Title FAC — California Food & Agric. Code

No action in law or equity may be brought against any members or agent of the board, nor shall any member or agent of the board be personally liable for the actions of the board or the department. No member or agent of the board is responsible individually in any way to any other…

This article shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

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

(a) On or before December 31 of every year, the secretary, after consultation with the board, shall make publicly available on the department’s internet website, a report on the status of this article and Article 8 (commencing with Section 6045), including, but not limited to, pr…

For the purposes of this article, the following definitions shall govern its construction: (a) “Board” means the Pierce’s Disease and Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board. (b) “Department” means the Department of Food and Agriculture. (c) “Marketing season” begins July 1 of each year…

This article shall become inoperative as of March 1, 2026, unless the secretary finds, in a referendum conducted by the secretary, or a person designated by the secretary, subsequent to the operative date of the amendments to this section adopted in 2024, that a favorable vote ha…

(a) No later than April 15, 2025, the secretary shall establish a list of those persons eligible to vote on the continued implementation of this article. (b) Eligibility shall be limited to the producers, processors, and persons who paid the assessment on grapes crushed in the im…

For the purpose of voting in the referendum required in Section 6047.20, only a person required to pay the assessment pursuant to Section 6047.8 shall have the right to vote.

In determining whether this article shall become inoperative, the secretary shall find that at least 40 percent of the total number of persons from the list established by the secretary participated in the referendum, and that either one of the following occurred: (a) 65 percent …

In determining whether the referendum is approved by producers pursuant to the provisions of this article, the secretary shall consider the vote in favor of the referendum of any nonprofit agricultural cooperative marketing association, which is authorized by its members so to as…

The secretary shall establish a period in which to conduct the referendum that shall not be less than 10 days nor more than 60 days in duration. The secretary may prescribe additional procedures to conduct the referendum. If the initial period established is less than 60 days, th…

Nonreceipt of a ballot shall not invalidate a referendum.

(a) If the secretary finds that a favorable vote as provided in this article has not been given subsequent to the operative date of the amendments to this section adopted in 2024, this article shall become inoperative as of March 1, 2026. (b) If the secretary finds that a favorab…

(a) The provisions of this article are severable. (b) If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

(a) The secretary shall appoint an advisory task force consisting of scientific experts, including, but not limited to, university researchers and agricultural representatives, for the purpose of advising the secretary on the control and management of Pierce’s disease. (b) Member…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the secretary, upon the recommendation of the board, may contract with any nonprofit authoritative scientific body with expertise in agricultural issues in order to expedite research relating to the eradication of Pierce’s disease.

(a) The board may, after consulting with the advisory task force and upon making findings as described in this section, recommend to the secretary, and the secretary may determine, that a pest or disease affecting grapes grown in California and crushed for wine, wine vinegar, jui…

(a) The powers of the board shall be the following: (1) Submit recommendations to the secretary on, but not limited to, the following: (A) Selection of officers. (B) Terms of office for board members. (C) Annual assessment rate. (D) Annual budget. (E) Expenditures authorized unde…

(a) Expenditure of the funds pursuant to this article shall be restricted to the following: (1) Reasonable administrative expenses of the board and the department, subject to the limitation in Section 6047.12. (2) The collection, enforcement, deposit, and handling of the assessme…

The secretary shall accept the recommendations of the board unless he or she determines that the recommendations are not practicable or in the interest of the industry or the public. The secretary shall provide the board with the reasons for his or her decision within 15 days if …

The Legislature hereby finds and declares the following: (a) California is the leading producer of table grapes in the United States, accounting for 97 percent of table grapes grown in this country. (b) Table grapes are grown in 15 counties located throughout the state. (c) Calif…

This article shall be known and may be cited as the Table Grape Pest and Disease District Law.

(a) It is the purpose of this article to make available a procedure for the organization, operation, and dissolution of districts to respond to the effects of the spread of the glassy-winged sharpshooter and Pierce’s disease, and other designated pests and diseases that attack ta…

Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions in this section govern the construction of this article. (a) “Board” or “board of directors” means the board of directors of a district. (b) “District” means a table grape pest district organized pursuant to this article. (c)…

(a) Proceedings for the formation of a district within any county shall be commenced by a petition signed by the owners of 15 percent of the table grape acreage. (b) The petition shall be addressed to, and filed with, the board of supervisors of the county.

