SECTIONS 74730-74745 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 74730-74745

74730. (a) There is in state government the California Grape
Rootstock Improvement Commission. The commission shall be composed of
nine grape rootstock nursery owners or representatives who shall be
called members.
(b) The director and other appropriate individuals, as determined
by the commission, shall be ex officio members of the commission.

74731. (a) The director may require the commission to correct or
cease any activity or function which is determined by the director
not to be in the public interest or which is in violation of this
chapter.
(b) If the commission refuses or fails to cease these activities
or functions or to make corrections required by the director, the
director may, upon written notice, suspend all or a portion of the
activities or functions of the commission until the time that the
cessation or correction of the activities or functions, as required
by the director, has been accomplished by the commission.
(c) Any action of the commission in violation of the written
notice is without legal force or effect. The director, to the extent
feasible, shall issue the written notice prior to the commission
entering into any contractual relationship affecting the existing or
proposed activities or functions which are the subject of the written
notice.
(d) At the same time the written notice is provided to the
commission, the director shall notify the commission in writing of
the specific acts that the director determines are not in the public
interest or are in violation of this chapter, the director's reasons
for requiring a cessation or correction of specific existing or
proposed activities or functions, and the director's recommendations
with respect to any action that will make the activities or functions
acceptable.

74732. 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, as the case
may be, in a court of competent jurisdiction, which may issue a
temporary restraining order, permanent injunction, or other
appropriate relief.

74733. When the director is required to concur in a decision of the
commission, the director shall concur, refuse to concur, or request
additional information from the commission within 15 working days
from the date the director receives notification of the decision.

74734. The commission shall reimburse the director for all
expenditures incurred by the director in carrying out his or her
duties and responsibilities pursuant to this chapter. However, a
court may, if it finds that the director acted arbitrarily or
capriciously in restricting the activities or functions of the
commission, relieve the commission of the responsibility for payment
of the director's legal costs with regard to that action.

74734.5. (a) The director shall operate in the most efficient,
cost-effective manner possible in carrying out his or her duties and
responsibilities pursuant to this chapter.
(1) The director shall notify the commission of oversight
activities and costs that will result in expenses reimbursable by the
commission.
(2) The commission shall inform the director which of these
activities it will engage in that require oversight and reimbursement
of expenses.
(b) The director is not required to provide notification to the
commission pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) if the
director determines that omission of notification is necessary to
protect the confidentiality of the parties with respect to any
investigation into the activities of the employees of the commission
or the actions of the commission.

74735. Each board member, except ex officio members, shall have an
alternate board member selected by the board member. An alternate
member shall, in the absence of the member for whom he or she is an
alternate, serve in place of the board member and shall have and be
able to exercise all of the rights, privileges, and powers of the
member when serving on the commission. If the status of a member
changes, thereby making a board member ineligible to serve, or in the
event of death, removal, resignation, or disqualification of a
member, the alternate member shall act as a board member until a
qualified successor is elected or appointed. The commission may not
have more than one board member and one alternate from one grape
rootstock nursery.

74736. (a) Any vacancy on the commission occurring by the failure
of a board member to continue in his or her position due to a change
in his or her status, thereby making the individual ineligible to
serve, or due to death, removal, resignation, or disqualification,
shall be filled with a qualified individual for the unexpired portion
of the term by a majority vote of the remaining members of the
commission.
(b) Any vacancy on the commission occurring by the failure of an
alternate member to continue in his or her position due to a change
in his or her status, thereby making the individual ineligible to
serve, or due to death, removal, resignation, or disqualification,
shall be filled with a qualified individual pursuant to Section
74735.

74737. Any board member and his or her alternate member on the
commission shall be an owner of a grape rootstock nursery or
representative of an owner who has a financial interest in producing,
or causing to be produced, grape rootstock for commercial use or
distribution. Qualifications of grape rootstock nursery board members
and their alternate members shall be maintained during their entire
term of office.

74738. The term of office of all board members and alternate board
members of the commission, except ex officio members, is three years
from the beginning of the marketing season in the year of their
election and until qualified successors are elected.

74739. Notwithstanding Section 74738, the initial term of members
and alternates shall be divided by lot into three terms of one year,
three terms of two years, and three terms of three years. At the end
of each of these initial terms, the terms of office of all board
members and alternates shall be three years. Terms of office of each
board member and alternate board member of the commission shall be
limited to three consecutive terms. However, members and alternates
who serve initial one-year and two-year terms shall be eligible for
three additional three-year terms.

74740. The commission is hereby declared and created a corporate
body. It may sue and be sued, enter into contracts, adopt a corporate
seal, and possess all of the powers of a corporation. Copies of its
proceedings, records, and acts, when authenticated, shall be prima
facie evidence of the truth of all statements therein.

74741. A quorum of the commission is seven voting members of the
commission. The vote of a majority of the board members or alternate
members present at a meeting at which there is a quorum shall
constitute the act of the commission.

74742. 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.

74743. No board member or alternate member or member of a committee
established by the commission who is a nonmember of the commission
shall receive any compensation. Each board member or each alternate
member serving in place of a board member, except ex officio members
who are state officers or employees, and each member of a committee
established by the commission who is not a board member or alternate
member, may receive per diem not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100)
per day, as established by the commission. In addition, board
members and alternate members of the commission and members of
committees established by the commission shall be reimbursed for
actual and necessary travel expenses under the rules of the
Department of Personnel Administration. The per diem and
reimbursement for travel expenses shall be paid to those members for
each day spent in actual attendance at, or in traveling to and from,
meetings of the commission or committees of the commission, or on
special assignment for the commission, as provided by the commission.

74744. All funds received by any person from the assessments levied
under the authority of this chapter or otherwise received by the
commission shall be deposited in banks that the commission may
designate and shall be disbursed by order of the commission through
an agent or agents designated by the commission for that purpose. The
agent or agents shall be bonded by a fidelity bond, executed by a
surety company authorized to transact business in this state, in
favor of the commission, in an amount of not less than twenty-five
thousand dollars ($25,000).

74745. The state is not 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 are limited
to the funds collected by the commission. No board member, alternate
member, employee, or agent of the commission is responsible
individually in any way to any nursery or any other person for errors
in judgment, mistakes, or other acts, either of commission or
omission, as a principal, agent, or employee, except for his or her
own individual acts of dishonesty or crime. No board member,
alternate member, employee, or agent of the commission, is
responsible individually for any act or omission of any other member,
alternate member, employee, or agent of the commission. Liability is
several and not joint, and no member, alternate member, employee, or
agent of the commission is liable for the default of any other
member, alternate member, employee, or agent of the commission.