Except where the context otherwise requires, for the purposes of this subpart the following terms shall be construed, respectively, to mean:

Department. The U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Egg type chickens. Chickens bred for the primary purpose of producing eggs for human consumption.

Exhibition Poultry. Domesticated fowl which are bred for the combined purposes of meat or egg production and competitive showing.

Game birds. Domesticated fowl, such as pheasants, partridge, quail, grouse, and guineas, but not doves and pigeons.

Meat type chickens. Chickens bred for the primary purpose of producing meat.

NPIP Technical Committee. A committee made up of technical experts on poultry health, biosecurity, surveillance, and diagnostics. The committee consists of representatives from the poultry and egg industries, universities, and State and Federal governments and is appointed by the Senior Coordinator and approved by the General Conference Committee. The NPIP Technical Committee is divided into three subcommittees (Mycoplasma, Salmonella, and Avian Influenza). NPIP Technical Committee Members may serve on one, two, or all three subcommittees. The committee will evaluate proposed changes to the Provisions and Program Standards of the Plan which include, but are not limited to, tests and sanitation procedures, and provide recommendations to the Delegates of the National Plan Conference as to whether they are scientifically or technically sound.

Plan Conference. A meeting convened for the purpose of recommending changes in the provisions of the Plan.

Plan or NPIP. The National Poultry Improvement Plan.

Service. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, of the Department.

State. Any State, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico.

Waterfowl. Domesticated fowl that normally swim, such as ducks and geese.

Changes in this subchapter shall be made in accordance with the procedure described in this subpart: Provided, That the Department reserves the right to make changes in this subchapter without observance of such procedure when such action is deemed necessary in the public interest.

(a) The General Conference Committee Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson shall be elected by the members of the General Conference Committee. A representative of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will serve as Executive Secretary and will provide the necessary staff support for the General Conference Committee. The General Conference Committee shall consist of one member-at-large who is a participant in the National Poultry Improvement Plan and one member to be elected, as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, from each of the following regions:

(1) North Atlantic: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

(2) East North Central: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

(3) West North Central: Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas.

(4) South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Puerto Rico.

(5) South Central: Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.

(6) Western: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, and Hawaii.

(b) The regional committee members and their alternates will be elected by the official delegates of their respective regions, and the member-at-large will be elected by all official delegates. There must be at least two nominees for each position, the voting will be by secret ballot, and the results will be recorded. The ballots for electing regional committee members and their alternates will be printed in such a way as to allow the specific selection of one nominee for member, and one nominee for alternate from the remaining nominees. At least one nominee from each region must be from an underrepresented group (minorities, women, or persons with disabilities). The process for soliciting nominations for regional committee members will include, but not be limited to: Advertisements in at least two industry journals, such as the newsletters of the American Association of Avian Pathologists, the National Chicken Council, the United Egg Producers, and the National Turkey Federation; a Federal Register announcement; and special inquiries for nominations from universities or colleges with minority/disability enrollments and faculty members in poultry science or veterinary science.

(c) Three regional members shall be elected at each Plan Conference. All members shall serve for a period of 4 years, subject to the continuation of the Committee by the Secretary of Agriculture, and may not succeed themselves: Provided, That an alternate member who assumed a Committee member vacancy following mid-term would be eligible for re-election to a full term. When there is a vacancy for the member-at-large position, the General Conference Committee shall make an interim appointment and the appointee shall serve until the next Plan Conference at which time an election will be held. If a vacancy occurs due to both a regional member and alternate being unable to serve, the vacant position will be filled by an election at the earliest regularly scheduled national or regional Plan Conference, where members of the affected region have assembled.

(d) The duties and functions of the General Conference Committee shall be as follows:

(1) Advise and make recommendations to the Department on the relative importance of maintaining, at all times, adequate departmental funding for the NPIP to enable the Senior Coordinator and staff to fully administer the provisions of the Plan.

(2) Advise and make yearly recommendations to the Department with respect to the NPIP budget well in advance of the start of the budgetary process.

(3) Assist the Department in planning, organizing, and conducting the biennial National Poultry Improvement Plan Conference.

(4) Consider each proposal submitted as provided in § 147.44 and make recommendations to subpart Committees and the Conference. Meet jointly with the NPIP Technical Committee and consider the technical aspects and accuracy of each proposal. Recommend whether new proposals (i.e., proposals that have not been submitted as provided in § 147.44) should be considered by the delegates to the Plan Conference.

(5) During the interim between Plan Conferences, represent the cooperating States in:

(i) Advising the Department with respect to administrative procedures and interpretations of the Plan provisions as contained in 9 CFR.

(ii) Assisting the Department in evaluating comments received from interested persons concerning proposed amendments to the Plan provisions.

(iii) Recommending to the Secretary of Agriculture any changes in the provisions of the Plan as may be necessitated by unforeseen conditions when postponement until the next Plan Conference would seriously impair the operation of the program. Such recommendations shall remain in effect only until confirmed or rejected by the next Plan Conference, or until rescinded by the committee.

(6) Serve as an official advisory committee for the study of problems relating to poultry health and as the need arises, to make specific recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture concerning ways in which the Department may assist the industry in solving these problems.

(7) Serve as a direct liaison between the NPIP and the United States Animal Health Association.

(8) Advise and make recommendations to the Department regarding NPIP involvement or representation at poultry industry functions and activities as deemed necessary or advisable for the purposes of the NPIP.

