Review Committee

Review Committee. (a) There shall be established a Review Committee consisting of the Director, the President of the Illinois Seed Dealers' Association, and a director of the Cooperative Extension Service, or a designee for each person. Membership on the Review Committee shall be for a period of one year. Each respective organization shall appoint its member. (b) The Review Committee shall have the following powers: (1) to meet and review all complaints filed under this Act; (2) to require the purchaser and seller to be present when the complaint is reviewed; (3) to subpoena, through the Director; (4) to negotiate factors and to make recommendations concerning settlement of a complaint; (5) to prepare and present to the purchaser and seller the recommended arbitration procedure and costs if agreement cannot be attained through the review process; and (6) to prepare and report to the Seed Arbitration Council on the Review Committee's results and recommendations. (c) The Review Committee shall prepare and provide to both parties estimates of costs that will be incurred during the investigation of the complaint. Costs deposits shall be remitted to the Department before beginning the investigation process. It is the responsibility of the purchaser to pay one-half and the seller to pay one-half of the total estimated costs. Cost deposits shall be deposited by the Department into a non-appropriated trust account in an adequately protected financial institution, and the Department shall pay costs from that account. In the event the actual costs exceed the original estimated costs, each party shall pay one-half of the difference. In the event the actual costs are less than the original estimated costs, each party shall be reimbursed a prorated portion of the original funds. (d) The Review Committee shall serve without pay, but members shall be reimbursed for reasonable travel expenses. (Source: P.A. 87-186.)