(1) At the request of a food processor or on the State Department of Agriculture’s own initiative, the department shall certify the eligibility of qualified machinery and equipment for exemption under ORS 307.455.
(2) The method of certification under this section shall be provided by rules adopted by the State Department of Agriculture, after consultation with the Department of Revenue.
(3) A decision by the State Department of Agriculture to deny certification of certain property may be appealed to the Director of Agriculture as a contested case under ORS chapter 183.
(4) The State Department of Agriculture may fix, assess and collect, or cause to be collected, fees on food processors for the certification of qualified machinery and equipment under subsection (1) of this section. The fees must be in an amount reasonably necessary to cover the costs of the certification and of the administration of this section. The fees must have a uniform basis, but the scale of fees may vary according to the location of the qualified machinery and equipment.