SECTIONS 55901-55906 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 55901-55906

55901. (a) Except as specified in Section 55902, any misdemeanor
which is prescribed by this article is punishable by a fine of not
less than five hundred dollars ($500) or more than five thousand
dollars ($5,000), by imprisonment in the county jail for not more
than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) For a violation of the offense described in subdivision (a),
the department may recover investigative costs, excluding attorneys'
fees and administrative overhead, for those charges where there has
been a conviction in a court of law, or a court-supervised settlement
has been reached. Nothing in this section allows the department to
recover investigative costs for an administrative licensing action or
any action that has not been filed in a court of law.
(c) Any person or entity responsible for investigative costs under
this section shall be allowed to audit the department's
investigative costs. The audit must be performed by a third-party
certified public accountant and paid for by the person or entity
requesting the audit. The department shall promulgate regulations to
implement this subdivision by June 1, 2002.

55902. It is a misdemeanor for any person subject to this chapter
to act as a processor or agent without a license, and is punishable
by a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), by
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by
both the fine and imprisonment.

55902.2. It is a misdemeanor for any person subject to this chapter
to pay license fees in an amount less than that amount established
under subdivision (b) of Section 55861. Any person who pays less than
the amount established under subdivision (b) of Section 55861 for
two or more consecutive years shall pay to the director treble the
amount of the license fees due pursuant to this chapter.

55902.5. It is a misdemeanor for any person licensed as a cash
buying processor to buy or otherwise take title to, or possession of,
any farm product from a producer of the product, except by cash
payment of the full agreed price to the producer at the time of
obtaining possession or control.

55903. It is a misdemeanor for any person that is subject to this
chapter to willfully refuse to pay for any farm product which such
person purchases within 20 days after the date of the delivery of
such product by the producer if he has the ability to pay and demand
for payment is made, except in the case of a bona fide dispute,
unless the time of payment is otherwise agreed upon in writing, or
the payment of the purchase price is secured other than by a lien.

55904. It is a misdemeanor for any person that is subject to this
chapter to falsely deny the amount, or the validity, of any producer'
s claim, or that it is due, with the intent to secure for himself,
his employer or other person, any discount upon such indebtedness, or
with the intent to annoy, harass, oppress, hinder, delay, or defraud
the person to whom such indebtedness is due.

55905. It is a misdemeanor for any person that is subject to this
chapter to sell, hypothecate, sequester with intent to defraud any
producer, or in any manner place or attempt to place any product upon
which liens in favor of any producer have attached, beyond the
control, reach, or recovery of any such claimant.

55906. It is a misdemeanor for any person that is subject to this
chapter to fail to comply with this chapter.