SECTIONS 77541-77555 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 77541-77555

77541. (a) There is in the state government the California Forest
Products Commission. The commission is composed of 10 members.
(b) Three producers shall be elected by and from producers of
5,000,000 to 20,000,000, inclusive, board feet net Scribner Decimal C
log rule, or the equivalent, thereof, in the preceding marketing
year; three producers shall be elected by and from producers of
between 20,000,001 to 100,000,000, inclusive, board feet net Scribner
Decimal C log rule, or the equivalent, thereof, in the preceding
marketing year; and three producers shall be elected by and from
producers of over 100,000,000 board feet net Scribner Decimal C log
rule, or the equivalent, thereof, in the preceding marketing year.
(c) One member shall be either a public member or an industry
member, as determined by a majority of the producer members elected
pursuant to subdivision (b). If the producer members determine that
the member shall be a public member, the public member shall be
appointed by the secretary from the nominees recommended by the
producer members. If the producer members determine that the member
shall be an industry member, the producers shall elect an industry
member to the commission by majority vote.
(d) The secretary and other governmental officers, as determined
by the commission, shall be ex officio members of the commission.
(e) The ex officio members are nonvoting members of the
commission.

77542. (a) The secretary may require the commission to correct or
cease any existing activity or function that is determined by the
secretary not to be in the public interest or that 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 secretary, the
secretary may, upon written notice, suspend all or a portion of the
activities or functions of the commission until the cessation or
correction of the activities or functions, as required by the
secretary, has been accomplished by the commission.
(c) Any actions of the commission in violation of the written
notice are without legal force or effect. The secretary, 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 secretary shall notify the commission in writing of
the specific acts that the secretary determines are not in the public
interest or are in violation of this chapter, the secretary's
reasons for requiring a cessation or correction of specific existing
or proposed activities or functions, and the secretary's
recommendations with respect to any action that will make the
activities or functions acceptable.

77543. The commission or the secretary may bring an action for
judicial relief from the secretary'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
applicable relief.

77544. When the secretary is required to concur in a decision of
the commission, the secretary shall concur, refuse to concur, or
request additional information from the commission within 15 working
days from the date the secretary receives notification of the
decision.

77545. The commission shall reimburse the secretary for all
expenses incurred by the secretary in carrying out his or her duties
and responsibilities pursuant to this chapter. However, a court may,
if it finds that the secretary has acted arbitrarily or capriciously
in restricting the activities or functions of the commission, relieve
the commission of the responsibility for the payment of the
secretary's legal costs with regard to that action.

77546. An alternate member to each member of the commission, except
the ex officio members, shall be elected or appointed in the same
manner and for the same term as the member. Except as provided in
Section 77551, an alternate member shall, in the absence of the
member for whom he or she is an alternate, serve in the place of the
member and shall have and exercise all of the rights, privileges, and
powers of the member when serving on the commission. In the event
the status of a member changes thereby making the member ineligible
to serve, or in the event of the death, removal, resignation, or
disqualification of a member, the alternate member shall act as a
member of the commission until a qualified successor is elected.

77547. Any vacancy on the commission occurring by the failure of
any person elected or appointed to or serving on the commission as a
member or alternate member to continue in his or her position because
of a change in his or her status thereby making the person
ineligible to serve, or because of the death, removal, resignation,
or disqualification of a member, shall be filled for the unexpired
portion of the term by a majority vote of the remaining members of
the commission. That person shall possess all of the same
qualifications set forth in this article as is required for the
person whose office he or she is to occupy.

77548. (a) Any producer member and his or her alternate member
shall be a producer or an authorized representative of a producer.
Producer members and their alternate members shall maintain their
qualifications pursuant to Section 77528 during their term of office.
(b) Not more than one producer member and one alternate member
shall be persons employed by, or connected in a proprietary capacity
with, the same corporation, firm, partnership, association, or
business organization. Any alternate serving on the commission who is
employed by, or connected in a proprietary capacity with, a person
serving as a member of the commission from the same corporation,
firm, partnership, association, or business organization, shall serve
as an alternate to the member.
(c) The public member and his or her alternate member on the
commission shall have all the powers, rights, and privileges of any
other member or alternate member, respectively, on the commission.
The public member and his or her alternate member shall not have any
financial interest in the forest products industry.
(d) The industry member and his or her alternate member on the
commission shall have all the powers, rights, and privileges of any
other member or alternate member, respectively, on the commission.
The industry member or his or her alternate member may have a
financial interest in the forest products industry. However, the
industry member or his or her alternate member shall not be a
producer as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 77528, or a person
who sells or acquires timber but who is exempt from the meaning of
"producer" pursuant to subdivision (c) of that section.

77549. The term of office of each member, except the ex officio
members, shall be three years, commencing with the beginning of the
following marketing year and until a qualified successor is elected.
However, with respect to the first producer members of the
commission, one-third of each category specified in Section 77541
shall serve for one year, one-third shall serve for two years, and
one-third shall serve for three years, with the determination of the
term of each member within each category to be made by lot.
No member may serve more than three consecutive three-year terms.

77550. The commission shall be and is hereby declared to be a
corporate body. It may sue and be sued, enter into contracts, adopt a
seal, and have 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.

77551. A quorum of the commission shall be six members of whom at
least five shall be producer members. Notwithstanding Section 77546,
any alternate member may serve in the absence of any member if the
member's alternate is also absent and the action is necessary to
establish a quorum. Except as provided in Section 77663, the vote of
a majority of the members present at a meeting at which there is a
quorum constitutes an act of the commission.

77552. The secretary or his or her representatives shall be
notified and may attend each meeting of the commission and any
committee meeting of the commission.

77553. No member, alternate member, or member of a committee
established by the commission who is a nonmember of the commission,
shall receive compensation. Each member of the commission or each
alternate member serving in the place of a member, except ex officio
members who are officers or employees of a governmental entity, and
each member of a committee established by the commission who is a
nonmember of the commission, may receive per diem of not more than
one hundred dollars ($100) per day, as established by the commission,
and may also receive necessary traveling expenses and meal
allowances, as approved by the commission. The per diem, traveling
expenses, and allowances may be paid 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 approved by the commission.

77554. All funds received by any person from the assessments levied
pursuant to 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
designated by the commission for that purpose. The agent shall be
bonded by a fidelity bond that is executed by a surety company
authorized to transact business in this state, in favor of the
commission, in the amount of not less than twenty-five thousand
dollars ($25,000).

77555. 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 member of the commission, alternate member, or any employee or
agent thereof, is personally liable for the contracts of the
commission. No member of the commission, alternate member, or any
employee or agent thereof, is responsible individually in any way to
any other person for errors in judgment, mistakes, or other acts,
either of commission or of omission, as principal, agent, or
employee, except for his or her own individual acts of dishonesty or
crime. No member of the commission, alternate member, or any employee
or agent thereof, is responsible individually for any act or
omission of any other member of the commission, alternate member, or
any employee or agent thereof.
Liability is several and not joint, and no member of the
commission, alternate member, or any employee or agent thereof, is
liable for the default of any other member of the commission,
alternate member, or any employee or agent thereof.