a commercial advantage, the subcommittee may hold executive sessions.