Legislation
Summary: Discusses historic and present federal/state legislation that define the Cooperative Extension Service / U.S.D.A. cooperative roles in Arkansas.
Federal
The Smith - Lever Act, passed by Congress in 1914, gave official federal government sanction to a plan providing for the cooperation of federal, state, and county governments with local people in planning, financing, and conducting a system of rural education.1 This act put into operation the largest system of organized adult agricultural education in the world. (See Exhibit 1)
The Capper - Ketcham Act passed by Congress in 1928, gave further support to the Cooperative Extension System. (See Exhibit 2)
The Bankhead - Jones Act passed by Congress in 1935, provided additional funds without offset funds by states so that the Extension system in the United States could be further expanded. (See Exhibit 3)
Act of 1939 to Provide for Further Development of Agriculture Extension Work. (See exhibit 3A)
Act of 1944, Excerpt from Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 Concerning cooperative Extension Work (See Exhibit 3B)
The Bankhead - Flannagan Act, approved June 6, 1945, provided additional funds for the purpose of paying the expenses of cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics, including technical and educational assistance to farm people in improving their standard of living, in developing individual farm and home plans, better marketing and distribution of farm products, work with rural youth in 4 - H Clubs and older out - of - school youth, guidance of farm people in improving farm and home buildings, development of effective programs in canning, food preservation, and nutrition, and for the necessary printing and distribution of information in connection with the foregoing. (See Exhibit 4)
Federal funds allotted by the Smith - Lever, Capper - Ketcham and Bankhead - Flannagan Acts are not available until the state has contributed to the support of Extension work in the form of state or county appropriations or by contributions from local organizations. All but $10,000 of the Smith - Lever allotment must be matched; all but $20,000 of Capper - Ketcham; and all Bankhead - Flannagan funds must be matched.
The Research and Marketing Act of 1946 (See exhibit 4A)
Smith - Lever The Smith - Lever, Capper - Ketcham, Bankhead - Jones, and Bankhead - Flannagan Acts were consolidated into one act known as Public Law 83 and approved June 26, 1953. This consolidation was principally for convenience in allotting the funds. No change was made in the purposes or conditions as set out in the original acts. The continuing amount available from this act is the total provided by the four acts for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1953. In addition, the new act, known as the Smith - Lever Act, Amended 1953, provided in Section 3(c) the formula for distribution of additional funds Congress may make available in the future for further development of cooperative Extension work. A state may receive only as much of the "additional" as it can match. The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Act. (See Exhibit 5)
The Civil Rights Acts of 1964, Public Law 88-352. An Act to enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United States to provide injunctive relief against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the Attorney General to institute suits to protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public education, to extend the Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination in federally assisted programs, to establish a Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity, and for other purposes. (See Exhibit 6)
State
As early as February, 1911, the Arkansas General Assembly passed a law authorizing the county courts to appropriate funds for salaries of county Extension agents. This Act was amended in 1927 and again in 1931. A summary of the act, together with the amendments affecting county Extension work, follows:
"County Demonstration Work. The Quorum Courts of the respective counties of this State are hereby authorized and empowered to appropriate annually such amount as may be deemed necessary to be used in cooperation with the Extension Service of the College of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas, and the United States Department of Agriculture, cooperating, to aid said Departments in carrying on Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics in such county. The County Judges shall approve authorized claims against the county for such purposes, and such approved claims shall be paid by the County Treasurer. However, no claims shall be allowed in excess of the sum appropriated."2 (See Exhibit 7)
In 1915 legislation was enacted to authorize the University of Arkansas to accept money under the Smith - Lever Act. A summary of the act follows:
"Authority to Accept Aid. The College of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas is authorized to accept money from the United States Government under the terms of the Smith - Lever Agricultural Extension Act, passed by the Congress of the United States, and approved by the President, May 8, 1914, and the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas hereby gives its consent to all the provisions of the said act."3 (See Exhibit 8)
In 1937 provisions were made for relieving the counties of the necessity of providing the minimum amount of money required to maintain a county agent and a home demonstration agent. Section 3 of Act 236 of 1937 further provided for setting up a special fund to provide for necessary expenses for one county agent and one home demonstration agent in each county of the state. Appropriations made by County Quorum Courts are in addition to the amount provided by Act 236.4
Memorandum of Understanding
Following the passage of the Smith - Lever Act, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the University of Arkansas and the United States Department of Agriculture regarding Extension work in agriculture and home economics in Arkansas. This Memorandum was signed July 16, 1914.
The last memorandum of understanding between the University of Arkansas and United States Department of Agriculture was signed February 18, 1955 (See Exhibit 9). This memorandum of understanding provides for the following:
The University of Arkansas agrees:
• To organize and maintain at said institution a definite and distinct administrative division for the management and conduct of all cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics, with a director selected by the institution and satisfactory to the Department.
• To administer through such division thus organized, known as the Agricultural Extension Service, any and all funds it has or may hereafter receive for such work from appropriations made by Congress or the State Legislature, by allotment from its Board of Trustees or from any other source.
• To accept the responsibility for conducting all educational work in the fields of agriculture and home economics and subjects related thereto as authorized by Smith - Lever Act as amended and other Acts supporting Cooperative Extension Work, and such phases of other programs of the Department as are primarily educational, which the Department has been authorized to carry on within the State
The United States Department of Agriculture agrees:
To maintain in the Department a Federal Extension Service, which, under the direction of the Secretary,
(1) shall be charged with the administration of the Smith - Lever Act as amended and other Acts supporting cooperative extension work insofar as such administration is vested in the Department;
(2) shall have primary responsibility for and leadership in all educational programs under the jurisdiction of the Department (except the graduate school);
(3) shall be responsible for coordination of all educational phases of other programs of the Department, except the graduate school; and
(4) shall act as the liaison between the Department and officials of the Land - Grant Colleges and Universities on all matters relating to cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics and educational activities relating thereto.To conduct through the University of Arkansas all extension work in agriculture and home economics and subject relating thereto as authorized by Congress to be carried on within the state except those activities which by mutual agreement it is determined can most appropriately and effectively be carried out directly by the Department.
