Article 6. Assessments And Records of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 22. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 29. >> Article 6.

(a) The commission board of directors shall, no later than the beginning of each marketing season, or as soon thereafter as possible, establish the assessment to be paid by producers and collected by handlers for the marketing season. The assessment shall not be more than twenty-five cents ($0.25) per gallon for all olive oil handled as specified in this chapter and shall not exceed the reasonable costs of achieving the purposes of this chapter.
  (b) An assessment greater than the amounts in this section shall not be charged unless it is approved in accordance with the voting requirements provided in Section 79862.

This chapter does not apply to a producer's olives processed into olive oil for his or her home use.

(a) Handlers of olive oil shall keep a complete and accurate record of all olives purchased by them and olive oil handled by them with the name of the producer or producers whose olives were purchased or handled.
  (b) A producer who handles olive oil made from his or her olives shall keep a complete and accurate record of the olive oil handled.
  (c) The records described in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall contain information required by the commission. The records shall be preserved by the producer or handler for a period of two years and shall be offered and submitted for inspection at any reasonable time upon written demand by the commission or its duly authorized agent.

(a) 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 if required by court order in a judicial proceeding.
  (b) Information on volume shipments and any other related information that is required for reports to governmental agencies, financial reports to the commission on aggregate sales and inventory information, and any other information that gives only totals, but excludes individual information, may be disclosed by the commission.

The first handler of olive oil being assessed shall deduct the assessment from amounts paid by him or her to the producer, and shall be a trustee of the funds until they are paid to the commission at the time and in the manner prescribed by the commission board of directors. A producer who handles olive oil made from his or her olives shall pay an assessment directly to the commission at the time and in the manner prescribed by the commission board of directors.

Every handler shall be personally liable for the payment of the assessments collected from producers, and failure to collect the assessment from any producer shall not exempt the handler from liability.

An assessment that is levied as provided in this chapter is a personal debt of the producer assessed.

(a) A person who fails to file a return or pay an 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 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 a 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 board of directors as assurance that all payments to the commission will be made when due.