Article 3. Olive Oil Commission Of California of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 22. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 29. >> Article 3.

(a) There is in the state government the Olive Oil Commission of California. Except as provided in subdivision (d), the commission board of directors shall be composed of the following:
  (1) Six producers, two from each district.
  (2) Three handlers, one from each district.
  (3) One public member who shall be appointed to the commission board of directors by the secretary from nominees recommended by the commission board of directors.
  (b) The chair of the advisory committee shall be an ex officio member of the commission board of directors.
  (c) The secretary and other appropriate persons as determined by the commission board of directors shall be ex officio members.
  (d) The commission board of directors may modify the number of producers and handlers who serve on the commission board of directors by a two-thirds vote that is concurred in by the secretary, if proper notice is provided to all persons subject to this chapter prior to the action.
  (e) An advisory committee shall meet periodically to review issues affecting the purposes of this chapter and shall advise the commission board of directors. The committee shall consist of seven members who shall each serve three-year terms. The chair of the committee shall be selected by the members.

(a) The secretary may require the commission to correct or cease any existing activity or function that is determined by the secretary not to be in the public interest or in violation of this chapter.
  (b) If the commission refuses or fails to cease those activities or functions or to make corrections as required by the secretary, the secretary may, upon written notice, suspend all or a portion of the activities or functions of the commission until such time as the cessation or correction of activities or functions as required by the secretary has been accomplished by the commission.
  (c) Actions of the commission in violation of the secretary's written notice shall be without legal force or effect. The secretary, 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 that are the subject of the written notice.
  (d) Upon service of the written notice, the secretary shall notify the commission in writing of the specific acts that he or she determines are not in the public interest or are in violation of this chapter, and his or her reasons for requiring a cessation or correction of specific existing or proposed activities or functions, and may make recommendations that will make those activities or functions acceptable to the secretary.

The commission or the secretary may bring an action for judicial relief from the secretary's written notice, or from noncompliance by the commission with the written notice, in a court of competent jurisdiction, which may issue a temporary restraining order, permanent injunction, or other applicable relief.

The commission shall reimburse the secretary for all expenditures incurred by the secretary in carrying out his or her duties and responsibilities under this chapter. However, a court may, if it finds that the secretary acted arbitrarily or capriciously in restricting the activities or functions of the commission, relieve the commission of the responsibility for payment of the secretary's legal costs with regard to that action.

Except for the ex officio members of the commission board of directors, each member of the commission board of directors shall have an alternate member elected in the same manner as the member. An alternate member, in the absence of the member for whom he or she is an alternate, shall serve in place of the member. An alternate member may also serve in place of any other absent member of the same classification, producer or handler, if the member's alternate is also absent. However, an alternate member may not serve in place of more than one absent member at a meeting. An alternate member serving in place of a member shall have and be able to exercise all rights, privileges, and powers of the member when serving. In the event of death, removal, resignation, or the disqualification of a member, the alternate for the member, or another alternate of the same classification if the alternate member for the member is absent, shall act as the member until a qualified successor is elected.

Any vacancy on the commission board of directors, including, but not limited to, the failure of any person elected or appointed to the commission board of directors as a member or alternate member to continue in his or her position due to a change in status making him or her ineligible to serve, or due to death, removal, or resignation, shall be filled by the election of another person, or appointment in the case of a public member, for the unexpired portion of the term, with elected positions to be filled by a majority vote of the commission board of directors. However, the person elected or appointed shall fulfill all the qualifications set forth in this article as required for the office he or she is to occupy. The qualifications of any person to fill a vacancy shall be certified in writing to the secretary. The secretary shall notify the commission if he or she determines that the person is not qualified.

A producer member or his or her alternate on the commission board of directors shall be an individual, partner, or employee of a producer who has a financial interest in producing, or causing to be produced, olives for processing into olive oil. The producer member or his or her alternate shall be in compliance with this section during the entire term of his or her office.

The public member, or his or her alternate on the commission board of directors, shall have all the powers, rights, and privileges of any other member on the commission board of directors. The public member shall not have any financial interest in the production or processing of olives or the marketing of olive oil but may be an individual who provides services to individuals who do have a financial interest. The public member or his or her alternate shall be in compliance with this section during the entire term of his or her office.

(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2), the term of office of all members of the commission board of directors and their alternates, except any ex officio member, shall be three years from the date of their election and until their successors are elected.
  (1) Of the first producer members, one from each district shall serve two years and one from each district shall serve three years.
  (2) Of the first handler members, one shall serve one year, one shall serve two years, and one shall serve three years.
  (b) The determination of the term of each member shall be made by lot at the time of election.
  (c) An alternate shall serve the same term as the member for whom he or she serves as alternate.

The commission may sue and be sued and enter into contracts. Copies of its proceedings, records, and acts, when authenticated, shall be admissible in evidence in all courts of the state, and shall be prima facie evidence of the truth of all statements within the proceedings, records, and acts.

A quorum of the commission board of directors is a majority of the members authorized to vote. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the vote of a majority of these members present at a meeting at which there is a quorum shall constitute an act of the commission.

The secretary or his or her representatives shall be notified and may attend each meeting of the commission board of directors and any meetings of a committee established by the commission. However, the secretary is not entitled to attend an executive session of the commission board of directors called for the purpose of discussing potential or actual litigation against the department.

A member of the commission board of directors or of any committee established by the commission, which may include nonmembers of the commission board of directors, shall not receive a salary. Except for ex officio government members, a member may receive reasonable and necessary traveling expenses and meal allowances, as established by the commission board of directors, 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.

If the secretary is required to concur in a decision of the commission, he or she shall indicate his or her response within 15 working days from notification of the decision. The response may be a request that additional information be provided.

All moneys received by any person from assessments levied under the authority of this chapter or otherwise received by the commission shall be deposited in banks designated by the commission board of directors and shall be disbursed by order of the commission board of directors through an agent or agents designated for that purpose. Any authorized agent or agents shall be bonded by a fidelity bond, executed by a surety company authorized to transact business in the state, in favor of the commission, in the amount of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).

The state shall not be 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 shall be limited to the funds collected by the commission. Members and alternate members of the commission board of directors, employees, and agents of the commission shall not be personally liable for the contracts of the commission, and members and alternate members of the commission board of directors, and employees of the commission shall not be responsible individually in any way to a producer, handler, or any other person for error in judgment, mistakes, or other acts, either of commission or omission, as principal, agent, or employee, except for his or her own individual acts of dishonesty or crime. Members and alternate members of the commission board of directors shall not be held responsible individually for any act or omission of any other member or alternate member. The liability of the members and alternate members of the commission board of directors shall be several and not joint, and a member or alternate member shall not be liable for the default of any other member or alternate member.