Title FAC — California Food & Agric. Code

A major amendment shall not be made effective unless a public hearing has been held upon it in accordance with Article 5 (commencing with Section 59641) of this chapter for the establishment or institution of a marketing program, and the director makes both of the following findi…

Minor amendments may be made to an effective marketing program upon the recommendation of not less than 75 percent of the producer members of the marketing program committee, with the approval of the director, if the director finds that such amendments are in conformity with the …

If the director deems it advisable, he may hold a public hearing upon minor amendments prior to such approval. Any public hearing held for this purpose shall be held within the boundaries of the proration zone.

The amendment of any marketing program to provide for a referendum is a minor amendment. (Enacted by Stats. 1967, Ch. 15.)

Any modification of the provisions of any marketing program in effect for the purpose of clarifying the meaning or application of the provisions or modifying administrative procedures for carrying out the provisions is a minor amendment. (Enacted by Stats. 1967, Ch. 15.)

If the director makes any amendment to a marketing program effective, he shall publish a notice of the effective date pursuant to Section 6061 of the Government Code in the capital of the state and in such other localities as the director may prescribe, not less than five days pr…

The proration zone agent for each marketing program shall collect, either for each primary certificate or for each secondary certificate, or for both, a reasonable and proportional fee to be fixed by the program committee, subject to the approval of the director, so calculated as…

Any fee for primary certificates or secondary certificates which is fixed by the program committee with the approval of the director, pursuant to this article, is due and payable by each producer upon all units of the commodity of the producer which are subject to the certificate…

If any producer has authorized a handler to obtain secondary certificates and pay secondary certificate fees on behalf of the producer, or the handler has been a party to noncompliance with respect to payment for certificates or corresponding fees, the amounts unpaid constitute a…

For the convenience of collecting any producer fees which are established pursuant to this article, the director may collect such fees from the handlers of the commodity which is being regulated. Any handler that pays a fee for and on behalf of any producer may deduct the produce…

The proportion of the fees which is payable to the department may vary upon a seasonal basis for each program according to the estimated expense to be incurred by the director in administering the marketing program. The amount so required shall not exceed 15 percent of the certif…

Upon the request of any marketing program committee, the director shall confer with the committee or its representatives prior to fixing the amount or proportion of any fees of the marketing program which are payable to the department for maintenance of the department in the perf…

All fees shall be deposited promptly by the proration zone agent in a bank which is approved by the Director of Finance, and shall be accounted for immediately to the Director of Food and Agriculture. Each deposit shall be made in the name of the proration zone under which the fu…

(a) The funds that are deposited pursuant to Section 59946 shall be disbursed by the director or the marketing program committee, pursuant to regulations prescribed by him or her, only for the expenditures that are incurred by the marketing program committee in carrying out the s…

The proportionate amount of fees which are payable to the department shall be withdrawn from the funds monthly by the director and shall be used only for the department in carrying out its duties as required by this chapter.

At the end of any marketing season as designated in each marketing program, after proper provision has been made for the payment of all necessary expense which is incurred in connection with the marketing season, any money which remains to the credit of the marketing program comm…

At the time a refund is made, the marketing program committee shall file with the director a claim for the refund to growers that are entitled to such refund. If the director finds that as of the end of any marketing season the amount which remains to the credit of the marketing …

Unexpended balances of any money which is collected to carry out the educational and trade stimulation efforts which are provided for in Sections 59816, 59817, and 59818 which are sufficient in amount to warrant incurring the expense of making a refund shall be refunded following…

If the unexpended balance is so small as to make impractical the computation and remitting of a pro rata refund, the director may authorize the transfer of the funds to the administrative account of the marketing program or to the Department of Agriculture Fund for the support of…

Unless otherwise requested by the marketing program committee, the director is not required to issue refunds to any producer in an amount less than five dollars ($5).

Any check or warrant which is drawn against the fund of any marketing program which remains unclaimed or uncashed for a period of six months from the date of issuance shall be canceled and the money retained for disbursement to the original payee or claimant upon satisfactory ide…

If there is no marketing program then in effective operation for the commodity, the funds shall be credited to the unexpended balance, if any, of the last previous marketing program for the commodity. If there is no marketing program then in current operation or no balance exists…

An agent or employee of the marketing program committee shall not have or receive any funds which are collected pursuant to this chapter until such agent or employee has filed with the director a bond in such form and in such penal sum as the director may prescribe. (Enacted by S…

Upon the recommendation of the marketing program committee, the director may relieve the proration zone agent of the responsibility of collecting any amount which is due and unpaid not exceeding five dollars ($5) if the director determines that the collection is improbable or the…

The director, in addition to other remedies which are provided by law, may direct suit in the name of the people of this state as plaintiff, to be brought for the recovery of fees as provided in this chapter. In such case, the director may make the necessary affidavit for and a w…

Except as otherwise provided in Section 59820, if any marketing program which is in active operation does not provide for a periodic referendum of producers of record with the department, directly affected by the program, for the purpose of determining whether or not the program …

An expression by a majority of the producers that participate in the referendum shall govern the action of the director in declaring a program modified, continued, or suspended.