The cooperative appointment carries with it the right to use the franking privilege and the advantages of the Federal Compensation Act. It also authorizes Extension agents to serve as official representatives of both the United States Department of Agriculture and the Division of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas.
The United States Department of Agriculture has many divisions or bureaus, including those dealing with Extension research, agricultural and home economics research, regulatory functions, planning, and teaching. The Federal Extension Service is a division of the Department of Agriculture, and it is administered by a Federal Extension Administrator.
1. U.S. Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous Publication No. 285.
2. Act No. 45, February 22, 1911; amended, Act 347, March 1927; amended, Act 124, March, 1931.
3. Act, March 27, 1915, p. 1075.
4. Pope Digest, Vol. I.
Specific Legislation
The Research and Marketing Act of 1946
Consolidation of Existing Laws Relating to Cooperative Agricultural Extension Work
Act of 1939 to Provide for further Development of Agricultural Extension Work
Excerpt From Civil Rights Act of 1964
Excerpt from Dept. of Agri Organic Act of 1944 Concerning Cooperative Extension Work
Exhibit 1Smith - Lever |
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An Act to provide for cooperative agricultural extension work between the agricultural colleges in the several States receiving the benefits of an act of Congress approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty - two, and of acts supplementary thereto, and the United States Department of Agriculture.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in order to aid in diffusing among the people of the United States useful and practical information on subjects relating to agriculture and home economics, and to encourage the application of the same, there may be inaugurated in connection with the college or colleges in each States now receiving, or which may hereafter receive, the benefits of the act of Congress approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty - two, entitled "An act donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic art" (Twelfth Statutes at Large, page five hundred and three) and of the act of Congress approved August thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety (Twenty - sixth Statutes at Large, page four hundred and seventeen and chapter eight hundred and forty - one), agricultural extension work which shall be carried on in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture: Provided, That in any State in which two or more such colleges have been or hereafter may be established the appropriations hereinafter made to such State shall be administered by such college or colleges as the legislature of such State may direct: Provided further, That, pending the inauguration and development of the cooperative extension work herein authorized, nothing in this act shall be construed to discontinue either the farm management work or the farmers' cooperative demonstration work as now conducted by the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture.
Section 2. That cooperative agricultural extension work shall consist of the giving of instruction and practical demonstrations in agriculture and home economics to persons not attending or resident in said colleges in the several communities, and imparting to such persons information on said subjects through field demonstrations, publications, and otherwise; and this work shall be carried on in such manner as may be mutually agreed upon by the Secretary of Agriculture and the State agricultural college or colleges receiving the benefits of this act.
Section 3. That for the purpose of paying the expenses of said cooperative agricultural extension work and the necessary printing and distributing of information in connection with the same, there is permanently appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $480,000 for each year, $10,000 of which shall be paid annually, in the manner hereinafter provided, to each State which shall by action of its legislature assent to the provisions of this act: Provided, That payments of such installments of the appropriation hereinbefore made as shall become due to any State before the adjournment of the regular session of the legislature meeting next after the passage of this act may, in the absence of prior legislative assent, be made upon the assent of the governor thereof, duly certified to the Secretary of the Treasury: Provided further, That there is also appropriated an additional sum of $600,000 for the fiscal year following that in which the foregoing appropriation first becomes available, and for each year thereafter for seven years a sum exceeding by $500,000 the sum appropriated for each preceding year, and for each year thereafter there is permanently appropriated for each year the sum of $4,100,000 in addition to the sum of $480,000 hereinbefore provided: Provided further, That before the funds herein appropriated shall become available to any college for any fiscal year plans for the work to be carried on under this act shall be submitted by the proper officials of each college and approved by the Secretary of Agriculture. Such additional sums shall be used only for the purposes hereinafter stated, and shall be allotted annually to each State by the Secretary of Agriculture and paid in the manner hereinbefore provided, in the proportion which the rural population of each State bears to the total rural population of all the States as determined by the next preceding Federal census: Provided further, That no payment out of the additional appropriations herein provided shall be made in any year to any State until an equal sum has been appropriated for that year by the legislature of such State, or provided by State, county, college, local authority, or individual contributions from within the State, for the maintenance of the cooperative agricultural extension work provided for in this act.
Section 4. That the sums hereby appropriated for extension work shall be paid in equal semiannual payments on the first day of January and July of each year by the Secretary of the Treasury upon the warrant of the Secretary of Agriculture, out of the Treasury of the United States, to the treasurer or other officer of the State duly authorized by the laws of the State to receive the same; and such officer shall be required to report to the Secretary of Agriculture, on or before the first day of September of each year, a detailed statement of the amount so received during the previous fiscal year, and of its disbursement, on forms prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture.
