Article 3. The California Iceberg Lettuce Commission of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 22. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 3.

There is hereby created the California Iceberg Lettuce Commission to be thus known and designated. The commission is composed of 19 members, of which 14 are handlers as defined in Section 66532, four are members-at-large of which two may be grower-handlers from Arizona who otherwise qualify pursuant to Section 66532, and one is a person who is neither a producer nor a handler and who is appointed specifically to represent the public generally.

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 is in violation of this chapter. If the commission refuses or fails to cease such activities or functions or to make such corrections as required by the director, the director may, upon written notice, suspend all or a portion of the activities of the commission until such time that the cessation or correction of activities or functions as required by the director have been accomplished. Any written notice, to cease any such activity which is the subject of a contract of the commission entered into by the commission prior to such notice, shall not be effective until after the period of notice for termination provided in such contract or 120 days whichever is shorter. Upon service of the written notice, the director shall notify the commission in writing, of the specific acts which he determines are not in the public interest or are in violation of this chapter.

Either party may bring an action for judicial relief in a court of competent jurisdiction, which may issue a temporary restraining order, permanent injunction, or other applicable relief.

The public member is appointed to the commission by the director from nominees recommended by the commission.

The commission shall be and is hereby declared and created a corporate body. It shall have the power to sue and be sued, to contract and be contracted with, and to have and possess all of the powers of a corporation. It shall adopt a corporate seal. Copies of its proceedings, records, and acts, when certified by the secretary, shall be admissible in evidence in all courts of the state, and shall be prima facie evidence of the truth of all statements therein.

The commission may appoint a president, a treasurer, a secretary, and any other necessary personnel to carry out this chapter. The compensation of each officer shall be fixed by the commission. No officer shall be a member of the commission.

Except as provided in Section 66561, each member of the commission is required to be a citizen and a resident of this state. Additionally:
  (a) Each handler member is required to be currently engaged in the handling of iceberg lettuce. Not more than two handler members shall be employed by, or have a proprietary interest in, the same corporation, firm, partnership, association, or business organization. However, not more than one handler member in any one district shall be so employed or have such a proprietary interest.
  (b) Each member-at-large is required to be a person, whether or not engaged in the production or marketing of iceberg lettuce, whose qualifications are appropriate to the needs of the commission. The person may be a handler who is not appointed as a handler member but who nevertheless is qualified under subdivision (a) to serve as a handler member.
  (c) The person appointed to represent the public generally is required to be any person who is neither a producer nor a handler, whose qualifications are appropriate to the needs of the commission.
  (d) The qualifications of members of the commission, as set forth in this section, shall continue during their term of office.

Each of the five districts is represented by the following number of handlers:
  (a) District 1 has one member.
  (b) District 2 has three members.
  (c) District 3 has three members.
  (d) District 4 has five members.
  (e) District 5 has two members.

The regular term of office for handler members of the commission is three years, commencing April 1 of any year in which they are appointed, and, except with respect to the first of the members, each serves as follows:
  (a) District 1: one serves for three years.
  (b) District 2: one serves for one year, one serves for two years, and one serves for three years.
  (c) District 3: two serve for two years and one serves for three years.
  (d) District 4: one serves for one year, two serve for two years, and two serve for three years.
  (e) District 5: one serves for two years and one serves for three years.

Members-at-large and the public representative shall serve 3-year terms.

Each handler member for each district shall be elected by a plurality of votes cast by handlers in the district. Each handler who has handled iceberg lettuce in the district in which he is qualified to vote during the year preceding any election shall be entitled to one vote for each membership position apportioned to such district and for which the election is being held. In the event of a tie vote, there shall be another election to resolve the tie vote. The district in which a handler is qualified to vote shall be the district of his headquarters unless, upon application, he is certified to vote in a different district in which he handled iceberg lettuce during the preceding year.

Each member-at-large and the public member are persons nominated for appointment by the handler members of the commission and appointed by the director. Any nomination requires a plurality of votes cast by the handler members. When any positions later become vacant for any reason or cause, proceedings to fill the vacancy are the same as for the initial appointments and are undertaken at the next meeting of the commission after the position is vacated.

Immediately after January 1, 1978, the director shall establish a list of handlers in each district. Such list of handlers may be established from lists of such persons whose names and addresses appear on file in the department.

