Article 6. Assessments And Records of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 22. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 27. >> Article 6.

(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).

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.

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.

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.

(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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.