Section 5. That if any portion of the moneys received by the designated officer of any State for the support and maintenance of cooperative agricultural extension work, as provided in this act, shall by any action or contingency be diminished or lost or be misapplied, it shall be replaced by said State to which it belongs, and until so replaced no subsequent appropriation shall be apportioned or paid to said State, and no portion of said moneys shall be applied, directly or indirectly, to the purchase, erection, preservation, or repair of any building or buildings, or the purchase or rental of land, or in college - course teaching, lectures in colleges, promoting agricultural trains, or any other purpose not specified in this act, and not more than five per centum of each annual appropriation shall be applied to the printing and distribution of publications. It shall be the duty of each of said colleges annually, on or before the first day of January, to make to the governor of the State in which it is located a full and detailed report of its operations in the direction of extension work as defined in this act, including a detailed statement of receipts and expenditures from all sources for this purpose, a copy of which report shall be sent to the Secretary of Agriculture and to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.
Section 6. That on or before the first day of July in each year after the passage of this act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall ascertain and certify to the Secretary of the Treasury as to each State whether it is entitled to receive its share of the annual appropriation for cooperative agricultural extension work under this act, and the amount which it is entitled to receive. If the Secretary of Agriculture shall withhold a certificate from any State of its appropriation, the facts and reasons therefore shall be reported to the President, and the amount involved shall be kept separate in the Treasury until the expiration of the Congress next succeeding a session of the legislature of any State from which a certificate has been withheld, in order that the State may, if it should so desire, appeal to Congress from the determination of the Secretary of Agriculture. If the next Congress shall not direct such sum to be paid, it shall be covered into the Treasury.
Section 7. That the Secretary of Agriculture shall make an annual report to Congress of the receipts, expenditures, and results of the cooperative agricultural extension work in all of the States receiving the benefits of this act, and also whether the appropriation of any State has been withheld, and if so, the reasons therefore.
Section 8. That Congress may at any time alter, amend, or repeal any or all of the provisions of this act.
Approved, May 8, 1914 (38 Stat. L. 372).
Capper - Ketcham Act
An Act to provide for the further development of agricultural extension work between the agricultural colleges in the several States receiving the benefits of the act entitled "An act donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts," approved July 2, 1862, and all acts supplementary thereto, and the United States Department of Agriculture.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in order to further develop the cooperative extension system as inaugurated under the act entitled "An act to provide for cooperative agricultural extension work between the agricultural colleges in the several States receiving the benefits of the act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, and all acts supplementary thereto, and the United States Department of Agriculture," approved May 8, 1914, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of paying the expenses of the cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics, and the necessary printing and distributing of information in connection with the same, the sum of $980,000 for each year, $20,000 of which shall be paid annually, in the manner hereinafter provided, to each State and the Territory of Hawaii which shall by action of its legislature assent to the provisions of this act. The payment of such installments of the appropriations hereinbefore made as shall become due to any State or Territory before the adjournment of the regular session of the legislature meeting next after the passage of this act may, in the absence of prior legislative assent, be made upon the assent of the governor thereof, duly certified to the Secretary of the Treasury. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year, following that in which the foregoing appropriation first becomes available, and for each year thereafter, the sum of $500,000. The additional sums appropriated under the provisions of this act shall be subject to the same conditions and limitations as the additional sums appropriated under such act of May 8, 1914, except that (1) at least 80 per centum of all appropriations under this act shall be utilized for the payment of salaries of extension agents in counties of the several States to further develop the cooperative extension system in agriculture and home economics with men, women, boys, and girls: (2) funds available to the several States and the Territory of Hawaii under the terms of this act shall be so expended that the extension agents appointed under its provisions shall be men and women in fair and just proportions; (3) the restriction on the use of these funds for the promotion of agricultural trains shall not apply.
Section 2. The sums appropriated under the provisions of this act shall be in addition to, and not in substitution for, sums appropriated under such act of May 8, 1914, or sums otherwise annually appropriated for cooperative agricultural extension work.
Approved, May 22, 1928 (45 Stat. L. 711).
Bankhead - Jones Act
An act to provide for research into basic laws and principles relating to agriculture and to provide for the further development of cooperative agricultural extension work and the more complete endowment and support of Land - Grant colleges.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled.
Title II
Section 21. In order to further develop the cooperative extension system as inaugurated under the act entitled "An act to provide for cooperative agricultural extension work between the agricultural colleges in the several States receiving the benefits of the act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, and all acts supplementary thereto, and the United States Department of Agriculture," approved May 8, 1914 (U.S.C., title 7, secs. 341-348), there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of paying the expenses of cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics and the necessary printing and distribution of information in connection with the same, the sum of $8,000,000 for the fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this title, and for the fiscal year following the first fiscal year for which an appropriation is made in pursuance of the foregoing authorization the additional sum of $1,000,000, and for each succeeding fiscal year thereafter an additional sum of $1,000,000 until the total appropriations authorized by this section shall amount to $12,000,000 annually, the authorization to continue in that amount for each succeeding fiscal year. The sums appropriated in pursuance of this section shall be paid to the several States and the Territory of Hawaii in the same manner and subject to the same conditions and limitations as the additional sums appropriated under the act of May 8, 1914, except that (1) $980,000 shall be paid to the several States and the Territory of Hawaii in equal shares; (2) the remainder shall be paid to the several States and the Territory of Hawaii in the proportion that the farm population of each bears to the total farm population of the several States and the Territory of Hawaii, as determined by the last preceding decennial census, and (3) the several States and the Territory of Hawaii shall not be required to offset the allotments authorized in this section. The sums appropriated pursuant to this section shall be in addition to, and not in substitution for, sums appropriated under such act of May 8, 1914, as amended and supplemented, or sums otherwise appropriated for agricultural extension work. Allotments to any State or the Territory of Hawaii for any fiscal year from the appropriations herein authorized shall be available for payment to such State or the Territory of Hawaii only if such State or the Territory of Hawaii complies, for such fiscal year, with the provisions with reference to offset of appropriations (other than appropriations under this section) for agricultural extension work.
