Title FAC — California Food & Agric. Code

(a) The sale by any retailer, wholesale customer, manufacturer, or distributor, including any producer-distributor or nonprofit cooperative association acting as a distributor, of milk, cream, or any dairy product at less than cost is an unlawful practice. This subdivision applie…

Any false statement or representation which is knowingly made, by any wholesale customer or consumer, or anyone that is acting on the behalf of either, to any distributor or manufacturer, or any representative of a distributor or manufacturer, that a competitor of the distributor…

Solicitation by, or collusion or joint participation between or among, any manufacturer, distributor, producer, wholesale customer, consumer, or any representative of any of them, to commit any of the unlawful practices which are prescribed in this article, or the use of any misr…

It is recognized by the Legislature that unfair and disruptive practices have developed concerning the purchasing of manufacturing milk, as defined in Section 32509, including the failure to pay, or the making of late payments, to producers of manufacturing milk. Such practices t…

The bond provided for in this article is required for each manufacturing milk handler.

(a) Every manufacturing milk handler that operates only one plant within the state, before purchasing any manufacturing milk from a producer, shall execute and deliver to the secretary a surety bond, executed by the applicant as principal and by a surety company qualified and aut…

If any handler increases his or her purchases of manufacturing milk during the license year so that the purchases exceed the amount for which the handler is bonded, the handler shall immediately post an additional bond as may be required to comply with this article.

The bond required by Section 61405 shall be in a form approved by the director, and shall be conditioned upon the payment in the manner that is required by the terms of purchase between the manufacturing milk handler and the producer of all amounts due to producers for manufactur…

If a handler fails to pay any producer or producers in the manner that is required by this chapter, the director shall proceed forthwith to ascertain the names and addresses of all the producers that the handler has failed to pay, together with the amounts due and owing to them a…

(a) After determining the claims of the producers pursuant to Section 61407, the director shall bring an action on the bond on behalf of the producers. (b) Any producer not satisfied with the amount of the producer’s claim as determined by the director, or with the ratio the prod…

If the recovery upon the bond is not sufficient to pay all of the claims as finally determined and adjudged by the court, the amount recovered shall be divided pro rata among the producer-creditors.

Payments by a handler to a producer, for the purposes of any action on a handler’s bond for any year, shall be credited first to interest and then to principal due, owed, and unpaid. Amounts to be applied to the principal shall be applied first to the amount owed for the most rec…

(a) The director may bring an action against a surety bond company if the company fails to do any of the following: (1) Acknowledge promptly and act reasonably upon receiving a bond demand from the director. (2) Promptly investigate and process claims. (3) Make fair and equitable…

If a manufacturing milk handler fails to pay any producer in the manner that is required by this chapter, the director may require the filing of a new or additional bond in the amount determined by the director to be sufficient to satisfy claims for the payment of producers there…

The failure of any manufacturing milk handler that purchases manufacturing milk from producers to execute and deliver the bond as provided and required in this article is a violation of this chapter. The failure of any handler to post any additional bond as may be required is als…

The failure of any manufacturing milk handler that purchases manufacturing milk from producers to execute and deliver the bond as provided and required in this article shall constitute grounds for suspension, revocation, or refusal of the manufacturing milk handler’s license. The…

Except as otherwise provided in Section 61411.2 or 61411.3, the purchase of any manufacturing milk in excess of 1,000 gallons monthly from any manufacturing milk producer without a written contract that has been executed and complies with all the requirements of this article is a…

The production of manufacturing milk in excess of amounts to be purchased under contracts executed pursuant to Section 61411 shall be voluntary on the part of the producer and shall not be a condition, oral or written, of the execution or renewal of any contract.

Section 61411 does not apply to the purchase of manufacturing milk which is necessary to meet an unanticipated increase in demand or an unanticipated shortage in the supply of a handler if the quantity purchased from any one producer does not exceed 5,000 gallons in any one month…

Section 61411 does not apply to manufacturing milk purchased under cash-on-delivery terms.

Any contract between a producer and a handler shall be voidable by the producer for a 45-day period following the occurrence of either of the following: (a) The handler has failed to pay the producer the full price specified in the contract or has failed to comply with the terms …

If a notice has been issued by the director that the future deliveries to the handler shall not be covered under the Milk Producers Security Trust Fund created pursuant to Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 62500), all contracts between producers and the handler are voidable by…

(a) (1) Every milk handler who receives manufacturing milk subject to this article shall deduct as an assessment from payments made to producers for manufacturing milk the sum of one and two-tenths cents ($0.012) per hundredweight of manufacturing milk. (2) The amount of the asse…

The director may fix the rates of assessments or fees required by Section 61412 at lesser amounts, and may adjust the rates of assessments or fees from time to time, whenever he or she finds that the cost of administering this article can be defrayed from revenues derived from th…

(a) Any assessment or fee or either of them payable pursuant to any provision of this article is a debt of the person by whom the assessment or fee or either of them is payable and shall be due and payable to the director upon the date set forth in Section 61412. If the person do…

The failure of any handler to pay for manufacturing milk delivered to the handler at the time and in the manner specified in the contract with the producer is an unlawful trade practice.