The commission or the director, in preparing a list of handlers to be used pursuant to this chapter, may omit from the list any person who functions as a handler, but who handles less than 250,000 pounds of iceberg lettuce during a marketing season. Any person so omitted from the list is not subject to this chapter, including the payment of any assessments, and is not qualified as a handler under this chapter. Any person omitted from a list pursuant to this section may be included on any subsequent list if found qualified as a handler at the time of preparing the list.

Lists of handlers may be obtained whenever and in the manner that the director deems necessary or advisable, including for the purpose of checking, comparing, or correcting the lists. The handler list shall, subject to any proper corrections, be final and conclusive in making determinations relative to the number and qualifications of handlers entitled to vote for commissioners.

Any handler, whose name does not appear on the director's list of handlers, but who is otherwise qualified to participate in the commission activities, may have his or her name established thereon by filing with the director a signed statement advising that he or she handled iceberg lettuce in the immediately preceding marketing season and giving the quantity handled in each district and the quantity introduced into trade.

Upon establishment of lists of handlers, the director shall call meetings of handlers in each district for the purpose of nominating persons to be appointed to the office of commissioner. At each district meeting for the nomination of members, the director, or an authorized representative thereof, shall preside and receive nominations and, at the conclusion of each meeting, shall announce the names of persons nominated at the meeting and the time, the manner, and instructions for voting by mail. Thereafter, within 10 days after the final district meeting, the director shall mail to all handlers ballots for the election of members in the respective districts, with instructions for voting by mail. All ballots are required to be returned to the director and mailed for delivery within 10 days after issuance by the director.

Upon expiration of the voting period the director shall tabulate all votes and shall announce the names of those persons nominated for appointment as handler members of the commission from each district and shall appoint the nominees as members of the commission.

Nonreceipt of notice of a meeting for the nomination of commissioners or of ballots shall not invalidate any such meeting, nomination, or election.

The commission shall compile and maintain a list of qualified handlers.

Subsequent to the first election after January 1, 1978, persons to be appointed to the office of commissioner by the director shall be selected pursuant to such nomination and appointment procedures as shall be established by the rules and regulations adopted by the commission in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and approved by the director.

If the position of a handler member becomes vacant due to failure to qualify, resignation, disqualification, death, or for any other reason, the position shall be filled by a qualified handler who is nominated by the handler members of the commission and appointed by the director. Handlers to be considered for appointment to fill any such vacancy shall, if possible, be handlers whose names are submitted for consideration by the remaining handler members of the district in which the vacancy occurs. Any nomination requires a plurality of votes cast by the handler members. The appointment to a vacated handler member position is for the unexpired term of office. Any vacancy of a handler member position occurring within six months prior to a regular district election may remain vacant until the next regular election.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), nine members of the commission, of which at least eight are handler members, constitute a quorum at any meeting for the transaction of all business and the carrying out of the duties of the commission. However, pending the appointment of initial members-at-large and the public representative, eight handler members constitute the quorum. Members-at-large who are handlers may be deemed handler members, if necessary, to fulfill the requirements of a quorum. Unless otherwise provided by this chapter or fixed by the commission, the vote of a majority of the commission members present at the meeting and constituting a quorum shall constitute the act of the commission.
  (b) Ten members of the commission, of which at least nine are handler members, constitute a quorum during any period in which the commission is increased to 19 members pursuant to Section 66561. All other provisions of subdivision (a) otherwise apply to this subdivision.

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.

No commissioner shall receive a salary. Each commissioner shall be entitled to receive the sum of thirty-five dollars ($35) per day for each day spent in actual attendance on, or in traveling to and from, meetings of the commission or on special assignment for the commission, together with travel expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this chapter, maximum allowances for which shall be established by the commission.

All moneys received by the commission or its designated agents from the assessments levied under the authority of this chapter or otherwise received by the commission or paid to it shall be deposited in such banks as the commission may designate and shall be disbursed by order of the commission through such agent or agents as it may designate for that purpose. Any such agent or agents shall be bonded by a fidelity bond, executed by a surety company authorized to transact business as such in the State of California, in favor of the commission, conditioned upon the faithful performance of his duties and the strict accounting of all funds of the commission, in the penal sum of not less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).