Section 22. In order to provide for the more complete endowment and support of the colleges in the several States and the Territory of Hawaii entitled to the benefits of the act entitled "An act donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts," approved July 2, 1862, as amended and supplemented (U.S.C., title 7, sections 301-328; Supp. VII, sections 304), there are hereby authorized to be appropriated annually, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the following amounts:
(a) For the fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this act, and for each fiscal year thereafter, $980,000; and
(b) For the fiscal year following the first fiscal year for which an appropriation is made in pursuance of paragraph (a) $500,000, and for each of the two fiscal years thereafter $500,000 more than the amount authorized to be appropriated for the preceding fiscal year, and for each fiscal year thereafter $1,500,000. The sums appropriated in pursuance of paragraph (a) shall be paid annually to the several States and the Territory of Hawaii in equal shares. The sums appropriated in pursuance of paragraph (b) shall be in addition to sums appropriated in pursuance of paragraph (a) and shall be allotted and paid annually to each of the several States and the Territory of Hawaii in the proportion which the total population of each such State and the Territory of Hawaii bears to the total population of all the States and the Territory of Hawaii, as determined by the last preceding decennial census. Sums appropriated in pursuance of this section shall be in addition to sums appropriated or authorized under such act of July 2, 1862, as amended and supplemented, and shall be applied only for the purposes of the colleges defined in such act, as amended and supplemented. The provisions of law applicable tot he use and payment of sums under the act entitled "An act to apply a portion of the proceeds of the public lands to the more complete endowment and support of the colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts established under the provisions of an act of Congress, approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty - two," approved August 30, 1890, as amended and supplemented, shall apply to the use and payment of sums appropriated in pursuance of this section.
Approved, June 29, 1935.
Act of 1939 to Provide for Further Development of Agriculture Extension Work
An Act to provide for the further development of cooperative agricultural extension work.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America
in Congress assembled, That in order to further develop the cooperative extension
system as inaugurated under the Act entitled "An Act to provide for cooperative agricultural
extension work between the agricultural colleges in the several States receiving the
benefits of the Act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, and all Acts supplementary
thereto, and the United States Department of Agriculture," approved May 8, 1914 (U.S.C.,
title 7, sections 341-348), there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of
any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of paying the
expenses of cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics and the necessary
printing and distribution of information in connection with the same, the sum of $300,000
annually. The sums appropriated pursuant to this Act shall be allotted by the Secretary
of Agriculture to the several States in such amounts as he may deem necessary, and
shall be paid to the several States in the same manner and subject to the same conditions
and limitations as the initial payment of $10,000 to each State appropriated under
the Act of May 8, 1914. The sums appropriated pursuant to this Act shall be in addition
to and not in substitution for sums appropriated under such Act of May 8, 1914, as
amended and supplemented, and sums otherwise appropriated for agricultural extension
work.
Approved, April 24, 1939 (53 Stat. L. 589).
Excerpt from Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 Concerning cooperative Extension Work
Title VII
Section 707. The Act of April 24, 1939 (7 U.S.C. 343c-1), is amended by striking out the figure "$300,000" and inserting in lieu thereof "$555,000," and by adding immediately before the period at the end thereof the following ": Provided, That the appropriations made pursuant to this authorization shall be apportioned to the States in accordance with the apportionment of the like sum in the fiscal year 1944."
Approved, September 21, 1944 (58 Stat. L. 734 and 742).
Bankhead - Flannagan Act
An act to provide for the further development of cooperative agricultural extension work.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That title II of the Act entitled "An Act to provide for research into basic laws and principles relating to agriculture and to provide for the further development of cooperative agricultural extension work and the more complete endowment and support of land - grant colleges," approved June 29, 1935 (The Bankhead - Jones Act), is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section:
Section 23. (a) In order to further develop the cooperative extension system as inaugurated under the Act entitled 'An Act to provide for cooperative agricultural extension work between the agricultural colleges in the several States receiving the benefits of the Act of Congress, approved July 2, 1862, and all Acts supplementary thereto, and the United States Department of Agriculture,' approved May 8, 1914 (U.S.C., title 7, sections. 341-343, 344-348), particularly for the further development of county extension work, there are hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of paying the expenses of cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics, including technical and educational assistance to farm people in improving their standards of living, in developing individual farm and home plans, better marketing and distribution of farm products, work with rural youth in 4 - H Clubs and older out - of - school youth, guidance of farm people in improving farm and home buildings, development of effective programs in canning, food preservation, and nutrition, and for the necessary printing and distribution of information in connection with the foregoing, the following sums:
"(1) $4,500,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1946, and each subsequent fiscal year;
"(2) An additional $4,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1947, and each subsequent fiscal year; and
"(3) An additional $4,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1948, and each subsequent fiscal year.
"(b) The sums appropriated pursuant to this section shall be paid to the several States and the Territory of Hawaii in the same manner and subject to the same conditions and limitations as the additional sums appropriated under such Act of May 8, 1914 (The Smith - Lever Act), except that:
"(1) not more than 2 per centum of the sum appropriated pursuant to this section for each fiscal year shall be available for paying expenses of the Extension Service in the United States Department of Agriculture;
"(2) $500,000 of the sum so appropriated for each fiscal year shall be allotted among the States and the Territory of Hawaii by the Secretary of Agriculture on the basis of special needs due to population characteristics, area in relation to farm population, or other special problems, as determined by such Secretary: Provided, That not to exceed 10 per centum shall be allotted under this subparagraph to any one State or the Territory of Hawaii for any fiscal year: Provided further, That these funds shall be matched by the State or Territory receiving them, on the same basis as other funds under this Act; and
"(3) the remainder of the sum so appropriated for each fiscal year shall be paid to the several States and the Territory of Hawaii in the proportion that the farm population of each bears to the total farm population of the several States and Territory of Hawaii, as determined by the census of 1940.
