Article 1. Legislative Declaration of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 21. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 2.5. >> Article 1.

The production and distribution of milk, and the components thereof, is hereby declared to be a business affected with a public interest. This chapter is enacted in the exercise of the police powers of this state for the purpose of protecting the health and welfare of the people of this state.

It is hereby declared that the dairy industry is a paramount agricultural industry of the state, and the normal processes of producing and marketing milk are enterprises of vast economic importance to the state and of vital importance to the consuming public which should be safeguarded and protected in the public interest. The Legislature finds that the marketing of milk requires producers to receive prompt payment. It is the policy of this state to protect producers against loss of payment for bulk milk. The public interest requires the establishment of a system to provide payment security for producers.

It is recognized by the Legislature that the powers conferred upon the director by Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 61301), Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 61801), and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 62700) are inadequate to enable the dairy industry to maintain satisfactory producer payment protection. Therefore, those powers must be supplemented by the powers conferred by this chapter upon the director to establish and administer a milk producers security trust fund.

This chapter shall be liberally construed. If any article, section, subdivision, sentence, clause, or phrase of this chapter is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid as applied to any person or as applied under certain circumstances, that decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this chapter or the application of this chapter to any other person or under any other circumstances. The Legislature hereby declares that it would have enacted each article, section, subdivision, sentence, clause, or phrase of this chapter regardless of the fact that one or more other articles, sections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses, or phrases are declared unconstitutional or invalid.

Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 61301), Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 61801), and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 62700) shall be liberally construed as being complementary of, and supplemental to, this chapter, and these chapters shall constitute a single comprehensive scheme for the regulation of the production and handling of milk. However, each of the chapters, and each article, section, subdivision, sentence, clause, and phrase of each chapter is severable. If one of the chapters or any article, section, subdivision, sentence, clause, or phrase of any one of the chapters is for any reason held void, invalid, or unconstitutional, the decision shall not affect the validity of any other chapter or any of its articles, sections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses, or phrases.

This chapter does not preclude any producer from bringing any action against any handler in any court of competent jurisdiction.

In order to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, the Milk Producers Security Trust Fund is hereby created.

It is hereby declared, as a matter of legislative determination, that producers and handlers appointed to the Milk Producers Security Trust Fund Board are intended to represent and further the interest of a particular agricultural industry concerned, and that this representation and furtherance is intended to serve the public interest. Accordingly, the Legislature finds that, with respect to persons who are appointed to the board, the particular agricultural industry concerned is tantamount to, and constitutes, the public generally within the meaning of Section 87103 of the Government Code.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Norman S. Waters-Ruben S. Ayala Milk Producers' Security Act of 1987.