Title FAC — California Food & Agric. Code

The commission may appoint its own officers, including a chairperson, one or more vice chairpersons, and other officers as it deems necessary. The officers have the powers and duties delegated to them by the commission.

(a) The commission may employ a person to serve at the pleasure of the commission as president and chief executive officer of the commission, and other personnel, including legal counsel of its choice, necessary to carry out this chapter. If any person employed by the commission …

The commission may fix the compensation for all employees of the commission.

The commission may appoint committees composed of both members and nonmembers of the commission to advise the commission in carrying out this chapter.

The commission may establish offices and incur expenses, enter into any and all contracts and agreements, create liabilities, develop, own, and control the use of any intellectual property, and borrow funds in advance of receipt of assessments as may be necessary in the opinion o…

The commission shall keep accurate books, records, and accounts of all of its dealings, which shall be subject to an annual audit by an auditing firm selected by the commission with the concurrence of the secretary. A summary of the audit shall be reported to all persons subject …

The commission may present facts to, and negotiate with, local, state, federal, and foreign agencies on matters that affect the rice industry.

The commission may promote the sale of rice by advertising and any other promotional means, including cost-sharing advertising, for the purpose of maintaining and expanding present markets and creating new and larger intrastate, interstate, and foreign markets for rice, and to ed…

The commission may educate and instruct the wholesale and retail trade with respect to proper methods of handling and selling rice, and conduct consumer surveys and analyses.

The commission may conduct, and contract with others to conduct, scientific research, including the study, analysis, dissemination, and accumulation of information obtained from research or elsewhere, respecting cultural, production and postharvest practices, and the marketing an…

The commission may contract to receive and render services in formulating and conducting plans and programs and enter into other contracts or agreements that the commission deems necessary to carry out this chapter.

The commission may accept contributions of, or match private, state, or federal funds, and employ or make contributions of funds to other persons or state or federal agencies for purposes of promoting, enhancing, and maintaining the rice industry.

The commission may collect information, including, but not limited to, industry crop statistics, and publish and distribute without charge, a bulletin or other communication to handlers and producers of rice.

The commission shall establish an assessment rate to defray operating costs of the commission.

The commission shall establish an annual budget according to generally accepted accounting practices. The budget shall be concurred in by the secretary prior to disbursement of funds, except for disbursements made pursuant to Section 71075.

The commission shall submit to the secretary for his or her concurrence an annual statement of contemplated activities authorized pursuant to this chapter.

(a) The commission and the secretary shall keep confidential and shall not disclose, except when required by court order after a hearing in a judicial proceeding, all lists in their possession of persons subject to this chapter. However, the commission shall establish procedures …

The commission may investigate and prosecute civil violations of this chapter and file complaints with appropriate law enforcement agencies or officers for suspected criminal violations of this chapter.

The commission may appoint any person to serve as an ex officio member.

(a) Within 15 days of a request from any handler or producer, the secretary shall establish a list of handlers and producers eligible to vote on implementation of this chapter. The secretary may require handlers and producers to submit the names and mailing addresses of all produ…

This chapter, except as necessary to conduct an implementation referendum vote, shall not become operative until the secretary finds the following in a referendum vote conducted by the secretary: (a) At least 40 percent of the total number of handlers from the list established by…

The secretary shall establish a period in which to conduct the referendum, which shall not be less than 10 days or more than 60 days in duration, and may prescribe additional procedures necessary to conduct the referendum. If the initial period established is less than 60 days, t…

Nonreceipt of a ballot by an eligible handler or producer shall not invalidate a referendum.

If the secretary finds that a favorable vote has been given as provided in Section 71101, the secretary shall certify and give notice of the favorable vote to all affected handlers and producers whose names and addresses are on file with the secretary.

If the secretary finds that a favorable vote has not been given as provided in Section 71101, the secretary shall certify and declare all provisions of this chapter inoperative. The secretary may conduct other implementation referendum votes one year or more after the previous vo…

Upon certification of the commission, the secretary shall terminate, effective at the end of the marketing season then current, consistent with the terms of the marketing order and Section 59088, any entity operating pursuant to an existing state marketing order affecting the sam…

(a) Prior to the referendum vote conducted by the secretary pursuant to this article, the proponents of the commission shall deposit with the secretary the amount that the secretary deems necessary to defray the expenses of preparing the necessary lists and information and conduc…

(a) The commission shall establish the assessment for the marketing season not later than September 1 of each year or as soon thereafter as is possible. The assessment shall not exceed ten cents ($0.10) per hundredweight for rice delivered to handlers by producers. Of the assessm…

(a) This chapter does not apply to handlers of less than 100,000 hundredweight in any marketing season or to rice produced only for a producer’s home use or rice that is used only for ornamental purposes. (b) If at any time during a marketing season the volume handled by a handle…

Any person requesting an exemption from this chapter shall file an affidavit with the commission attesting that he or she is not a handler, as defined in Section 71026, or produces rice only for his or her own home use or for ornamental purposes. The affidavit shall contain all t…

Every person who handles rice in any quantity shall keep a complete and accurate record of all transactions involving the purchase or sale of rice and shall submit the record to the commission in the time and manner specified by the commission. The records shall be in a simple fo…

(a) All proprietary information obtained or developed pursuant to this article by the commission or the secretary from any source, including, but not limited to, the names and addresses of producers, is confidential and shall not be disclosed except when required by a court order…

Any assessment that is levied as provided for in this chapter is a personal debt of every person assessed.

(a) Only the first handler of rice is subject to the handler assessment and shall deduct the producer assessment from amounts paid by him or her to the producer and shall be a trustee of these assessments and assessments required to be paid by the handler until they are paid to t…

When the handler or producer is a corporation, all of the directors and officers of the corporation in their capacity as individuals shall be included, and any liability for violating this chapter, including, but not limited to, failing to pay assessments or file required reports…

Any person 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 due, and, in addition, shall pay 11/2 percent interest per month on the unpa…

In addition to any other penalty imposed, the commission may require any person who fails to pay an assessment or related charge pursuant to this article to furnish and maintain a surety bond in a form and amount, and for a period of time, specified by the commission as assurance…

It is a violation of state law for any person to do any of the following: (a) Willfully render or furnish a false report, statement, or record required by the commission. (b) Fail to render or furnish a report, statement, or record required by the commission. (c) Secrete, destroy…

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 that purpose. Appeals from decisions of the commission ma…

(a) 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 regarding this chapter and the regulations adopted pursuant to…

Any action by the commission for any violation of 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 date of the act of which the person…

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 …

(a) (1) Every five years, commencing with the fifth marketing season following the certification pursuant to Section 71104, the secretary shall conduct a referendum among handlers and producers. The operations of the commission shall continue unless the secretary determines from …

(a) Upon a finding by a two-thirds vote of the membership of the commission that the operation of this chapter has not tended to effectuate its declared purposes, the commission may recommend to the secretary that the operation of this chapter be suspended. However, any suspensio…

After the effective date of suspension of this chapter, the operation of the commission shall be concluded and all moneys held by the commission not required to defray the expenses of concluding and terminating operations of the commission shall be returned on a pro rata basis to…

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