"(c) The sums appropriated pursuant to this section shall be in addition to and not in substitution for sums appropriated under Act of May 8, 1914, as amended and supplemented, or sums otherwise appropriated for agricultural extension work. Allotments to any State or the Territory of Hawaii for any fiscal year from the appropriations herein authorized shall be available for payment to such State or the Territory of Hawaii only if such State or the Territory of Hawaii complies, for such fiscal year, with the provisions with reference to offset of appropriations (other than appropriations under this section and section 21 of this title) for agricultural extension work."
Section 2. Section 21 of such Act of June 29, 1935, is amended by striking out "(other than appropriations under this section)" and inserting in lieu thereof "(other than appropriations under this section and section 23 of this title)."
Approved, June 6, 1945 (59 Stat. L. 231).
The Research and Marketing Act of 1946
Passage by Congress of the Research and Marketing Act of 1946, (now known as the Agricultural Marketing Act) provided a means of speeding this development in extension education. That legislation made it possible for Extension to institute a program of marketing education that would meet the needs expressed by the many millions of people who previously had not been reached by Cooperative Extension work.
The Research and Marketing Act declares it -- "To be the policy of Congress to promote through research, study, experimentation, and through cooperation among Federal and State agencies, farm organizations, and private industry, a scientific approach to the problems of marketing, transportation, and distribution of agricultural products similar to the scientific methods which have been used so successfully during the past eighty - four years in connection with the production of agricultural products, so that such products capable of being produced in abundance may be marketed in an orderly manner and efficiently distributed."
The act also states that -- "It is the intent of Congress to provide for an integrated administration of all laws enacted by Congress to aid the distribution of agricultural products through research, market aids and services, and regulatory activities, to the end that marketing methods and facilities may be improved, that distribution costs may be reduced and the price spread between the producer and consumer may be narrowed, that dietary and nutritional standards may be improved, that new and wider markets for American agricultural products may be developed, both in the United States and in other countries, with a view to making it possible for full production of American farms to be disposed of usefully, economically, profitably, and in an orderly manner."
Under title II of the act, funds are made available -- "To conduct and cooperate in consumer education for the more effective utilization and greater consumption of agricultural products."
The legislation also directs that -- "To the maximum extent practicable marketing educational and demonstrational work done hereunder (under Title II) in cooperation with the States shall be done in cooperation with the State agricultural Extension Service"
Consolidation of Existing Laws Relating to Cooperative Agricultural Extension Work.
Public Law 83, approved June 26, 1953, consolidated and codified ten separate laws relating to cooperative extension work, which had been enacted from time to time beginning with the original Smith - Lever Act of May 8, 1914.
This new Act, known as the Smith - Lever Act, Amended 1953, incorporates the substance of the various later acts into the Smith - Lever Act of May 8, 1914, which is the basic law authorizing extension work. With their substance thus embodied in one act, the acts relating to the Extension Service and subsequent to the Smith - Lever Act are repealed.
The consolidation, while simplifying the law, brings about considerable savings by eliminating the necessity of keeping numerous accounts previously required under the piecemeal statutes. It also makes these other significant changes:
1. Authorizes appropriation of such sums as Congress may deem necessary for operation of the over - all Extension Service program, rather than specific sums previously stipulated by the various pieces of legislation relating to the Service. No additional authorizing legislation is needed if Congress deems additional funds are necessary.
2. Freezes Federal allocation of funds to the States at the amounts received by each State during fiscal 1953, except for $500,000 available for special needs under section 23 (b) (2) of the Bankhead - Jones Act, amounts authorized for Puerto Rico but not heretofore appropriated; and amounts appropriated in excess of appropriations for 1953.
3. Provides that any new appropriations be allotted among the States by this formula:
(a) 4 per cent on the basis of special needs;
(b) 48 per cent on the basis of rural population; and
(c) 48 percent on the basis of farm population.
Such additional allotments would be made on the basis of the decennial census current at the time the appropriation was made, with these allotments subject to such matching requirements as Congress might provide.
Each of the extension acts approved subsequent to the Smith - Lever Act was developed with respect to particular problems or circumstances present at the time of enactment. Each provides for a specific appropriation item and funds provided there under must be budgeted and accounted for separately.
Some of the variations existing in the acts previously applicable include: The Smith - Lever and Capper - Ketcham Act funds are apportioned to the States on the basis of rural population, adjusted after each decennial census; Bankhead - Jones Act funds are apportioned on a farm population basis, adjusted after each census; Bankhead - Flannagan Act funds are distributed on the basis of farm population, in accordance with the farm population reported by the 1940 census with no subsequent adjustment in apportionments; apportionments under the act of April 24, 1939, as amended by the act of September 21, 1944, are made in accordance with the apportionment in 1944 and are not subject to adjustment.
Losses of allotments that would have occurred in some states as a result of using the 1950 farm population figures would have required county staffs in some states to be reduced below the number essential to carry out the work. Congress consequently passed Public Law 460, 82nd Congress, to prevent the use of the 1950 farm population figures in making the allotment for 1953.
