Section 46014.1 Of Chapter 10. Organic Foods From California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 17. >> Chapter 10.
46014.1
. (a) Any certification organization that certifies product
in this state sold as organic shall register with the secretary and
shall thereafter annually renew the registration, unless the
organization is no longer engaged in the activities requiring the
registration. Registration shall be on a form provided by the
secretary, shall include a copy of accreditation by the USDA or proof
of application if applicable.
(b) Each certification organization shall pay to the secretary an
annual registration fee of twenty-five dollars ($25) for each client
they have certified in this state up to a maximum of two hundred
fifty dollars ($250). Any registration submitted by a certification
organization shall be made available to the public for inspection and
copying. The secretary may audit the organization's certification
procedures and records at any time, but any records of the
certification organization not otherwise required to be disclosed
shall be kept confidential by the secretary.
(c) The secretary and the county agricultural commissioners under
the supervision of the secretary shall, if requested by a sufficient
number of persons to cover the costs of the program in a county as
determined by the secretary, establish a certification program. This
program shall meet all of the requirements of this act. In addition,
this program shall meet all of the requirements of the federal
certification program, including federal accreditation. The secretary
shall establish a fee schedule for participants in this program that
covers all of the department's reasonable costs of the program. A
county agricultural commissioner that conducts a voluntary
certification program pursuant to this section shall establish a fee
schedule for participants in this program that covers all of the
county's reasonable costs of the program. The secretary may not
expend funds obtained from registration fees collected under this
chapter for the purposes of adopting or administering this program.
The certification fee authorized by this subdivision is due and
payable on January 1 or may be prorated before the 10th day of the
month following the month in which the decision to grant the
certification is issued. Any person who does not pay the amount that
is due within the required period shall pay the enforcement authority
providing the certificate a penalty of 10 percent of the total
amount determined to be due, plus interest at the rate of 1.5 percent
interest per month on the unpaid balance.