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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 83 / Monday, May 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
The Department is not responsible to individually notify each manufacturer nor would such individual notification allow for full public review and comment. Further, the Department is responsible to enact legislation as it is written and does not as a matter of practice issue pros and cons of its rulemaking. The Department will publish all notifications of its actions in the Federal Register with fulsome explanations of the considered action to encourage public comment.
Comment: One commenter asked the Department to make explicit the role of the Concrete Masonry Products Board in future referenda. Specifically, the comment dealt with the possibility of expanding the scope of the order to include additional products.
Response: Whether the Order goes into effect will be dependent only on the results of a completed referendum.
Unilaterally expanding the scope of the Order would be beyond the powers and duties of the Board and would require a subsequent referendum on the new proposed Order. In short, any future expansion of the scope of the Order would require the Department to conduct a referendum, with voter eligibility being based on the scope of such proposed order.
Comment: One commenter made a point to show the Department has missed several deadlines as outlined in the statute.
Response: While the Department strives for strict adherence to all prescribed deadlines, the Department has diligently worked to implement the statutory requirements and will continue to implement regulations to further the statutory intent of in the most expeditious manner possible.
Comment: One commenter felt that voter eligibility as outlined in the proposed order was inconsistent with the statute because it did not include manufacturers of concrete masonry products. The commenter requested that the Department provide clarity on voter eligibility.
Response: Only manufacturers of concrete masonry units are subject to assessment, and therefore, only manufacturers of concrete masonry units are eligible to participate in the referendum if they have produced concrete masonry units within 180 days of the start of the referendum period.
The proposed Order is thus consistent with the statute and provides that manufacturers of concrete masonry products that are subject to an assessment are eligible to participate in the referendum.

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Additional Comments The Department received comments regarding suggestions for changes to the proposed Order that did not address the subject of referendum procedures. The Department did not make any change to the proposed referendum procedures based on those comments. The Department has considered these comments in finalizing the proposed Order and will address these comments in a future Federal Register document that announces and explains the final Order.
List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 1500
Administrative practice and procedure, Advertising, Concrete masonry promotion, Consumer information, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, under the authority at 15 U.S.C. 8701
8717, the Office of the Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs, Department of Commerce, adds 15 CFR chapter XV, consisting of part 1500, to read as follows:
Chapter XVOffice of the UnderSecretary for Economic Affairs, Department of Commerce PART 1500CONCRETE MASONRY
RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND
PROMOTION
Subpart A Reserved Subpart BReferendum Procedures Sec.
1500.100 General.
1500.101 Definitions.
1500.102 Voting.
1500.103 Instructions.
1500.104 Agents.
1500.105 Ballots.
1500.106 Referendum report.
1500.107 Confidential information.
1500.108 OMB control number.
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 87018717.

Subpart A Reserved Subpart BReferendum Procedures Authority: 15 U.S.C. 8706.
1500.100

General.

Agents will conduct a referendum in accordance with this subpart.
1500.101

Definitions.

The following definitions apply to this subpart:
a Agent means the Department of Commerce Department employees the Secretary designates to conduct the referendum.

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b Eligible manufacturer means any person who is currently a manufacturer of concrete masonry units and has manufactured a concrete masonry unit within 180 days of the referendum period.
c Employer Identification Number means the number generally issued to businesses by the U.S. Department of Treasury. An Employer Identification Number EIN is also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number and is used to identify a business entity. For more information on EINs and how to apply go to https www.irs.gov/
businesses.
d Lead Executive means the individual or individuals the Secretary designates to oversee the conduct of the referendum and is a member of the Senior Executive Service.
e Referendum period means the period of time, not less than 30 days, that the Secretary or his agent determines appropriate for conducting the referendum.
f Registration means the form and process eligible manufacturers who wish to vote must complete and follow in order to vote. Voters must register by midnight of the day prior to the beginning of the referendum period.
1500.102

Voting.

a Each eligible manufacturer shall be entitled to cast one vote.
b The order shall become effective only if the Secretary determines that the order has been approved by a majority of manufacturers voting who also represent a majority of the machine cavities in operation of those manufacturers voting in the referendum.
c In order to vote, a manufacturer must register by midnight of the day prior to the start of the referendum period.
d For referendum purposes the Department will use Employer Identification Numbers EIN to identify unique manufacturers.
e An officer or employee of an eligible manufacturer, or an administrator, executor, or trustee of an eligible entity may cast a ballot on behalf of such entity provided that any individual so voting shall certify that such individual is an officer or employee of the eligible entity, or an administrator, executor, or trustee of an eligible entity and that such individual has the authority to take such action.
Upon request of an agent, the individual shall submit adequate evidence of such authority. The Secretary does not authorize proxy voting.
f Voters are to cast ballots by the means specified by the Secretary, such means could include in person, mail-in,
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