SECTIONS 77925-77941 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 77925-77941

77925. (a) There is in the state government the California Cut
Flower Commission. The commission shall be composed of 13 members.
(b) Twelve producers, three each from Districts 1 to 4, inclusive,
shall be elected by and from producers within the respective
districts.
(c) One member shall be either a public member or a producer
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 director
from the nominees recommended by the producer members.
If the producer members determine that the member shall be a
producer, the producer members shall appoint a producer to the
commission, who shall be known as the producer member-at-large.
(d) The director 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.

77926. (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 which 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.

77927. 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.

77928. 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.

77929. 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.

77930. An alternate member to each member of the commission, except
the ex officio members, shall be elected in the same manner and for
the same term as the member. Except as provided in Section 77937, an
alternate member shall, in the absence of the member for whom he or
she is an alternate, serve in place of the member and shall 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
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 or appointed.

77931. Any vacancy on the commission occurring by the failure of
any person elected to or serving on the commission as a member or
alternate member to continue in his or her position due to a change
in his or her status, thereby making the person ineligible to serve,
or due to death, removal, resignation, or disqualification, shall be
filled for the unexpired portion of the term by a majority vote of
the remaining members of the commission. The appointee shall meet all
of the qualifications set forth in this article as required for the
member or alternate whose office he or she is to occupy.

77932. Any vacancy on the commission occurring by the failure of
the public member or his or her alternate member to continue in his
or her position due to a change in his or her status, thereby making
the member or alternate ineligible to serve, or due to death,
removal, resignation, or disqualification, shall be filled for the
unexpired portion of the term by the director from nominees
recommended by the commission. The appointee shall meet all of the
qualifications set forth in this article as required for the member
or alternate whose office he or she is to occupy.

77933. Any producer member and his or her alternate member on the
commission shall be an individual producer or an authorized
representative of a producer who has a financial interest in
producing, or causing to be produced, flowers for market.
Qualifications of producer members and their alternate members shall
be maintained during their entire term of office.

77934. 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 flower industry.

77935. (a) The term of office of all members and alternate members
of the commission, except ex officio members, is three years
commencing in the month of December prior to the beginning of the
marketing year in the year of their election and until qualified
successors are elected. However, with respect to the election of
producer members in the 1993 marketing year, one member from each
district specified in subdivision (b) of Section 77925 shall serve
for one year, one member shall serve for two years, and one member
shall serve for three years, with the determination of the term of
each member from each district to be made in accordance with a
procedure adopted by the commission with the concurrence of the
secretary.
(b) The terms of office of each member and alternate member of the
commission shall be limited to three consecutive terms. However, any
term of less than three years served by a member or alternate member
pursuant to subdivision (a) shall not be counted as one of the three
consecutive terms.

77936. The commission is hereby declared and created a corporate
body. It may sue and be sued, enter into contracts, adopt a seal, and
has 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.

77937. A quorum of the commission is a majority of the voting
members of the commission. Any alternate member to any producer
member may serve in the absence of any other member if that member's
alternate is also absent, if that action is necessary to establish a
quorum. Except as provided in Sections 77914 and 78002, the vote of a
majority of the members present at a meeting at which there is a
quorum shall constitute the act of the commission.

77938. 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.

77939. Members and alternate members of the commission and members
of committees established by the commission shall not receive any
compensation but shall receive the per diem established by Section
11564.5 of the Government Code. Ex officio members who are state
officers or employees and who are compensated by the state are not
eligible for per diem pursuant to this section. In addition, 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 approved by the commission.

77940. (a) 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).
(b) The commission may maintain a separate bank account in order
to create a permanent research fund. The account shall be named the
Kee Kitayama Memorial Research Foundation Account.

77941. 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, alternate
member, employee, or agent of the commission is personally liable for
the contracts of the commission nor is that person responsible
individually in any way to any producer 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 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.