SECTIONS 60011-60016 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 60011-60016

60011. Any action for penalties or other remedies which is
prescribed in this chapter shall be commenced within two years from
the date of the alleged violation.

60012. Any person that possesses, markets, handles, or transports
any commodity in violation of any provision of an original or
modified marketing program which is approved and made effective or in
violation of any regulation which is adopted by any marketing
program committee and approved by the director may be enjoined by the
director, or, with the approval of the director, by the proration
zone which is affected, in an action which is brought in the superior
court for any county in which the violation is alleged to be
occurring. There may be enjoined in the same proceeding any number of
defendants that are alleged to be violating the same program
although their actual violations of the marketing program may be
separate and distinct and occur in different counties. In any action
for injunction which is brought pursuant to this section, the
procedure shall be governed by Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
525), Title 7, Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

60013. Any person that violates a marketing program which is
approved and made effective, or violates any regulation which is
adopted by any program committee and approved by the director, is
liable civilly in an amount of not more than two thousand five
hundred dollars ($2,500) for each and every violation. That sum shall
be recovered by the director or, with the approval of the director,
by the proration zone which is affected, in an action brought in any
court of competent jurisdiction. All sums recovered pursuant to this
section shall be expended only for the necessary expenses which are
incurred by the director in the administration of this chapter. Each
violation during any day is a separate offense.

60014. Except as otherwise provided in Section 60015, it is a
misdemeanor for:
(a) Any person to willfully render or furnish a false or
fraudulent report, statement, or record required under this chapter.
(b) Any person to deliver into a primary trade channel without
proper authority any commodity upon which a marketing program has
been instituted.
(c) Any handler, dealer, or carrier to receive or have in its
possession, within this state, without proper authority, any
commodity upon which a marketing program has been instituted.
(d) Any person to deliver or to attempt to deliver any commodity
that has been diverted under the provisions of any marketing program
into any channel of trade except that into which diversion has been
ordered.
(e) Any person to aid or abet in the commission of any of the acts
which are specified in this section.
Each violation of this section constitutes a separate and distinct
offense.

60015. Section 60014 does not apply to a common carrier which is
operating over a regular route or between fixed termini if the
shipment is made by the carrier in good faith and in accordance with
its duties as a common carrier and a record of every such shipment
within or from this state is kept by the carrier which shows the date
of shipment, character and quality of shipment, origin and
destination of the shipment, and the names of the consignor and the
consignee. The record shall be open to inspection at all reasonable
hours by or on the written order of the official or administrative
authority that is charged with the enforcement of this chapter or any
marketing program pusuant to this chapter.

60016. (a) When the director makes a determination that a marketing
program fee payment due pursuant to this chapter is deficient as to
the payment due, the director may determine the amount of the
deficiency, including any applicable penalty, as provided in this
section. After giving notice that a deficiency determination is
proposed and an opportunity to file a report or provide supplemental
information is provided, the director may make one or more deficiency
determinations of the amount due for any reporting period based on
information in the director's possession. When a business is
discontinued, a deficiency determination may be made at any time
thereafter as to liability arising out of the operation of that
business.
The director shall give notice of the proposed deficiency
determination and the notice of deficiency determination by placing
the notice thereof in a sealed envelope with postage paid addressed
to the person affected as it appears in the records of the marketing
order or as otherwise available to the director. The giving of notice
is complete at the time of deposit in the United States mail. In
lieu of mailing, a notice may be served personally by delivering it
to the person to be served.
Except in the case of fraud or failure to file a required return,
a notice of a deficiency determination shall be given within four
years of the accrual of the deficiency.
(b) The person against whom a deficiency determination is made may
petition the director for redetermination within 30 days after the
serving of the notice of deficiency determination. If a petition is
not filed within 30 days, the deficiency determination shall become
final.
A petition for redetermination shall be in writing, state the
specific grounds upon which it is based, and be supported by
applicable records and declarations under penalty of perjury that the
information supporting the petition is accurate and complete. If a
petition for redetermination is duly filed, the director shall
reconsider the deficiency determination and may grant a hearing
thereon. The director shall, as soon as practicable, make an order on
redetermination, which shall become final 30 days after service of
notice of the order of redetermination upon the petitioner. The
notice of the order shall be served in the same manner as the notice
of the original deficiency determination.
(c) If any amount required to be paid pursuant to a deficiency
determination or redetermination is not paid within the time
specified in the notice thereof, the director may, within four years
thereafter, file in the Superior Court for the County of Sacramento,
or the superior court of any other county, a certificate specifying
the amount required to be paid, the name and address of the person
liable as it appears on the records of the director, and a request
that judgment be entered against the person in that amount 30 days
after the filing. Notice of the filing shall be given in the same
manner as for the notice of deficiency determination. The court shall
enter a judgment in conformance with the director's certificate 30
days after its filing, unless a petition for judicial review has been
filed within the 30-day period.
An abstract of the judgment, or a copy thereof, may be filed with
the county recorder of any county. From the time of filing of the
judgment, the amount of the judgment constitutes a lien upon all of
the property in the county owned by the judgment debtor. The lien has
the force, effect, and priority of a judgment lien and shall
continue for 10 years from the date of the judgment, unless sooner
released or otherwise discharged. The lien imposed by this section is
not valid insofar as personal property is concerned against a
purchaser for value without actual knowledge of the lien.
Execution shall issue upon the judgment upon request of the
director in the same manner as execution may issue upon other
judgments, and sales shall be held under execution as prescribed in
the Code of Civil Procedure.
(d) The person named in a notice of deficiency determination or
redetermination may, within 30 days of the notice of filing with the
superior court, file an action for judicial review thereof, as
provided in subdivision (c), in the Superior Court for the County of
Sacramento or, with the director's consent, the superior court of any
other county where the Attorney General maintains an office. As a
condition of staying entry of judgment or granting other relief, the
court shall require the filing of a corporate surety bond with the
director in the amount of the deficiency stated in the certificate.
In any court proceeding, the certificate of the director determining
the deficiency shall be prima facie evidence of the fee and the
amount due and unpaid.
(e) The provisions of this section are supplemental to any other
procedures for collection and imposition of fees and penalties
provided by this chapter.
In lieu of proceeding pursuant to this section, the director may
file a complaint for collection of unpaid fees as provided by law.