114 STAT. 380 PUBLIC LAW 106-224 —JUNE 20, 2000 "(i) maintain the policy and charge a fee to approved insurance providers that elect to sell the policy under this subsection; or "(ii) transfer responsibility for maintenance of the policy to the Corporation. " (D) FEE.— "(i) AMOUNT.—Subject to approval by the Board, the amount of the fee that is payable by an approved insurance provider that elects to sell the policy shall be an amount that is determined by the approved insurance provider maintaining the policy. "(ii) APPROVAL.— The Board shall approve the amount of a fee determined under clause (i) for maintenance of the policy unless the Boeo-d determines that the amount of the fee— "(I) is unreasonable in relation to the maintenance costs associated with the policy; or "(II) unnecessarily inhibits the use of the policy. "(5) TREATMENT OF PAYMENT. —Payments made under this subsection for a policy shall be considered as payment in full by the Corporation for the research and development conducted with regard to the policy and any property rights to the policy. "(6) REIMBURSEMENT AMOUNT.—The Corporation shall determine the amount of the payment under this subsection for an approved policy based on the complexity of the policy and the size of the area in which the policy or material is expected to be sold. " (c) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTING AUTHORITY.— "(1) AUTHORITY. —The Corporation may enter into contracts to carry out research and development to— "(A) increase participation in States in which the Corporation determines that— "(i) there is traditionally, and continues to be, a low level of Federal crop insurance participation and availability; and "(ii) the State is underserved by the Federed crop insurance program; "(B) increase participation in areas that are underserved by the Federal crop insurance program; and "(C) increase participation by producers of underserved agricultural commodities, including specialty crops. "(2) UNDERSERVED AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES AND AREAS. — "(A) AUTHORITY. —The Corporation may enter into contracts under procedures prescribed by the Corporation with qualified persons to carry out research and development for policies that promote the purposes of paragraph (1). " (B) CONSULTATION. —Before entering into a contract under subparagraph (A), the Corporation shall consult with groups representing producers of agricultural commodities that would be served by the policies that are the subject of the research and development. "(3) QUALIFIED PERSONS.—^A person with experience in crop insurance or farm or ranch risk management (including a college or university, an approved insurance provider, and a trade or research organization), as determined by the Corporation,
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