SECTIONS 52351-52356 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 52351-52356

52351. Every labeler of agricultural or vegetable seed offered for
sale in this state, or any person, as defined in Section 52256.5, who
sells that seed in this state, shall annually register with the
secretary to obtain authorization to sell agricultural or vegetable
seed before engaging in this activity, except any of the following:
(a) An individual grower that conditions such seed exclusively for
the grower's own planting use.
(b) A person using agricultural or vegetable seed, or both
agricultural and vegetable seed, only for purposes of planting seed
increase.
(c) Any person licensed to sell nursery stock pursuant to Chapter
1 (commencing with Section 6701) of Part 3 of Division 4, except when
he or she also engages in activities as defined under Section
52257.5.

52352. Each application for an annual registration shall be
accompanied by the payment of a fee in the amount of forty dollars
($40) for each fiscal year or portion of a fiscal year beginning July
1.

52353. If a registration is not renewed within one calendar month
after the beginning of the fiscal year, a penalty of 20 percent of
the annual registration fee due shall be added to the fee.

52354. Each person who is required to be registered pursuant to
Section 52351 shall pay an assessment annually to the secretary in an
amount not to exceed forty cents ($0.40) per one hundred dollars
($100) gross annual dollar volume sales of agricultural or vegetable
seed, or both, in this state for the preceding fiscal year defined in
Section 52352, except in the following cases:
(a) No assessment shall be paid by any labeler or any other person
for any agricultural or vegetable seed for which the assessment has
been previously paid by another labeler or person, unless the
identity of the lot has been changed.
(b) No assessment shall be paid on that portion of a person's
sales of agricultural or vegetable seed, or both, that is sold in
containers of four ounces or less net weight of seed.
(c) No assessment shall be paid on agricultural or vegetable seed,
or both, sold and shipped out of this state.

52354.5. The director shall fix the annual assessment established
pursuant to Section 52354 in an amount that will provide sufficient
funds to carry out this chapter, and the date and method of
collecting the assessment. The board shall make a recommendation
regarding the level of assessment to the director.

52354.8. If the assessment established pursuant to Section 52354
and fixed by the director pursuant to Section 52354.5 is not paid
within one calendar month after the end of the fiscal year for which
the assessment is made, a penalty of 10 percent of the amount of the
assessment shall be imposed.

52355. Any registrant who packages or labels seed, or both, with
the name and address of the person who only retails the seed within
the state shall, at the time of sale to such person, collect from the
person whose name and address appears on the label, the assessment
due based upon the invoice price for the seed, and pay such
assessment to the director, as provided by regulations. The person
collecting the assessment as provided under this section may charge,
collect, and retain an additional reasonable fee established by the
director for handling this collection and payment.

52356. Total expenditures from funds derived from registration fees
and dollar volume assessments under this chapter shall not exceed
the department's cost of carrying out this chapter, including only
that portion of state seed laboratory activity involved in official
samples, which shall not exceed one-third of the net operating cost
of the state seed laboratory. No official samples shall be analyzed
by the department whenever the cost of that analysis exceeds
one-third of the net operating cost of the laboratory.