Title FAC — California Food & Agric. Code

The members of the board shall not receive any compensation for their services, but may be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses, when claims for those expenses have been approved by the board.

The district may do all of the following: (a) Sue and be sued in all actions and proceedings in all courts and tribunals of competent jurisdiction. (b) Adopt a seal and alter it at pleasure. (c) Take by grant, purchase, gift, devise, lease, or otherwise, and hold, use and enjoy, …

Every district formed pursuant to this chapter has all of the powers prescribed by Section 6240 and other provisions of this chapter, regardless of any language in the petition for formation for any district or in any of the proceedings leading to the formation that would otherwi…

The county agricultural commissioner of the county in which the district is located shall, upon request of the board, assist the district to the extent possible in all activities undertaken by the district for the control of phylloxera or other winegrape plant pests or diseases.

The board shall, immediately after its appointment and after public hearing, formulate an effective plan and adopt a budget of expenditures for the forthcoming fiscal year. At a public hearing on the plan and the budget, any owner of winegrape acreage included in the district may…

There may be added to the budget for the first fiscal year of the operation of the district an amount not to exceed 20 percent of the total amount of the budget to cover the preliminary expenses of the district, including, but not limited to, the costs of formation, before the be…

For each fiscal year subsequent to the first year of operation of the district, the board shall adopt the final budget therefor in the same manner and at the same time that the budget for the first fiscal year was adopted.

The board of supervisors may charge the district for any expenses incurred by the county in connection with the proceedings for the formation of the district, and the district shall reimburse the county from assessments levied for those expenses.

The county assessor, in making the annual assessment of property included in the district each and every year after the organization of the district, shall identify any parcel of real property with one acre or more of winegrape plants.

Whenever acreage within the district is planted with winegrape plants in such a fashion as to qualify as winegrape acreage, the acreage is subject to assessment as provided in this article.

(a) After the district has been formed, an owner of winegrape acreage in the district may present to the board a request in writing for the exclusion of that land or any part of the land from the district upon a showing that the land or part of the land will not be benefited by t…

(a) The board shall, on or before the first Monday in April of each year, file with the board of supervisors a budget that sets forth all estimated expenditures of the district for the fiscal year commencing on the first day of July. A copy of the budget shall also, at the same t…

The assessment authorized to be assessed and levied is hereby declared to be in the nature of a special assessment, and the Legislature hereby finds that the owners of all winegrape plants will be benefited by the district to the same extent and in the same manner regardless of t…

The assessment so levied shall be computed and entered upon the assessment roll by the county auditor, and if the supervisors fail to levy the assessment as required, the auditor shall do so. The assessment shall be collected at the same time, and in the same manner as, and toget…

The general provisions of the laws of this state, prescribing the manner of levying and collecting county taxes and the duties of the several county officers with respect to levying and collecting county taxes, are, so far as they are applicable and not in conflict with the speci…

The revenue from the assessments imposed pursuant to this chapter by the district are trust funds and shall be encumbered only for the purposes for which the district is formed and for the benefit of the property assessed. The district shall expend the minimum amount necessary fo…

The county treasury shall be the repository of all the moneys of the district. The county treasurer shall receive and receipt for all those moneys, and place the same to the credit of the district. The county treasurer shall be responsible upon his or her official bond for the sa…

If a consolidated district includes parts of two or more counties, the repository of all money of the district shall be the county treasury of the county in which is located the largest area of the district. Money collected for the use of the district in any other county in which…

(a) The county treasurer shall pay out money of the district only upon warrants of the county auditor drawn upon the order of the board of directors of the district signed by the chairperson or vice chairperson and attested to by the secretary. The county treasurer, with the appr…

Lands devoted exclusively to the growing of winegrapes within a tract of land outside the district, but in the county in which the district is located, may be annexed to the district in the same manner provided in this chapter for the formation of the district.

Any two or more districts organized or existing under this chapter may be consolidated, whether or not the boundaries are coterminous, and whether or not the districts are located in the same county.