(a) Changes in this subchapter may be proposed by any participant, Official State Agency, the Department, or other interested person or industry organization.

(b) Except as provided in § 147.43(d)(4), proposed changes shall be submitted in writing so as to reach the Service not later than 150 days prior to the opening date of the Plan Conference, and participants in the Plan shall submit their proposed changes through their Official State Agency.

(c) The name of the proponent shall be indicated on each proposed change when submitted. Each proposal should be accompanied by a brief supporting statement.

(d) The Service will notify all persons on the NPIP mailing lists concerning the dates and general procedure of the conference. Hatchery and dealer participants will be reminded of their privilege to submit proposed changes and to request copies of all the published proposed changes.

(e) The proposed changes, together with the names of the proponents and supporting statements, will be compiled by the Service and issued in processed form. When two or more similar changes are submitted, the Service will endeavor to unify them into one proposal acceptable to each proponent. Copies will be distributed to officials of the Official State Agencies cooperating in the NPIP. Additional copies will be made available for meeting individual requests.

Each cooperating State shall be entitled to one official delegate for each of the programs prescribed in parts 145 and 146 of this subchapter in which it has one or more participants at the time of the Conference. The official delegates shall be elected by a representative group of participating industry members and be certified by the Official State Agency. It is recommended but not required that the official delegates be Plan participants. Individuals may be allowed to be an official delegate or alternate delegate for up to three States in which that delegate has flocks or is a plan participant with acknowledgement and approval of the Official State Agencies. Each official delegate shall endeavor to obtain, prior to the Conference, the recommendations of industry members of their State with respect to each proposed change.

(a) The following committees shall be established to give preliminary consideration to the proposed changes falling in their respective fields:

(1) Egg-type breeding chickens.

(2) Meat-type breeding chickens.

(3) Breeding turkeys.

(4) Breeding waterfowl, exhibition poultry, and game birds.

(5) Breeding ostriches, emus, rheas, and cassowaries.

(6) Egg-type commercial chickens.

(7) Meat-type commercial chickens.

(8) Meat-type commercial turkeys.

(9) Commercial upland game birds and waterfowl and raised-for-release upland game birds and waterfowl.

(b) Each official delegate shall be appointed a voting member in one of the committees specified in paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) Since several of the proposals may be interrelated, the committees shall consider them as they may relate to others, and feel free to discuss related proposals with other committees.

(d) The committees shall make recommendations to the conference as a whole concerning each proposal. The committee report shall show any proposed change in wording and the record of the vote on each proposal, and suggest an effective date for each proposal recommended for adoption. The individual committee reports shall be submitted to the chairman of the conference, who will combine them into one report showing, in numerical sequence, the committee recommendations on each proposal. Once completed, the combined committee report will be distributed electronically to the Official State Agencies prior to the delegates voting on the final day of the biennial conference.

(e) The committee meetings shall be open to any interested person. Advocates for or against any proposal should feel free to appear before the appropriate committee and present their views.

(a) The chairman of the conference shall be a representative of the Department.

(b) At the time designated for voting on proposed changes by the official delegates, the chairman of the General Conference Committee and the four committee chairmen shall sit at the speaker's table and assist the chairman of the conference.

(c) Each committee chairman shall present the proposals which his committee approves or recommends for adoption as follows: “Mr. Chairman. The committee for Egg-type chickens recommends the adoption of Proposal No. ______, for the following reasons (stating the reasons): I move the adoption of Proposal No. ______.” A second will then be called for. If the recommendation is seconded, discussion and a formal vote will follow.

(d) Each committee chairman shall present the proposals which his committee does not approve as follows: “Mr. Chairman. The Committee for Egg-type chickens does not approve Proposal No. ______.” The chairman will then ask if any official delegate wishes to move for the adoption of the proposal. If moved and seconded, the proposal is subject to discussion and voted. If there is no motion for approval, or if moved but not seconded, there can be no discussion or vote.

(e) Discussion on any motion must be withheld until the motion has been properly seconded, except that the delegate making the motion is privileged, if he desires, to give reasons for his motion at the time of making it. To gain the floor for a motion or for discussion on a motion, the official delegate in the case of a motion, or anyone in case of discussion on a motion, shall rise, address the chair, give his name and State, and be recognized by the chair before proceeding further. While it is proper to accept motions only from official delegates and to limit voting only to such delegates, it is, however, equally proper to accept discussion from anyone interested. To conserve time, discussion should be pointed and limited to the pertinent features of the motion.

(f) Proposals that have not been submitted in accordance with § 147.44 will be considered by the conference only with the unanimous consent of the General Conference Committee. Any such proposals must be referred to the appropriate committee for consideration before being presented for action by the conference.

(g) Voting will be by States, and each official delegate, as determined by § 147.45, will be allowed one vote on each proposal pertaining to the program prescribed by the subpart which he represents.

(h) A roll call of States for a recorded vote will be used when requested by a delegate or at the discretion of the chairman.

(i) All motions on proposed changes shall be for adoption.

(j) Proposed changes shall be adopted by a majority vote of the official delegates present and voting.

(k) The conference shall be open to any interested person.

Proposals adopted by the official delegates will be recommended to the Department for incorporation into the provisions of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) in parts 56, 145, and 146 of this chapter and this subpart. The Department reserves the right to approve or disapprove the recommendations of the conference as an integral part of its sponsorship of the National Poultry Improvement Plan. The Department will publish the recommendations in the Federal Register within 14 months following the NPIP Biennial Conference.