Article 6. Assessments And Records of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 22. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 10. >> Article 6.

The commission shall, not later than April 30 of each year, establish the assessment for the following year beginning May 1 and ending April 30. In no event shall the combined assessment of the commission and any other state authorized wheat production research and market program exceed 1 percent of the gross dollar value of the year's sale of wheat by all producers to handlers. The commission shall establish producer gross dollar value through rules and regulations.

Every handler shall keep a complete and accurate record of all wheat received by him or her and the name of the producer whose wheat was shipped. The records shall be in simple form and contain such information as the commission shall prescribe. The records shall be preserved by the handler for a period of two years and shall be offered and submitted for inspection at any reasonable time upon written demand of the commission or its duly authorized agent.

All proprietary information obtained by the commission or the director from handlers and all lists of producers in the possession of the director shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed except when required in a judicial proceeding. Information on volume shipments, crop value, and any other related information which is required for reports to governmental agencies; financial reports to the commission or aggregate sales and inventory information; and any other such information which the handlers request from the commission to receive in total, excluding individual handler information, may be disclosed by the commission.

Assessments provided for in this article shall be upon the producer. The handler first handling the wheat being assessed shall deduct the assessments from amounts paid by him to the producer and shall be a trustee of the funds until they are paid to the commission at the time and in the manner prescribed by the commission.

Every handler shall be personally liable for the payment of the collected assessments, and failure of the handler to collect the assessment from any producer shall not exempt any handler from liability for payment of the assessment.

Any assessment which is levied as provided for in this chapter, is a personal debt of every producer so assessed. Failure of a handler to make payment of the collected assessment to the commission shall not relieve the producer of this obligation.

Any producer or handler 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 such assessment determined to be due and, in addition, 1 1/2 percent interest per month on the unpaid balance.

Any person, firm, or corporation subject to the assessment in this chapter may request a total or partial refund of a paid assessment from the commission. No refund shall be made by the commission unless requested within 90 days from the date of collection of the assessment. However, the commission may extend that period upon a showing of good cause. The refund of assessment shall be made by the commission within 60 days of the date of the request for the refund. The commission shall establish procedures and provide forms for each request, shall maintain complete records, and shall ensure confidentiality.