The board of directors may adopt a resolution that recites the fact of receipt and the willingness of the district to consolidate, and shall then send copies of the resolution to the board of directors of each of the other districts. The board shall send a certified copy of the r…

The board of supervisors of the county in which is located the largest area of winegrape acreage of the proposed consolidated district shall fix a time and place for hearing the proposal. Notice shall be given and the hearing conducted in the same manner and with the same effect …

If the board of supervisors determines that consolidation is feasible and in the best interests of the winegrape growers of the respective districts, it shall, by resolution duly adopted, declare the districts consolidated into one district, giving the consolidated district a nam…

Upon the adoption of a resolution consolidating two or more districts, the board of supervisors of the county in which is located the largest area of winegrape acreage shall immediately appoint a board of directors of at least five members, including at least one member from each…

The board of a consolidated district has all the duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the board of any other district organized pursuant to this chapter. The members of the consolidated board shall be appointed in the same manner and serve for the same …

Any district that has been included in a consolidated district may withdraw from the consolidated district and be reconstituted as a separate district by filing with the board of directors of the consolidated district a petition for withdrawal that is signed by the owners of not …

Upon the filing of a petition with the board of supervisors, signed by the owners of not less than 60 percent by area of the winegrape acreage in the district, requesting the dissolution of the district, the board of supervisors shall set a time and place for hearing on the petit…

The board of supervisors shall give notice of the time and place fixed for the hearing upon the petition for dissolution.

The notice of hearing shall state all of the following: (a) That a petition has been filed requesting the dissolution of the district. (b) That the petition is available for inspection at the offices of the board of supervisors. (c) The time and place for the hearing. (d) That at…

Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the district.

The notice shall be published once a week for two successive weeks prior to the date set for the hearing.

If, at the hearing, a majority of the membership of the board of supervisors find that the dissolution of the district will benefit the winegrape industry of the county, it shall, by resolution, dissolve the district.

The board of supervisors shall cause a certified copy of the resolution to be recorded in the office of the county recorder and shall file a certified copy of the same with the Secretary of State. Thereupon, the district is dissolved for all purposes.

Upon dissolution, the right, title, and interest to property owned or controlled by the district that is situated within the corporate limits of any city shall vest absolutely in the city. If the property is situated outside the corporate limits of a city, it shall vest in the co…

The board of supervisors is ex officio the governing body of the dissolved district. It may levy such assessments and perform such other acts as may be necessary to wind up the affairs of the district and to raise money for the payment of any outstanding indebtedness.

All claims and accounts against the district that have not been settled by the board within 90 days after the resolution is recorded pursuant to Section 6286 shall be presented to the board of supervisors of the county in which the district was located, or in the case of a consol…

If there are insufficient funds to discharge all claims and accounts brought pursuant to Section 6289, the board of supervisors shall, at the time of levying the next general county taxes, levy a special assessment upon the net acreage devoted to the growing of winegrapes that be…

The production and distribution of wine and winegrapes constitute an important industry of this state which provides substantial and necessary revenues for the state and employment for its citizens. It also furnishes an important food which benefits the public health and welfare.

The maintenance and expansion of the wine and winegrape industry of California and of its local, national, and foreign markets is necessary to assure the consuming public of a continuous supply of these products and needed levels of income for those engaged in the wine and winegr…

It is in the public interest that the public be made aware of accurate and scientific information relating to the beneficial qualities of wine, winegrapes, and winegrape products.

The production and marketing of wine, winegrapes, and winegrape products produced in this state is hereby declared to be affected with a public interest. This chapter is enacted in the exercise of the police power of this state for the purpose of protecting the health, peace, saf…

No action taken by the commission nor by any individual in accordance with this chapter or with the rules and regulations adopted under the chapter is a violation of the so-called Cartwright Act (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 16700) of Part 2 of Division 7 of the Business an…

This chapter shall be liberally construed. If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid p…

It is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination that members of the commission are intended to represent and further the interest of a particular agricultural industry, and that this representation and furtherance is intended to serve the public interest. According…

A commission form of administration created by this chapter is designed to deal with the broad fields of market development, marketing research, and production and processing research.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Dills-Bronzan Winegrowers Joint Commission Act of 1986.

Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions in this article govern the construction of this chapter.

“Books and records” means books, records, contracts, documents, memoranda, papers, correspondence, or other written data pertaining to matters relating to the activities subject to this chapter.

“Brandy” means an alcoholic distillate or a mixture of distillates obtained from the fermented juice, mash, or wine of whole, sound, ripe grapes or from the residue thereof, distilled at not over 170 degrees proof.