Section 55601.8 Of Article 8. Processors From California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 20. >> Chapter 6. >> Article 8.
55601.8
. (a) The secretary shall not release, or otherwise make
available, any information furnished by a cooperative or an
individual processor under Section 55601.7 or this section, including
information relating to the weighted average prices paid, except in
proceedings brought against the processor by the secretary for the
purpose of enforcing this section.
(b) The secretary shall (1) enforce the collection of the
information required in Section 55601.7, (2) on or before January 15,
publish a summary report for freestone peaches used for freezing and
drying and, (3) on or before October 20, publish a summary report
for walnuts, raisins, and prunes, reflecting the statistics derived
from the processor reports. The summary reports shall include
summaries of all information required to be furnished to the
secretary.
(c) The secretary may dispense with the reporting requirements and
his or her duties to enforce the collection of this information and
the publishing of summary reports if the secretary determines that
the same or similar information is made public information within the
same time periods of subdivision (b) by any federal or state
committee or organization responsible for regulating the handling of
any of the commodities subject to this section.
(d) (1) To provide funds to carry out Section 55601.7 and this
section, each processor, including agricultural cooperatives, subject
to these reporting requirements shall pay to the secretary the
amount determined by the secretary to be necessary to cover these
costs, but not to exceed twelve cents ($0.12) per fresh ton for
freestone peaches, twelve cents ($0.12) per dry ton for raisins and
prunes, and twelve cents ($0.12) per inshell dry ton for walnuts
handled by the processor during each marketing season.
(2) (A) The amount of the fee for freestone peaches used for
freezing and drying shall be paid to the secretary on or before
December 10 for all freestone peaches used for freezing and drying
received from April 1 through November 30.
(B) The amount of the fee for any freestone peaches used for
freezing and drying received from December 1 to March 31, inclusive,
shall be paid to the secretary on or before May 1 of the next
marketing season.
(C) The amount of the fee shall be paid to the secretary on or
before May 1 of each year for all other commodities received from
September 1 to March 31, inclusive.
(D) The amount of the fee for any other commodity received from
April 1 to August 31, inclusive, shall be paid to the secretary on or
before September 1 of the next marketing season.
(3) The secretary may fix the fee at a lesser amount and may
adjust the fee from marketing season to marketing season. Any
processor who fails, neglects, or refuses to pay the required fee is
in violation of this chapter. Any such processor shall not pass the
penalty on to the producer of the commodity.
(4) All funds received under this subdivision shall be deposited
in the State Treasury to the credit of the Department of Food and
Agriculture Fund.
(e) If the secretary finds that any processor has failed, refused,
or neglected to provide the information required by this section,
the secretary may proceed in accordance with Article 11 (commencing
with Section 55721).
(f) Any cooperative subject to the reporting provisions of this
section shall, in lieu of reporting prices, report all advances and
other payments made as of the reporting date and its good faith
estimate of the market value of the commodity for the crop year.
(g) The willful failure of any processor to report to the
secretary, as required by this section, is a violation of this
chapter and is a separate and distinct violation of this chapter for
each day the processor fails to meet the reporting requirements.
(h) For the purpose of Section 55601.7 and this section,
"marketing season" means the crop year that runs from September 1 to
August 31, inclusive, for walnuts, raisins, and prunes, and the crop
year that runs from April 1 to March 31, inclusive, for freestone
peaches.