Title FAC — California Food & Agric. Code

Upon certification of the commission, the members and alternates of anybody operating pursuant to an existing state marketing order affecting the same subject matter of this chapter shall comprise the initial membership of the commission. Thereafter, persons to be elected to the …

Prior to the referendum vote conducted by the director pursuant to this article, the proponents of the commission shall deposit with the director an amount of funds determined necessary by the director to defray the expenses of preparing the necessary lists and information and co…

The commission shall, not later than February 1 of each year, establish the assessment for the marketing season that begins February 1 and continues through January 31 of the following year. The assessment shall not exceed the following amounts: (a) Two and one-half cents ($0.025…

An assessment established by the commission shall require a favorable vote of not less than two-thirds of the voting producer members, a majority of the voting shipper members, and a majority of the voting processor members on the commission.

This chapter does not apply to strawberries produced only for a producer’s home use or to strawberries that are used only for ornamental purposes.

Every shipper and processor shall keep a complete and accurate record of all strawberries shipped or processed by him or her with the name of the producer whose strawberries were shipped or processed. A producer who delivers or markets strawberries to persons other than to a ship…

All proprietary information obtained by the commission or the director from any source, including the names and addresses of producers, shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed except when required by court order in a judicial proceeding. Information on volume shipments, …

Producer assessments shall be upon the producer. The first shipper or processor of strawberries being assessed shall deduct the assessment from amounts paid by him or her to the producer, and shall be a trustee of the funds until they are paid to the commission at the time and in…

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

Any assessment that is levied as provided in this chapter is a personal debt of every producer, processor, or shipper so assessed. Failure of a shipper or processor to make payment of the collected producer assessment to the commission shall not relieve the producer of this oblig…

(a) Any producer, shipper, or processor 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 the assessment determined to be past due and, in addition, interest on the unpa…

It is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by both fine and imprisonment, for any person to do any of the following: (a) Willfully to render or furnish a false report, sta…

The commission shall establish procedures 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 of the commission m…

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 obtaining injunctive relief or specific performance, relating to this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted under th…

Any action by the commission for any penalty or other remedy that is prescribed under this chapter shall be commenced within two years from the date of discovery of the alleged violation. Any action against the commission by any person shall be commenced within two years from the…

The commission is not required to allege or prove that an adequate remedy at law does not exist in any action brought under this chapter.

This chapter shall be liberally construed. If any section, clause, or part of this chapter is for any reason held unconstitutional or invalid as applied to any person or as applied under certain circumstances, that decision shall not affect the remaining portions of this chapter …

The termination of this chapter shall not affect or waive any right, duty, obligation, or liability that has arisen or that may thereafter arise in connection with this chapter, release or extinguish any violation of this chapter, or affect or impair any right or remedies of the …

Every five years, commencing with the 1999–2000 marketing season, the director shall hold a hearing to determine whether the operation of this chapter should be continued. If the director finds after the hearing that a substantial question exists among the producers, processors, …

Following a hearing, and favorable referendum if required, conducted prior to January 31, 2000, the process specified in Section 77498 shall be conducted by the commission every fifth year thereafter between February 1 and June 30, unless a referendum is conducted as the result o…

(a) Upon a finding by 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 commission be suspended. Any suspension shall not become effective until the expi…

After the effective date of suspension of this chapter and of the commission, the operations of the commission shall be concluded and all moneys held by the commission, and moneys collected by assessment and not required to defray the expenses of concluding and terminating operat…

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, processors, and shippers affected by the suspension whose names and addresses are on file.