The petition may be filed in sections, each of which shall comply with all the requirements for a petition, except that a section need not contain the total number of signatures required for the petition.

Signatures to the petition may be withdrawn at any time before it has been acted upon by filing with the clerk of the board of supervisors a declaration signed by the petitioner that states that it is the intention of the petitioner to withdraw his or her signature from the petit…

(a) The petition shall state the name of the proposed district and shall set forth its boundaries or describe the lands to be included. (b) It is a sufficient designation of the boundaries of a proposed district to recite that all the table grape acreage in the county that is to …

(a) The petition shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount established by the board of supervisors as is necessary to reimburse the county for all costs incurred by it in connection with the proposed organization of the district. The board of supervisors may charge the district …

(a) Upon the presentation and filing of a petition, the board of supervisors shall refer the petition to the county agricultural commissioner for the preparation of a register of owners of table grape acreage within the proposed district, and for an investigation and report. (b) …

(a) During the first marketing season, beginning July 1, 2001, and ending June 30, 2002, the annual assessment shall be three dollars ($3) for each one thousand dollars ($1,000) assessed pursuant to Section 6047.9 for all grapes subject to assessment under this article. The depar…

(a) The board of supervisors shall fix a time and place for a hearing of the petition. (b) The hearing shall not be less than 20 days, or more than 40 days, after the filing of the petition with the board of supervisors. (c) The board of supervisors shall order the clerk of the b…

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.

At the hearing, the report of the county agricultural commissioner shall be received. Protests may be made orally or in writing by any person interested in the formation of the proposed district. Any protest that pertains to the regularity or sufficiency of the proceedings shall …

At the hearing, any owner of table grape acreage in the proposed district may present to the board of supervisors a request, in writing, for the exclusion of that acreage or any part of that acreage from the proposed district upon a showing that the acreage or part of that acreag…

If the board of supervisors determines that the petition does not comply with the requirements of law, the matter may be dismissed without prejudice to present a new petition covering the same matter. A finding by the board of supervisors in favor of the sufficiency of the petiti…

(a) If the board of supervisors determines that the project is feasible and in the interest of the table grape acreage owners of the county, the board of supervisors shall, by order entered in its minutes, declare the district is duly organized under the name designated in the pe…

(a) In determining the boundaries of the district, the board of supervisors shall exclude from the district any table grape acreage that it finds will not be benefited by the proposed project, pursuant to the facts in Section 6047.74, and it may include in the district any acreag…

Upon the filing of the order of organization, the board of supervisors shall appoint a board of directors of five members to administer the affairs of the district.

(a) The assessment is the obligation of the producer. (b) For purchased grapes, the processor who purchases the grapes shall act on behalf of the person from whom the grapes were purchased in collecting and remitting the assessment, shall deduct the assessment from moneys owed by…

To be a director of the district, a person shall be either an owner of, or the designee of an owner of, acreage included in the district that is devoted, in whole or in part, to the growing of table grapes.

Upon his or her appointment, each director shall, in the manner provided by law, subscribe the oath of office and file the oath with the county clerk.

(a) From and after the filing for record of the order of the board of supervisors declaring the district organized, and the appointment and qualification of its first board of directors, the organization of the district is complete. The district shall operate for a period of five…

(a) Immediately after the organization of the district, the directors shall meet and organize as a board and shall elect a chairperson, vice chairperson, and secretary from among their own number. (b) The chairperson shall call and preside at all meetings of the board, sign all w…

The members of the board shall serve for terms of two years, or for a longer term as determined by the board of supervisors, and until the appointment and qualification of their successors.

Upon the expiration of the term of any member of the board, the board of supervisors shall appoint the successor. Vacancies shall be filled by the board of supervisors for the unexpired term.

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.

(a) The district may do all of the following: (1) Sue and be sued in all actions and proceedings in all courts and tribunals of competent jurisdiction. (2) Adopt a seal and alter it at pleasure. (3) Accept contributions, and by grant, purchase, gift, devise, lease, or otherwise, …

Every district formed pursuant to this article has all of the powers prescribed by Section 6047.87 and other provisions of this article, regardless of any language in the petition for formation for any district or in any of the proceedings leading to the formation that would othe…