Title FAC — California Food & Agric. Code

The commission shall defend any of its members against any claims made or actions taken against any commission members on matters in which the members acted on behalf of the commission.

The state shall not be liable for the acts of the commission or its contracts. Payments of all claims arising by reason of the administration of this chapter or acts of the commission shall be limited to the funds collected by the commission. No member of the commission or altern…

The powers and duties of the commission shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following: (a) To adopt, and from time to time, alter, rescind, modify, and amend all proper and necessary bylaws, rules, regulations, and orders for carrying out the provisions of this chap…

Within 90 days after January 1, 1983, the director shall establish a list of producers eligible to vote on implementation of this chapter. In establishing the list, the director shall require that handlers, county agricultural commissioners, and wheat producers in this state subm…

The provisions of this chapter, except as necessary to conduct an implementation referendum vote, shall not become operative until the director finds, in a referendum conducted by the director, that at least 40 percent of the total number of producers from the list established by…

The director shall establish a period in which to conduct the referendum which shall not be less than 10 days nor more than 60 days in duration, and may prescribe any additional procedure that may be necessary to conduct the referendum. If the initial period established is less t…

Failure to receive a ballot shall not invalidate the referendum.

If the director finds that a favorable vote has been given as provided in Section 72092, he shall certify and give notice of the favorable vote to all producers and handlers whose names and addresses may be on file with the director.

If the director finds that a favorable vote has not been given as provided in Section 72092, he shall so certify and declare all provisions of this chapter inoperative.

Upon certification of the commission, the director shall contact all producers in each district by mail, or call meetings of producers in each district, for the purpose of nominating and electing persons for appointment to the commission by the director. All producers on the dire…

To be eligible for election to the commission, producer nominees shall present to the director a nomination petition with the signatures of at least six eligible producers from the district from which the nominee is seeking election.

Subsequent to the first election of commissioners under this chapter, persons to be elected to the commission shall be selected pursuant to the nomination and election procedures which shall be established by the rules and regulations adopted by the commission with concurrence of…

Prior to the referendum vote conducted by the director pursuant to Section 72092, the proponents of the commission shall deposit with the director such amount as the director may deem necessary to defray the expenses of preparing the necessary lists and information and conducting…

The commission shall, not later than April 30 of each year, establish the assessment for the following year beginning May 1 and ending April 30. In no event shall the combined assessment of the commission and any other state authorized wheat production research and market program…

Every handler shall keep a complete and accurate record of all wheat received by him or her and the name of the producer whose wheat was shipped. The records shall be in simple form and contain such information as the commission shall prescribe. The records shall be preserved by …

All proprietary information obtained by the commission or the director from handlers and all lists of producers in the possession of the director shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed except when required in a judicial proceeding. Information on volume shipments, crop …

Assessments provided for in this article shall be upon the producer. The handler first handling the wheat being assessed shall deduct the assessments from amounts paid by him to the producer and shall be a trustee of the funds until they are paid to the commission at the time and…

Every handler shall be personally liable for the payment of the collected assessments, and failure of the handler to collect the assessment from any producer shall not exempt any handler from liability for payment of the assessment.

Any assessment which is levied as provided for in this chapter, is a personal debt of every producer so assessed. Failure of a handler to make payment of the collected assessment to the commission shall not relieve the producer of this obligation.

Any producer or handler who fails to file a return or pay any assessment within the time required by the commission shall pay to the commission a penalty of 10 percent of the amount of such assessment determined to be due and, in addition, 11/2 percent interest per month on the u…

Any person, firm, or corporation subject to the assessment in this chapter may request a total or partial refund of a paid assessment from the commission. No refund shall be made by the commission unless requested within 90 days from the date of collection of the assessment. Howe…

It shall be a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), or by both the fine and imprisonment, for any person to do any of the following: (a) Willfully to render or furnish a false re…

The commission shall adopt regulations for the purpose of according individuals aggrieved by its actions or determinations an informal hearing before the commission, or before a committee of the commission designated for this purpose. Appeals from decisions the commission made af…

The commission may commence civil actions and utilize all remedies provided in law or equity for the collection of assessments and civil penalties, and for the obtaining of injunctive relief or specific performance, respecting this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted un…

Between May 1, 1987, and April 30, 1988, the commission shall cause a referendum to be conducted among producers in the manner prescribed in Section 72131.5 to determine whether the operation of this chapter shall be reapproved and continued effective. If the director finds that …

The operation of this chapter shall be reapproved and continued in effect if the director finds, in the referendum required pursuant to Section 72131, that a majority of the eligible producers voting in the referendum, voted in favor of continuing the operation of this chapter.

Following a favorable referendum conducted prior to April 30, 1988, a referendum shall be conducted by the commission every fifth year thereafter between May 1 and April 30, following procedures provided by this chapter and Section 72131.5, unless a referendum is conducted as the…

Upon the finding of a two-thirds vote of the commission that the operation of this chapter has not tended to effectuate its declared purposes, the commission may recommend to the director that the operation of this chapter shall be suspended. However, any suspension shall not bec…

(a) The director shall terminate the commission at the end of the current marketing season if requested in writing, within a 90-day period, by at least 51 percent of the eligible producers who are directly affected and who produce at least 51 percent of the volume of the product.…

After the effective date of suspension of the operation of this chapter and of the operations of the commission, the operations of the commission shall be concluded and any and all moneys remaining held by the commission, collected by assessment and not required to defray the exp…

Upon suspension of the operation of this chapter and of the commission, the commission shall mail a copy of the notice of suspension to all producers and handlers affected by the suspension whose names and addresses are on file.