The State of California shall not be liable for the acts of the commission or its contracts. Payment of all claims arising by reason of the administration of this chapter or acts of the commission shall be limited to the funds collected by the commission. No member of the commission or any employee or agent thereof shall be personally liable on the contracts of the commission nor shall a commissioner or employees of such commission be responsible individually in any way to any producer, handler, shipper, or any other person for errors in judgment, mistakes, or other acts, either of commission or omission, as principal, agent, or employee of the commission, except for their own individual acts of dishonesty or crime. No commissioner shall be held responsible individually for act or omission of any other member of such commission. The liability of the commissioners shall be several and not joint, and no commissioner shall be liable for the default of any other commissioner.

The powers and duties of the commission include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
  (a) To elect a chairman and, from time to time, any other officers that it may deem advisable and to delegate to these officers any administrative duties that may appear advisable.
  (b) To adopt and, from time to time, alter, rescind, modify, and amend all proper and necessary administrative bylaws, rules, regulations, and orders for the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties, including rules for regulation of appeals from any bylaw, rule, regulation, or order of the commission.
  (c) To administer and enforce this chapter, and to do and perform all acts and exercise all powers incidental to, or in connection with, or deemed reasonably necessary, proper, or advisable to effectuate this chapter.
  (d) To employ a person to serve, at the pleasure of the commission, as president and chief executive officer of the commission and other personnel, including legal counsel, that is necessary to carry out this chapter. The Attorney General shall aid and assist the commission upon its request and shall undertake judicial proceedings requested by the commission to undertake on its behalf.
  (e) To establish offices and incur expense, and to enter into any and all contracts and agreements, and to create any liabilities and borrow any funds in advance of receipt of assessments that may be necessary, in the opinion of the commission, for the proper administration and enforcement of this chapter and the performance of its duties.
  (f) To keep accurate books, records, and accounts of all of its dealings, which books, records, and accounts are subject to an annual private audit by an auditing firm selected by the commission and approved by the director. The audit shall be made a part of an annual report to all handlers of iceberg lettuce, copies of which shall also be submitted to the Legislature. In addition, the director may, as he or she determines necessary, conduct, or cause to be conducted, a fiscal and compliance audit of the commission.
  (g) To investigate and prosecute civil violations of this chapter and to file complaints with appropriate law enforcement agencies or officers for criminal violations of this chapter.
  (h) To maintain or expand the demand for iceberg lettuce nationally and abroad by means of promotional, educational, and similar programs and activities, including, but not limited to, the advertising and publicizing of iceberg lettuce in all forms of media, providing merchandising services and materials, conducting educational meetings and demonstrations, and sponsoring or participating in appropriate trade and food conferences.
  (i) To undertake market, transportation, and other pertinent studies and surveys; to present facts to, and negotiate with, private and governmental bodies and agencies on matters affecting sales and distribution and other concerns of iceberg lettuce production and marketing; and to undertake any other similar activities which the commission may determine appropriate for the maintenance and expansion of present markets and the creation of new and larger markets for iceberg lettuce.
  (j) To make, in the name of the commission, contracts to render service in formulating and conducting plans and programs, and any other contracts or agreements that the commission may deem necessary for the promotion of the sale of iceberg lettuce.
  (k) To conduct, or contract with others to conduct, research as authorized by this chapter. In connection with this research, the commission may accept contributions of, or may match, private, state, or federal funds that may be available for these purposes, and may employ or make contributions of funds to other persons or state or federal agencies conducting this research.
  (l) To determine, subject to the limitations provided in Section 66621, not later than March 31 of each year, the assessment for the following 12-month period beginning April 1 and ending March 31.
  (m) To publish and distribute without charge bulletins or other communications for dissemination of information relating to the iceberg lettuce industry to producers, shippers, and handlers.
  (n) To enter into cost-sharing advertising and sales promotion with organizations representing other products, and with producers, handlers, and other persons involved in marketing iceberg lettuce, either individually or collectively, who are not subject to this chapter.
  (o) To fix the compensation for all employees of the commission.
  (p) To appoint committees composed of both members and nonmembers of the commission to advise the commission in carrying out this chapter.
  (q) To administer any state or federal program engaged in activities affecting iceberg lettuce.