Article 6. Assessments And Records of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 22. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 9.5. >> Article 6.

(a) The commission shall establish the assessment for the marketing season not later than September 1 of each year or as soon thereafter as is possible. The assessment shall not exceed ten cents ($0.10) per hundredweight for rice delivered to handlers by producers. Of the assessment, not more than five cents ($0.05) per hundredweight shall be assessed against handlers, and not more than five cents ($0.05) per hundredweight shall be assessed against producers. The assessment rate shall be the same for handlers and producers.
  (b) An assessment greater than the amount specified in subdivision (a) may not be charged unless approved by a majority of the commission and by handlers and producers pursuant to procedures specified in Section 71101.

(a) This chapter does not apply to handlers of less than 100,000 hundredweight in any marketing season or to rice produced only for a producer's home use or rice that is used only for ornamental purposes.
  (b) If at any time during a marketing season the volume handled by a handler reaches 100,000 hundredweight or more, the handler shall be assessed for the initial 100,000 hundredweight and any additional volume handled during the marketing season. If the assessments on the initial 100,000 hundredweight are paid in the time and manner specified by the commission, the assessments shall not be considered past due.
  (c) Notwithstanding Section 71026, the 100,000 hundredweight threshold established pursuant to this chapter shall remain in effect unless a higher threshold is approved by a majority of the commission and by those handlers remaining eligible under the proposed threshold and producers pursuant to procedures specified in Section 71101.

Any person requesting an exemption from this chapter shall file an affidavit with the commission attesting that he or she is not a handler, as defined in Section 71026, or produces rice only for his or her own home use or for ornamental purposes. The affidavit shall contain all the information required by the commission. The commission shall review the affidavit, conduct any additional investigation it deems appropriate, and approve or deny the affidavit.

Every person who handles rice in any quantity shall keep a complete and accurate record of all transactions involving the purchase or sale of rice and shall submit the record to the commission in the time and manner specified by the commission. The records shall be in a simple form and contain the information that the commission prescribes. The records shall be preserved by the handler for a period of three years and shall be offered and submitted for inspection at any reasonable time upon written demand of the commission or its duly authorized agent.

(a) All proprietary information obtained or developed pursuant to this article by the commission or the secretary from any source, including, but not limited to, the names and addresses of producers, is confidential and shall not be disclosed except when required by a court order after a hearing in a judicial proceeding.
  (b) Information on volume shipments, crop value, and any other related information that is required for reports to governmental agencies, financial reports to the commission, or aggregate sales and inventory information, and any other information that gives only totals, but excludes individual information, may be disclosed by the commission.

Any assessment that is levied as provided for in this chapter is a personal debt of every person assessed.

(a) Only the first handler of rice is subject to the handler assessment and shall deduct the producer assessment from amounts paid by him or her to the producer and shall be a trustee of these assessments and assessments required to be paid by the handler until they are paid to the commission at the time and in the manner prescribed by the commission. Title to the assessments shall pass immediately to the commission and handlers shall hold the assessments in trust for the benefit of the commission and shall remit them, with assessment reports, in the time and manner specified by the commission. All first handlers, without regard to the volume handled, shall deduct and remit the producer assessment. Failure to collect the assessment from any producer shall not exempt the handler from liability. In addition, failure of a handler to remit the collected producer assessments to the commission shall not relieve the producer of this obligation.
  (b) If rice is forfeited under a loan from the Commodity Credit Corporation, the handler shall pay both the producer and handler assessments if the rice is contracted to the handler. If the handler' s total volume for the marketing season is less than 100,000 hundredweight, only the producer assessment shall apply. If the rice forfeited under a loan from the Commodity Credit Corporation is not contracted to a handler, the producer shall pay both the handler and producer assessments. If the total volume handled by the producer during the marketing season is less than 100,000 hundredweight, only the producer assessment shall apply.

When the handler or producer is a corporation, all of the directors and officers of the corporation in their capacity as individuals shall be included, and any liability for violating this chapter, including, but not limited to, failing to pay assessments or file required reports, shall also include identical liability upon each director or officer of the corporation.

Any person who fails to file a return or pay any 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 due, and, in addition, shall pay 1 1/2 percent interest per month on the unpaid balance.

In addition to any other penalty imposed, the commission may require any 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 as assurance that all payments to the commission will be made when due.

It is a violation of state law for any person to do any of the following:
  (a) Willfully render or furnish a false report, statement, or record required by the commission.
  (b) Fail to render or furnish a report, statement, or record required by the commission.
  (c) Secrete, destroy, or alter records required to be kept under this chapter.

The commission shall establish procedures for the purpose of according individuals aggrieved by its actions or determinations an informal hearing before the commission or before a committee of the commission designated for that purpose. Appeals from decisions of the commission may be made to the secretary. The determination of the secretary shall be subject to judicial review upon petition filed with the appropriate superior court.