The language of section 2 of the Act broadens the language of the corresponding provision in the original Smith - Lever Act, to define cooperative agricultural extension work as embracing "the giving of instructions and practical demonstrations in agriculture and home economics and subjects relating thereto." The phrase "and subjects relating thereto" is added to the language of the Smith - Lever Act to make certain that the new legislation will authorize all those extension activities, such as 4 - H Club work, education in rural health and sanitation, and similar aspects of the manifold extension program heretofore authorized and now being carried on under existing law.
The Act, a copy of which follows, provides a basic authorization for agricultural extension work that will be as flexible and dynamic as the needs of the Agricultural Extension Service may require.
An Act to repeal certain Acts relating to cooperative agricultural extension work and to amend the Smith - Lever Act of May 8, 1914.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act of May 8, 1914 (38 Stat. 372), is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Section 1. In order to aid in diffusing among the people of the United States useful and practical information on subjects relating to agriculture and home economics, and to encourage the application of the same, there may be continued or inaugurated in connection with the college or colleges in each State, Territory, or possession, now receiving or which may hereafter receive, the benefits of the Act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, entitled 'An Act donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and mechanic arts' (Twelfth Statutes at Large, Page 503), and of the Act of Congress approved August 30, 1890 (Twenty - sixth Statutes at Large, Page 417, Chapter 841), agricultural extension work which shall be carried on in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture: Provided, That in any State, Territory, or possession in which two or more such colleges have been or hereafter may be established, the appropriations hereinafter made to such State, Territory, or possession shall be administered by such college or colleges as the legislature of such State, Territory, or possession may direct.
"Section 2. Cooperative agricultural extension work shall consist of the giving of instruction and practical demonstrations in agriculture and home economics and subjects relating thereto to persons not attending or resident in said colleges in the several communities, and imparting information on said subjects through demonstrations, publications, and otherwise and for the necessary printing and distribution of information in connection with the foregoing; and this work shall be carried on in such manner as may be mutually agreed upon by the Secretary of Agriculture and the State Agricultural college or colleges receiving the benefits of this Act.
"Section 3.
(a) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of this Act such sums as Congress may from time to time determine to be necessary.
"(b) Out of such sums, each State, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Federal Extension Service shall be entitled to receive annually a sum of money equal to the sums received from the Federal cooperative extension funds for the fiscal year 1953, and such sums shall be subject to the same requirements as to furnishing of equivalent sums by the State, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico as existed immediately prior to the passage of this Act, except that amounts heretofore made available to the Secretary for allotment on the basis of special needs shall continue available for use on the same basis: Provided, That, in addition, Puerto Rico shall be authorized to receive the total initial amount set by the provisions of the Act of October 26, 1949 (63 Stat. 926), and this amount shall be increased each succeeding fiscal year in accordance with such provisions until the total sum shall include the maximum amount set by the provisions of the Act of October 26, 1949, and Puerto Rico shall be entitled to receive such amount annually thereafter.
"(c) Any sums made available by the Congress for further development of cooperative extension work in addition to those referred to in subsection (b) hereof shall be distributed as follows:
"1. Four per centum of the sum so appropriated for each fiscal year shall be allotted among the States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico by the Secretary of Agriculture on the basis of special needs as determined by the Secretary.
"2. Fifty per centum of the remainder of the sum so appropriated for each fiscal year shall be paid to the several States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico in the proportion that the rural population of each bears to the total rural population of the several States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, as determined by the census, and the remainder shall be paid to the several States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico in the proportion that the farm population of each bears to the total farm population of the several States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, as determined by the census: Provided, That payments out of the additional appropriations for further development of extension work authorized herein may be made subject to the making available of such sums of public funds by the States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico from non - Federal funds for the maintenance of cooperative agricultural extension work provided for in this Act, as may be provided by the Congress at the time such additional appropriations are made: Provided further, That any appropriation made hereunder shall be allotted in the first and succeeding years on the basis of the decennial census current at the time such appropriation is first made, and as to any increase, on the basis of decennial census current at the time such increase is first appropriated.
"(d) The Federal Extension Service shall receive such amounts as Congress shall determine for administration, technical, and other services and for coordinating the extension work of the Department and the several States, Territories, and possessions.
"Section 4. On or about the first day of July in each year after the passage of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall ascertain as to each State, Territory, or possession whether it is entitled to receive its share of the annual appropriation for cooperative agricultural extension work under this Act and the amount which it is entitled to receive. Before the funds herein provided shall become available to any college for any fiscal year, plans for the work to be carried on under this Act shall be submitted by the proper officials of each college and approved by the Secretary of Agriculture. Such sums shall be paid in equal semiannual payments on the first day of January and July of each year to the treasurer or other officer of the State, Territory, or possession duly authorized by the laws of the State, Territory, or possession to receive the same, and such officer shall be required to report to the Secretary of Agriculture on or about the first day of January of each year, a detailed statement of the amount so received during the previous fiscal year and its disbursement, on forms prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture.
"Section 5. If any portion of the moneys received by the designated officer of any State, Territory, or possession, for the support and maintenance of cooperative agricultural extension work, as provided in this Act, shall by any action or contingency be diminished or lost or be misapplied, it shall be replaced by said State, Territory, or possession, and until so replaced no subsequent appropriation shall be apportioned or paid to said State, Territory, or possession. No portion of said moneys shall be applied, directly or indirectly, to the purchase, erection, preservation, or repair of any building or buildings, or the purchase or rental of land, or in college - course teaching, lectures in college, or any other purpose not specified in this Act. It shall be the duty of said college, annually, on or about the first day of January, to make to the Governor of the State, Territory, or possession in which it is located a full and detailed report of its operations in extension work as defined in this Act, including a detailed statement of receipts and expenditures from all sources for this purpose, a copy of which report shall be sent to the Secretary of Agriculture.