In conducting the referendum, the director may require the majority expression to be that of producers in terms of volume of production in addition to numbers of producers voting.

After the institution of any marketing program, the program shall be terminated if there is filed with the director a petition for its termination which is signed by not less than 40 percent of the producers of the commodity in the proration zone that produced not less than 40 pe…

Each petitioner shall, upon affixing his signature to the petition for termination, write in the date of signing. No signature to the petition shall be valid for any purpose if affixed more than six months prior to the filing of the petition with the director. The petition shall …

If from a check of the petition together with the facts and evidence which are adduced at the hearing, it is established that the petition to terminate is signed by the required 40 percent of the producers of the commodity in the zone that produced at least 40 percent of the pror…

The costs incident to conducting the hearing and making of findings shall initially be paid from the funds of the program to the extent that they are available and thereafter from the undertaking. If the petition is found to be insufficiently signed, the entire cost of conducting…

The director may at any time initiate an investigation to determine whether or not the facts which are specified in Sections 59655 to 59662, inclusive, continue to exist. Upon a finding that any one or more of the prerequisite facts no longer exist, the director shall terminate o…

Any action for penalties or other remedies which is prescribed in this chapter shall be commenced within two years from the date of the alleged violation. (Enacted by Stats. 1967, Ch. 15.)

Any person that possesses, markets, handles, or transports any commodity in violation of any provision of an original or modified marketing program which is approved and made effective or in violation of any regulation which is adopted by any marketing program committee and appro…

Any person that violates a marketing program which is approved and made effective, or violates any regulation which is adopted by any program committee and approved by the director, is liable civilly in an amount of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for eac…

Except as otherwise provided in Section 60015, it is a misdemeanor for: (a) Any person to willfully render or furnish a false or fraudulent report, statement, or record required under this chapter. (b) Any person to deliver into a primary trade channel without proper authority an…

Section 60014 does not apply to a common carrier which is operating over a regular route or between fixed termini if the shipment is made by the carrier in good faith and in accordance with its duties as a common carrier and a record of every such shipment within or from this sta…

(a) When the director makes a determination that a marketing program fee payment due pursuant to this chapter is deficient as to the payment due, the director may determine the amount of the deficiency, including any applicable penalty, as provided in this section. After giving n…

The production of market milk is hereby declared to be a business affected with a public interest. The provisions of this chapter are enacted in the exercise of the police powers of this state for the purpose of protecting the health and welfare of the people of this state.

The Legislature hereby declares all of the following: (a) Market milk is a necessary article of food for human consumption. (b) The production and maintenance of an adequate supply of healthful market milk of proper chemical and physical content, free from contamination, is vital…

It is recognized by the Legislature that conditions within the milk industry of this state are such that it is necessary to establish marketing areas wherein different prices and regulations are necessary, and for that purpose the director shall have the administrative authority,…

The foregoing statements in this article of facts, policy, and application of this chapter are hereby declared a matter of legislative determination.

The purposes of this chapter are to do all of the following: (a) Provide funds for administration and enforcement of this chapter, by assessments to be paid by producers and handlers of market milk in the manner prescribed in this chapter. (b) Authorize and enable the secretary t…

It is the intent of the Legislature that the powers conferred in this chapter shall be liberally construed.

Nothing in this chapter permits or authorizes the development of conditions of monopoly in the production of market milk. In the establishment of the terms and conditions under which market milk shall be purchased from producers, the terms and conditions are those which will, in …

The Legislature hereby declares that this chapter is intended to formulate a comprehensive scheme for the regulation of marketing milk. If, however, any provision of, or addition or amendment to, this chapter, either as originally enacted in 1935 at the 51st Regular Session of th…

If any article, section, subdivision, sentence, clause, or phrase of any provision of this chapter is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, such decision does not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this chapter. The Legislature hereby declares that it would …

Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 61301), Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 62500), and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 62700) shall be liberally construed as being complementary of, and supplemental to, this chapter, and these chapters shall constitute a single comprehens…

No provision of this chapter, or of any stabilization and marketing plan formulated by the director pursuant to this chapter, is any limitation upon the right of any handler or producer-handler including any nonprofit cooperative association of producers which association is also…