SECTIONS 79501-79510 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 79501-79510

79501. (a) The commission shall establish the assessment for the
marketing season not later than May 1 of each year, or as soon
thereafter as possible. The assessment shall not be more than
six-tenths of one cent ($0.006) per dollar of gross sales.
(b) The commission may establish an assessment rate that is
different for various classes of trade, including, but not limited
to, different rates for retail sales than for wholesale sales,
provided that rate does not exceed the maximum assessment authorized
in subdivision (a).

79502. This chapter does not apply to nursery products produced
only for a producer's home use unless the use shall constitute a
transfer of title between separate business entities held by a single
owner.

79503. Any person requesting an exemption from this chapter shall
file an affidavit with the commission attesting that he or she is not
a producer, as defined in Section 79429, or produces nursery
products only for his or her own home use without transfer of title
between entities as specified in Section 79502. The affidavit shall
contain all the information required by the commission. The
commission shall review the affidavit, conduct any additional
investigation it deems appropriate, and approve or deny the
affidavit.

79504. Every person who produces nursery products for market,
whether or not the nursery products are valued at more than the gross
dollar value established pursuant to Section 79429, shall keep a
complete and accurate record of the nursery products produced and
sold and aggregated data on its customers and trading partners
classified into statistical summary information in categories
prescribed by the commission, and shall submit the records to the
commission upon request in the time and manner specified by the
commission. The records shall be in simple form and contain the
information that the commission prescribes. The records shall be
preserved by the person producing nursery products for a period of
three years and shall be offered and submitted for inspection at any
reasonable time upon written demand of the commission or its duly
authorized agent.

79505. (a) All information obtained by the commission or the
secretary from producers and other persons required to keep and
submit records pursuant to this article shall be confidential and
shall not be disclosed except when required by a court order after a
hearing in a judicial proceeding involving this chapter.
(b) In addition, and notwithstanding any other provision of law,
all proprietary or trade secret information developed or gathered
pursuant to this chapter, including, but not limited to, the names
and addresses of persons subject to this chapter, individual
quantities produced or sold, prices paid, and the products of
research obtained by the commission, or by the department on behalf
of the commission, from any source is confidential, shall not be
considered a public record as that term is defined in Section 6252 of
the Government Code, and shall not be disclosed by the commission or
the secretary except when required by a court order after a hearing
in a judicial proceeding involving this chapter.
(c) Information on volume shipments, crop value, and any other
related information that is required for reports to governmental
agencies, financial reports to the commission, or aggregate sales and
inventory information, and any other information that gives only
totals, but excludes individual information, may be disclosed by the
commission in its sole discretion.

79506. Any assessment that is levied as provided for in this
chapter is a personal debt of every person assessed.

79507. Every producer shall be a trustee of the assessments owed to
the commission until they are paid to the commission at the time and
in the manner prescribed by the commission. Title to the assessments
shall pass immediately to the commission upon the sale of nursery
products resulting in an assessment, and the producer shall hold the
assessments in trust for the benefit of the commission and shall
remit them, with assessment reports, in the time and manner specified
by the commission.

79508. When the producer is a corporation, limited liability
company, general, limited, or limited liability partnership, or
trust, all of the directors and officers of the corporation, all of
the members and managers of the limited liability company, all of the
general and limited partners in the partnership, and all of the
trustees of the trust, in their capacity as individuals shall be
included, and any liability for violating this chapter, including,
but not limited to, failing to pay assessments or file required
reports, shall also include identical liability upon each director
and officer of the corporation, each member and manager of the
limited liability company, each general, limited, and limited
liability partner in the partnership, and each trustee of the trust.

79509. Any person who fails to file a return or pay any assessment
within the time required by the commission shall pay to the
commission a penalty of 10 percent of the amount of the assessment
determined to be due, and, in addition, shall pay 1.5 percent
interest per month on the unpaid balance.

79510. In addition to any other penalty imposed, the commission may
require any person who fails to pay an assessment or related charge
pursuant to this article to furnish and maintain a surety bond in a
form and amount, and for a period of time, specified by the
commission as assurance that all payments to the commission will be
made when due.