"Section 6. If the Secretary of Agriculture finds that a State, Territory, or possession is not entitled to receive its share of the annual appropriation, the facts and reasons therefore shall be reported to the President, and the amount involved shall be kept separate in the Treasury until the expiration of the Congress next succeeding a session of the legislature of the State, Territory, or possession from which funds have been withheld in order that the State, Territory, or possession may, if it should so desire, appeal to Congress from the determination of the Secretary of Agriculture. If the next Congress shall not direct such sum to be paid, it shall be covered into the Treasury.
"Section 7. The Secretary of Agriculture shall make an annual report to Congress of the receipts, expenditures, and results of the cooperative agricultural extension work in all of the States, Territories, or possessions receiving the benefits of this Act, and also whether the appropriations of any State, Territory, or possession has been withheld, and, if so, the reason therefore.
"Section 8. The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Act."
"Section 2. The Act or parts thereof enumerated below are hereby repealed:
•The Capper - Ketcham Act of May 22, 1928 (45 Stat. 711), as amended by the Act of March 10, 1930 (46 Stat. 83).
• Section 21 of the Bankhead - Jones Act of June 29, 1935 (49 Stat. 438), as amended by section 2 of the Act of June 6, 1945 (59 Stat. 233).
• Section 23 of the Bankhead - Jones Act as added by the Act of June 6, 1945 (59 Stat. 231), and as amended by the Act of October 26, 1949 (Public Law 406, Eighty - first Congress).
• The Act of August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 881).
• The Act of April 24, 1939 (53 Stat. 589), as amended by section 707 of the Act of September 21, 1944 (58 Stat. 742).
• The Act of October 27, 1949 (Public Law 417, Eighty - first Congress).
• The Act of May 16, 1928 (45 Stat. 571), insofar as it relates to extension work.
• The Act of February 23, 1929 (45 Stat. 1256), insofar as it relates to extension work.
• The Act of March 4, 1931 (46 Stat. 1520), insofar as it relates to extension work.
Approved June 26, 1953.
Excerpt from Civil Rights Act of 1964
Section 601. No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
Section 602. Each Federal department and agency which is empowered to extend Federal financial assistance to any program or activity, by way of grant, loan, or contract other than a contract of insurance or guaranty, is authorized and directed to effectuate the provisions of section 601 with respect to such program or activity by issuing rules, regulations, or orders of general applicability which shall be consistent with achievement of the objectives of the statute authorizing the financial assistance in connection with which the action is taken. No such rule, regulation, or order shall become effective unless and until approved by the President. Compliance with any requirements adopted pursuant to this section may be effected
(1) by the termination of or refusal to grant or to continue assistance under such program or activity to any recipient as to whom there has been an express finding on the record, after opportunity for hearing, of a failure to comply with such requirement, but such termination or refusal shall be limited to the particular political entity, or part thereof, or other recipient as to whom such a finding has been made and, shall be limited in its effect to the particular program, or part thereof, in which such non - compliance has been so found, or
(2) by any other means authorized by law: Provided, however, That no such action shall be taken until the department or agency concerned has advised the appropriate person or persons of the failure to comply with the requirement and has determined that compliance cannot be secured by voluntary means. In the case of any action terminating, or refusing to grant or continue, assistance because of failure to comply with a requirement imposed pursuant to this section, the head of the Federal department or agency shall file with the committees of the House and Senate having legislative jurisdiction over the program or activity involved a full written report of the circumstances and the grounds for such action. No such action shall become effective until thirty days have elapsed after the filing of such report.
Section 603. Any department or agency action taken pursuant to section 602 shall be subject to such judicial review as may otherwise be provided by law for similar action taken by such department or agency on other grounds. In the case of action, not otherwise subject to judicial review, terminating or refusing to grant or to continue financial assistance upon a finding of failure to comply with any requirement imposed pursuant to section 602, any person aggrieved (including any State or political subdivision thereof and any agency of either) may obtain judicial review of such action in accordance with section 10 of the Administrative Procedure Act, and such action shall not be deemed committed to unreviewable agency discretion within the meaning of that section.
Section 604. Nothing contained in this title shall be construed to authorize action under this title by any department or agency with respect to any employment practice of any employer, employment agency, or labor organization except where a primary objective of the Federal financial assistance is to provide employment.
Section 605. Nothing in this title shall add to or detract from any existing authority with respect to any program or activity under which Federal financial assistance is extended by way of a contract of insurance or guaranty.
2528 (Pope's Digest)
County demonstration work. The quorum courts of the respective counties of this State are hereby authorized and empowered to appropriate annually such amount as may be deemed necessary to be used in cooperation with the Extension Service of the College of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas, and the United States Department of Agriculture, cooperating, to aid said Departments in carrying on Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics in such county. The county judges shall approve authorized claims against the county for such purposes, and such approved claims shall be paid by the County Treasurer. However, no claims shall be allowed in excess of the sum appropriated.
Whenever money is, or has been appropriated by the quorum court of any county for the employment of an agricultural and/or home economics demonstration agent or agents, as provided herein, and the extension service of the College of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas, and/or the United States Department of Agriculture shall fail or refuse to cooperate with the county judge in the selection of such demonstration agent or agents, then the county judge may employ some individual or individuals of his own selection to carry on such demonstration work, and his approval of claims against the county for such purpose shall be sufficient authority for the county treasurer to pay the same to the extent of the sums appropriated. Act February 22, 1911, p. 21, as amended by Act 347 of 1927, Sec. 1, approved March 26, 1927, as amended by Act 124 of 1931, Sec. 1, approved March 11, 1931.
