SECTIONS 79681-79685 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 79681-79685

79681. (a) The commission shall, not later than January 1 of each
year, or as soon thereafter as possible, establish the assessment to
be paid by the producers of 50 or more colonies for the marketing
season.
(b) The assessment shall be levied annually on all bee colonies in
California on March 1 of each year and not be more than one dollar
($1) per colony.

79682. All proprietary information obtained by the commission or
the secretary from any source, including the names and addresses of
producers, 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. Information on volume shipments,
hive value, and any other related information 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.

79683. Every producer, including beekeepers exempt from the payment
of assessments, shall keep a complete and accurate record of their
total number of colonies used for commercial purposes. The records
shall be in simple form and contain information as the commission
shall prescribe. The records shall be retained by the beekeeper for
five years and shall be offered and submitted for inspection at any
reasonable time upon written demand of the commission or its duly
authorized agent.

79684. Any assessment that is levied as provided in this chapter is
a personal debt of every producer so assessed.

79685. (a) Any person who fails to pay any assessment within 30
days of the due date shall pay, in addition to his or her assessment
fee, a penalty of 10 percent of the amount of the assessment
determined to be past due and, in addition, interest on the unpaid
balance at the rate of 1.5 percent per month.
(b) In addition to any other penalty imposed, the commission may
require any person who fails to pay any 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.