Article 6. Assessments And Records of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 22. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 15. >> Article 6.

(a) The commission shall, not later than March 31 of each year, or as soon thereafter as possible, establish the assessment for the following marketing year.
  (b) The assessment for the first marketing year shall be six cents ($0.06) per pound on all wool marketed by producers.
  (c) For the second and subsequent marketing years, the assessment shall not exceed eight cents ($0.08) per pound on all wool marketed by producers, as determined by the commission, unless a greater fee is approved by producers pursuant to the procedures specified in Section 76381.
  (d) The commission may establish an assessment rate that is different for offsort wool or offsorts than for other wool, provided that the rate does not exceed the maximum assessment authorized in subdivision (c).
  (e) The assessment rate for wool, other than offsort wool, shall not be increased by more than one-half of one cent ($0.005) each marketing year.
  (f) A fee greater than twelve cents ($0.12) per pound may not be charged unless that fee is approved by the Legislature by statute.
  (g) Assessments provided for in this section shall be upon the producer. The handler shall deduct the assessment from amounts paid by him or her to the producer and shall be a trustee of those funds until they are paid to the commission at the time and in the manner prescribed by the commission.

This chapter does not apply to the wool produced only for the producer's home use. However, the producer shall file an affidavit with the commission establishing that he or she has not marketed the wool. The commission shall then determine whether the affidavit should be approved.

This article applies to wool that was removed from sheep after December 31, 1998.

Every handler shall keep a complete and accurate record of all wool handled with the name of the producer whose wool was handled. When the wool handled was acquired from a person who is not a producer, the handler shall determine from that person the name of the producer for the purposes of the records required by this section. The records shall be in simple form and contain information as the commission shall prescribe. The records shall be preserved by the handler for a period of five 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 producers or handlers or any other source, and all lists of producers in the possession of the commission or the director are confidential and shall not be disclosed except when required by a court order after a hearing in a judicial proceeding regarding this chapter. Information on volume shipments, commodity value, and other related information which is required for reports to governmental agencies, financial reports made to the commission or aggregate sales and inventory information, and any other information which the handlers request from the commission to receive in total, excluding individual handler information, may be disclosed by the commission.

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

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 collect the assessment shall not relieve the producer of the obligation to pay the assessment.

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

When the handler is a corporation, all of the directors and officers of the corporation in their capacity as individuals shall be included, and any liability for failing to collect or make payment of assessments, of which a corporate handler may be subject to under this chapter, shall also include identical liability upon each director or officer of the corporation.