Article 17. Local And Regional Producer Advisory Boards of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 21. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 17.

Except as otherwise provided in Section 62303, the director may, if he deems such board necessary or advisable, appoint:
  (a) A local advisory board for any marketing area established as prescribed in this chapter to assist and advise him in matters which pertain to the production and marketing of market milk or to the operation of a stabilization and marketing plan.
  (b) A regional advisory board, if he deems such board necessary or advisable to represent several marketing areas adjacent to each other and wherein production conditions and costs are reasonably uniform.

Except as otherwise provided in Section 62303, the director shall appoint:
  (a) A local advisory board, if a majority of the producers individually, or through any nonprofit agricultural cooperative marketing association which is authorized by its members to so petition, request the establishment of such board.
  (b) A regional advisory board, if in each marketing area which is involved a majority of producers that supply such marketing areas individually, or through any nonprofit agricultural cooperative marketing association which is authorized by its members to so petition, requests that such a board be established.

The director shall not establish any local or regional advisory board pursuant to this article if he finds that the assessments or fees which are collected pursuant to Article 14 (commencing with Section 62211) of this chapter from the marketing area are insufficient to cover the costs of such local or regional advisory board. No regional advisory board shall be set up to include any marketing area which on September 7, 1955, was operating under a local advisory board, unless by petition as provided for in this article or through public hearing, producers of such marketing area request that they be represented by a regional advisory board.

If the director receives a qualified petition for a local advisory board, he may investigate the possibility of establishing a regional advisory board covering the marketing area from which the petition was received and the adjacent marketing areas, by holding one or more public hearings for the purpose of establishing whether or not a majority of producers supplying the marketing areas proposed to be included in such region desire such regional advisory board.

A local advisory board established pursuant to this article shall consist of seven members who shall be producers that supply market milk to the particular marketing area. A regional advisory board may consist of any number of members who are producers that supply market milk to any of the marketing areas in the region, but shall consist of not less than one member from each such marketing area in the region. The director may appoint one additional member on each such board who shall be a public member. Upon the director's request, each board shall submit to the director the names of three or more natural persons, each of whom shall be a citizen and resident of this state and not a producer, shipper, or processor nor financially interested in any producer, shipper, or processor, for appointment by the director as a public member of the board. The director may appoint one of the nominees as the public member on the board. If all nominees are unsatisfactory to the director, the board shall continue to submit lists of nominees until the director has made a selection. Any vacancy in the office of the public member of the board shall be filled by appointment by the director from the nominee or nominees similarly qualified submitted by the board. The public member of each board shall represent the interests of the general public in all matters coming before the board and shall have the same voting and other rights and immunities as other members of the board.

The term of office of each member of a regional advisory board or a local advisory board shall be two years.

The director may remove any member from a local or a regional advisory board if he finds, after a hearing, that such member is guilty of nonfeasance or malfeasance in office.

The director may appoint a member to fill any vacancy on a local or a regional advisory board.

Each regional advisory board and each local advisory board may meet in regular session each month, and each member shall be allowed twenty dollars ($20) per diem and mileage at the rate of fifteen cents ($0.15) per mile for attending such regular meetings, and any other meeting or conference which is called or authorized by the director within or outside of the boundaries of this state.

Any regional or local advisory board may, with the previous approval of the director, employ such personnel as may be necessary in the performance of its duties and shall adopt regulations for its conduct. Each such board shall submit a budget of its expenses to the director for his approval. The funds to be used for the maintenance of each such board shall be paid from the proceeds of assessments and licenses which are paid to the director under the plan of any area which is represented upon verified claims that are presented by the board to the director. A regional or local advisory board shall not incur any expenses except those for per diem and mileage, unless the expenses are approved by the director.

Regional and local advisory boards shall review with the director the methods which are to be used in determining producer costs, and aid the director in the selection of the level of production which is necessary to meet the requirements of Section 62062 with respect to producer price minimums.

For purposes of developing uniformity of administration as between marketing areas in which producer advisory boards have been appointed, the director shall call together representatives of regional and local advisory boards from time to time to advise him as to the relationships in producer costs among the marketing areas, and may designate such representatives as the statewide committee of producer advisory boards.

It is hereby declared, as a matter of legislative determination, that producers of market milk appointed to the regional advisory boards pursuant to this article are intended to represent and further the interest of a particular agricultural industry concerned, and that such representation and furtherance is intended to serve the public interest. Accordingly, the Legislature finds that, with respect to persons who are appointed to such advisory boards, the particular industry concerned is tantamount to, and constitutes, the public generally within the meaning of Section 87103 of the Government Code.