(a) Handlers shall pay producers either by check or cash. Handlers electing to pay producers in cash shall, in all cases, obtain a dated, signed receipt from each producer. These receipts shall be made a part of the permanent records of the handler. Handlers paying by check shall…

(a) If a handler does not pay for manufacturing milk delivered to him or her at the time and in the manner specified in the contract, the handler shall pay the producer interest on the unpaid amount from the time the payment was due until paid at the rate of 12 percent per annum.…

If a handler fails to pay for manufacturing milk delivered to him or her at the time and in the manner specified in this chapter, the director may assess a penalty for each payment date that the producers were not fully paid. Any penalty assessed shall be a minimum of one hundred…

The director may revoke or suspend any license of a handler if the director finds as a result of a noticed hearing that the handler has not paid for any manufacturing milk delivered to him or her at the time and in the manner specified in the contract with the producer.

The director, pursuant to the procedure in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, may also refuse to grant or renew any license to a handler if the director is satisfied that the handler has failed to pay for any manuf…

In lieu of revoking or suspending a handler’s license under Section 61416, the director may impose any other conditional and probationary orders, pursuant to a noticed hearing, that may be proper for the enforcement of this chapter or to enforce any provision of any regulation ad…

If the respondent does not comply with any conditional or probationary orders, the director may suspend or revoke the license in accordance with the procedure provided in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(a) Whenever the director is satisfied, either by investigation or after a hearing, that a handler is unable to pay for any manufacturing milk purchased from any producer, and is further satisfied that to permit the handler to continue to purchase and receive any manufacturing mi…

Every distributor, person who sells at wholesale, or manufacturer of milk, cream, or any dairy product shall maintain and keep, for a period of three years from their initial recordation, or for a period of three years from their expiration date, whichever period is longer, all o…

The director shall have access to, and may enter at all reasonable hours, any place where any dairy product is being processed, bottled, stored, kept, or sold, or where the books, papers, records, or documents pertaining to any transaction which relates to any dairy product is ke…

Within 60 days of the effective date of this section, each manufacturing milk handler shall provide the director with a list of the name, address, and date of every current contract between the handler and manufacturing milk producers. Monthly thereafter, the handler shall report…

Any record or report which is made to the director pursuant to this article, or any contract required to be filed pursuant to this chapter, is confidential and shall not be divulged, except if necessary for the proper determination of any court proceeding or hearing before the di…

The director may, upon his or her own motion or upon the receipt of any verified complaint, investigate any transaction that involves the violation of any provision of this chapter by any person. The director may call and conduct a hearing in furtherance of that investigation.

If a hearing is called by the director, the director shall cause a copy of the complaint, together with a notice of time and place of hearing of the complaint, to be served personally or by mail upon that person. Service shall be made at least 10 days before the hearing.

The hearing shall be held in the city or place in which is situated the business location of the person that is complained of, or in which the transaction complained of is said to have occurred. (Enacted by Stats. 1967, Ch. 15.)

The person complained of shall, at least three days prior to the date fixed for the hearing, serve upon the complaining party and file with the director a verified answer to all the allegations which are contained in the complaint. (Enacted by Stats. 1967, Ch. 15.)

At the time and place which is appointed for such hearing the director shall hear the parties to such complaint, and shall enter in the office of the director at Sacramento a decision dismissing such complaint or specifying the facts which are established on such hearing. A copy …

The director may do any of the following: (a) Administer oaths and take testimony thereunder. (b) Issue subpoenas which require the attendance of witnesses before him, together with all books, memoranda, papers, and other documents, articles, or instruments. (c) Compel the disclo…

Any party that disobeys any order or subpoena of the director is guilty of contempt and shall be certified to the superior court of the state, in and for the county wherein such contempt occurs, for punishment for such contempt in accordance with Sections 11180 to 11191, inclusiv…

Any act of the director pursuant to any provision of this chapter may be reviewed by any court of competent jurisdiction. (Enacted by Stats. 1967, Ch. 15.)

For the purposes of this article, each subsidiary manufacturing milk plant, or branch manufacturing milk plant, whether under one ownership or not, shall be considered as an individual manufacturing milk handler.

“Manufacturing milk handler” means any person defined as a manufacturing milk handler pursuant to Section 61402.

It is unlawful for a manufacturing milk handler who is not licensed under Article 12 (commencing with Section 62141) of Chapter 2 to handle manufacturing milk without first obtaining a manufacturing milk handler’s license pursuant to this article. In addition, pursuant to Section…

Application for the license provided by this article shall be made on forms prescribed by the director, accompanied by an application fee as prescribed in Section 61494, and state the name and address of the applicant and any details specifically related to the nature of the appl…