Title FAC — California Food & Agric. Code

“Marketing research” means any research relating to the sale of strawberries.

“Marketing season” or “fiscal year” are synonymous terms and mean the period beginning February 1 of any year and extending through the last day of January of the following year.

“Process” and “processing” are synonymous terms and mean the operations of receiving, cleaning, grading, capping, slicing, canning, freezing, preserving, or otherwise changing the form of the strawberries in preparing them for market.

“Processor” means any person who performs any of the functions of processing strawberries within California. When a processor is a corporation, all of the directors and officers of the corporation in their capacity as individuals shall be included, and any liability for failure t…

“Producer” and “grower” are synonymous terms and mean any person who produces or causes to be produced strawberries for market and who shall, upon request of the commission, provide proof of commodity sale.

“Production research” means any research relating to the production, harvest, and post harvest handling of strawberries.

“Ship” and “shipping” are synonymous terms and mean the operations of receiving, grading, cleaning, transporting, distributing, or otherwise preparing for market or marketing strawberries in other than processed form.

“Shipper” means any person who performs any of the functions of shipping strawberries within California. When the shipper is a corporation, all of the directors and officers of the corporation in their capacity as individuals shall be included, and any liability for failure to co…

(a) There is in the state government the California Strawberry Commission. Except as provided in subdivision (d), the commission shall be composed of 13 producers, five shippers, five processors, and one public member. (b) Except as provided in subdivision (d), producers within t…

The director may require the commission to correct or cease any existing activity or function that is determined by the director not to be in the public interest or in violation of this chapter. If the commission refuses or fails to cease those activities or functions or to make …

The commission or the director may bring an action for judicial relief from the director’s written notice, or from noncompliance by the commission with the written notice, in a court of competent jurisdiction, which may issue a temporary restraining order, permanent injunction, o…

The commission shall reimburse the director for all expenditures incurred by the director in carrying out his or her duties and responsibilities under this chapter. However, a court may, if it finds that the director acted arbitrarily or capriciously in restricting the activities…

Except for the ex officio members of the commission, an alternate member for each member shall be elected in the same manner as the member. An alternate member, in the absence of the member for whom he or she is an alternate, shall serve in place of the member on the commission. …

Any vacancy on the commission including, but not limited to, the failure of any person elected to the commission as a member or alternate member to continue in his or her position due to a change in status making him or her ineligible to serve, or due to death, removal, or resign…

A producer member or his or her alternate on the commission shall be an individual, partner, or employee of a producer who has a financial interest in producing, or causing to be produced, strawberries for market. The producer member or his or her alternate shall be so qualified …

A shipper member or his or her alternate on the commission shall be an individual, partner, or employee of a shipper who has a financial interest in shipping, or causing to be shipped, strawberries for market. The shipper member or his or her alternate shall be so qualified durin…

A processor member or his or her alternate on the commission shall be an individual, partner, or employee of a processor who has a financial interest in processing, or causing to be processed, strawberries for market. The processor member or his or her alternate shall be so quali…

The public member or his or her alternate on the commission shall have all the powers, rights, and privileges of any other member on the commission. The public member and his or her alternate shall not have any financial interest in the strawberry industry.

The term of office of all members of the commission and alternates, except any ex officio member, shall be two years from the date of their election and until their successors are elected.

The commission shall be and is hereby declared and created a corporate body. It may sue and be sued, enter into contracts, adopt a corporate seal, and has all of the powers of a corporation. Copies of its proceedings, records, and acts, when authenticated, shall be admissible in …

A quorum of the commission is a majority of the voting producer members, a majority of the voting shipper members, and a majority of the voting processor members on the commission. Except as provided in Sections 77481.5 and 77499, the vote of a majority of members present at a me…

The director or his or her representatives shall be notified and may attend each meeting of the commission and any committee meeting of the commission. However, the director is not entitled to attend an executive session of the commission called for the purpose of discussing pote…

No member of the commission or of any committee established by the commission, which may include nonmembers of the commission, shall receive a salary. Except ex officio government members, the members may receive an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) per day, as esta…

If the director is required to concur in a decision of the commission, he or she shall indicate his or her response to the commission within 15 working days from notification of the decision. The response may be a request that additional information be provided.

All moneys received by any person from assessments levied under the authority of this chapter or otherwise received by the commission shall be deposited in banks designated by the commission and shall be disbursed by order of the commission through an agent or agents designated f…

The state shall not be liable for the acts of the commission or its contracts. Payments of all claims arising by reason of the administration of this chapter or acts of the commission shall be limited to the funds collected by the commission. No member of the commission, alternat…

The powers and duties of the commission shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following: (a) Adopt and from time to time alter, rescind, modify, and amend bylaws, rules, regulations, and orders for carrying out this chapter, including rules for appeals from any bylaw,…

Within 90 days after the effective date of this chapter, the director shall establish a list of producers, processors, and shippers eligible to vote on the implementation of this chapter. In establishing the list, the director shall require that processors and shippers of strawbe…

This chapter, except as necessary to conduct an implementation referendum vote, shall not become operative until the director finds in a referendum conducted by the director that at least 40 percent of the total number of producers, processors, and shippers from the list establis…

The director 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, the …

Nonreceipt of a ballot shall not invalidate a referendum.

In finding whether the commission is approved pursuant to this article, the vote of any nonprofit agricultural cooperative marketing association that is authorized by its members to so vote, shall be considered as being the approval or rejection by the individual members of, or t…

If the director finds that a favorable vote has been given as provided in Section 77462, he or she shall so certify and give notice of the vote to all producers, processors, and shippers whose names and addresses are on file with the director.

If the director finds that a favorable vote has not been given as provided in this article, he or she shall so certify and declare this chapter inoperative. The director may conduct another implementation referendum vote one or more years after the previous vote has been taken.

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.