(a) The commission may commence civil actions and utilize all remedies provided in law or equity for the collection of assessments and civil penalties and for the obtaining of injunctive relief or specific performance regarding this chapter and the regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter. A court shall issue to the commission any requested writ of attachment or injunctive relief upon a prima facie showing by verified complaint that a named defendant has violated this chapter or any other regulation of the commission, including, but not limited to, the nonpayment of assessments. No bond shall be required to be posted by the commission as a condition for the issuance of any writ of attachment or injunctive relief.
  (b) A writ of attachment shall be issued pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 485.010) of Title 6.5 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, except that the showing specified in Section 485.010 of the Code of Civil Procedure is not required. Injunctive relief shall be issued pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 525) of Title 7 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, except that the showing of irreparable harm or inadequate remedy at law specified in Sections 526 and 527 of the Code of Civil Procedure is not required.
  (c) Upon entry of any final judgment on behalf of the commission against any defendant, the court shall enjoin the defendant from conducting any type of business regarding rice until there is full compliance and satisfaction of the judgment. Upon a favorable judgment for the commission, it shall be entitled to receive reimbursement for any reasonable attorney's fees and other actual related costs. Venue for these actions may be established at the domicile or place of business of the defendant or in the county of the principal office of the commission. The commission may be sued only in the county of its principal office.

Any action by the commission for any violation of this chapter shall be commenced within two years from the date of discovery of the alleged violation. Any action against the commission by any person shall be commenced within two years from the date of the act of which the person complains.

The termination of this chapter shall not affect or waive any right, duty, obligation, or liability that has arisen or that may thereafter arise in connection with this chapter, release or extinguish any violation of this chapter, or affect or impair any right or remedies of the commission with respect to any violation.

(a) Every five years, commencing with the fifth marketing season following the certification pursuant to Section 71104, the secretary shall conduct a referendum among handlers and producers. The operations of the commission shall continue unless the secretary determines from the referendum that a majority of the eligible handlers and a majority of the eligible producers voting in the referendum voted in favor of terminating the operations of this chapter.
  (b) If the secretary finds that the vote favors continuation, he or she shall so certify and this chapter shall remain operative. If the secretary finds that the vote favors termination, he or she shall so certify and declare the operation of this chapter and the commission suspended upon the expiration of the then current marketing season. Thereupon, the operations of the commission shall be concluded and funds distributed as provided in Section 71137.

(a) Upon a finding by a two-thirds vote of the membership of the commission that the operation of this chapter has not tended to effectuate its declared purposes, the commission may recommend to the secretary that the operation of this chapter be suspended. However, any suspension shall not become effective until the expiration of the then current marketing season.
  (b) Upon the vote of the members of the commission specified in subdivision (a), the secretary shall establish a referendum period, which shall not be less than 10 days or more than 60 days in duration. The secretary may prescribe additional procedures as may be necessary to conduct the referendum. At the close of the established referendum period, the secretary shall tabulate the ballots filed during the period. The secretary shall suspend the operation of this chapter if he or she finds any of the following has occurred:
  (1) Sixty-five percent or more of the handlers who voted in the referendum voted in favor of suspension, and the handlers so voting handled a majority of the total quantity of rice handled in the preceding marketing season by all of the handlers voting in the referendum.
  (2) A majority of the handlers who voted in the referendum voted in favor of suspension, and the handlers so voting handled 65 percent or more of the total quantity of rice handled in the preceding marketing season by all of the handlers voting in the referendum.
  (3) Sixty-five percent or more of the producers who voted in the referendum voted in favor of suspension, and the producers so voting produced a majority of the total quantity of rice produced in the preceding marketing season by all of the producers voting in the referendum.
  (4) A majority of the producers who voted in the referendum voted in favor of suspension, and the producers so voting produced 65 percent or more of the total quantity of rice produced in the preceding marketing season by all of the producers voting in the referendum.

After the effective date of suspension of this chapter, the operation of the commission shall be concluded and all moneys held by the commission not required to defray the expenses of concluding and terminating operations of the commission shall be returned on a pro rata basis to all persons from whom assessments were collected in the immediately preceding marketing season. However, if the commission finds that the amounts returnable are so small as to make impractical the computation and remitting of the prorated refund to these persons, any funds remaining after payment of all expenses of winding up and terminating operations shall be withdrawn from the approved depository and paid into an appropriate state or federal program conducted or used to fund activities related to the subject matter of this chapter. Upon suspension, any intellectual property owned by the commission shall be transferred without charge to the secretary who shall hold the property in trust for the benefit of the California rice industry. The property shall be transferred without charge to any successor program serving purposes similar to the purposes of this chapter.

Upon suspension of the operation of this chapter, the commission shall mail a copy of the notice of suspension to all eligible persons affected by the suspension whose names and addresses are on file.