13120 (Pope's Digest)
Authority to accept aid. The College of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas is authorized to accept from the United States Government any sums coming to the State of Arkansas from the National Government under the terms of the Smith - Lever Agricultural Extension Act, passed by the Congress of the United States, and approved by the President, May 8, 1914, and the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas hereby gives its consent to all the provisions of the said act. Act March 27, 1915, p. 1075.
Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Arkansas and U S D A on Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics
Whereas the University of Arkansas has under its control Federal and State funds for extension work in agriculture and home economics which are and may be supplemented by funds contributed for similar purposes by counties and other organizations and individuals within said State, and the United States Department of Agriculture has funds appropriated directly to it by Congress which can be spent for extension work in the State of Arkansas;
Therefore, with a view to securing economy and efficiency in the conduct of extension work in the State of Arkansas the president of the University of Arkansas acting subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees of the said University of Arkansas and the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, hereby execute the following memorandum of understanding with reference to cooperative relations between said University of Arkansas and the United States Department of Agriculture for the organization and conduct of extension work in agriculture and home economics in the State of Arkansas.
1. The University of Arkansas agrees:
(a) To organize and maintain at said institution a definite and distinct administrative division for the management and conduct of all cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics, with a director selected by the institution and satisfactory to the Department;
(b) To administer through such divisions thus organized, known as the Agricultural Extension Service, any and all funds it has or may hereafter receive for such work from appropriations made by Congress or the State Legislature, by allotment from its Board of Trustees or from any other sources;
(c) To accept the responsibility for conducting all educational work in the fields of agriculture and home economics and subjects related thereto as authorized by the Smith - Lever Act as amended and other Acts supporting cooperative extension work, and such phases of other programs of the Department as are primarily educational, which the Department has been authorized to carry on within the State.
II. The United States Department of Agriculture agrees:
(a) To maintain in the Department a Federal Extension Service which, under the direction of the Secretary,
(1) shall be charged with the administration of the Smith - Lever Act as amended and other Acts supporting cooperative extension work insofar as such administration is vested in the Department;
(2) shall have primary responsibility for and leadership in all educational programs under the jurisdiction of the Department (except the graduate school);
(3) shall be responsible for coordination of all educational phases of other programs of the Department, except the graduate school; and
(4) shall act as the liaison between the Department and officials of the Land - Grant Colleges and University of all matters relating to cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics and educational activities relating thereto.
(b) To conduct through the University of Arkansas all extension work in agriculture and home economics and subject relating thereto authorized by Congress to be carried on within the State except those activities which by mutual agreement it is determined can most appropriately and effectively be carried out directly by the Department.
III. The University of Arkansas and the United States Department of Agriculture mutually agree:
(a) That, subject to the approval of the President of the University of Arkansas and the Secretary of Agriculture, or their duly appointed representative, all cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics in the State of Arkansas involving the use of Federal funds shall be planned under the joint supervision of the director of Agricultural Extension Service of the University of Arkansas and the administrator of the Federal Extension Service; and that approved plans for such cooperative extension work in the State of Arkansas shall be carried out through the Agricultural Extension Service of the University of Arkansas in accordance with the terms of individual project agreements.
(b) That all State and county personnel appointed by the Department as cooperative agents for extension work in agriculture and home economics in the State of Arkansas shall be joint representatives of the University of Arkansas and the United States Department of Agriculture, unless otherwise expressly provided in the project agreement. Such personnel shall be deemed governed by the requirements of Federal Civil Service Rule No. IV relating to political activity.
(c) That the cooperation between the University of Arkansas and the United States Department of Agriculture shall be plainly set forth in all publications or other printed matter issued and used in connection with said cooperative extension work by either the University of Arkansas or the United States Department of Agriculture.
(d) That annual plans of work for the use of Smith - Lever and other Federal funds in support of cooperative extension work shall be made by the Agricultural Extension Service of the State of Arkansas and shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture in accordance with the terms of the Smith - Lever Act as amended or other applicable laws, and when so approved shall be carried out by the Agricultural Extension Service of the said State of Arkansas.
IV. The University of Arkansas and the United States Department of Agriculture further mutually agree:
(a) That the Department of Agriculture shall make final determination on any proposed supplementary memoranda of understanding or similar documents, including those with other agencies, affecting the conduct of cooperative extension work only after consultation with appropriate designated representatives of the Land - Grant Colleges and Universities.
(b) That the University of Arkansas will make arrangements affecting the conduct of cooperative extension work with agencies of the Department, or with other Federal agencies, only through the administrator of the Federal Extension Service, or in accordance with an existing general agreement which has been approved by him.
(c) That all memoranda and similar documents hereafter executed affecting cooperative extension work, whether between agencies of the Department or between State Agricultural Extension Services and agencies of the Department, shall be within the framework of, and consistent with the intent and purpose of, this memorandum of understanding.
(d) That all memoranda and agreements affecting policies in cooperative extension work shall be reviewed periodically by appropriately designated representatives of the Land - Grant Colleges and Universities and the Secretary of Agriculture for the purpose of determining whether modification is necessary or desirable to meet more effectively current developments and program needs.
This memorandum shall take effect when it is approved by the President of the University of Arkansas and the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, and shall remain in force until it is expressly abrogated in writing by either one of the signers or his successor in office. The agreement executed July 16, 1914, shall be deemed abrogated upon the effective date hereof.
The University of Arkansas
Date February 10, 1955 BY /s/ John T. Caldwell, PresidentUnited States Department Of Agriculture
Date February 18, 1955 BY /s/ E. T. Benson, Secretary