Article 6. Assessments And Records of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 22. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 17.5. >> Article 6.

The commission shall, not later than February 1 of each year, establish the assessment for the marketing season that begins February 1 and continues through January 31 of the following year. The assessment shall not exceed the following amounts:
  (a) Two and one-half cents ($0.025) per crate, or the equivalent, for strawberries delivered for shipping by producers.
  (b) Two and one-half cents ($0.025) per crate, or the equivalent, for strawberries received by shippers from producers.
  (c) Two and one-half cents ($0.025) per 14 pounds for strawberries delivered for processing by producers.
  (d) Two and one-half cents ($0.025) per 14 pounds for strawberries received by processors for processing from producers. An assessment greater than the amounts in this section may not be charged unless it is approved in accordance with the voting requirements of Section 77462.

An assessment established by the commission shall require a favorable vote of not less than two-thirds of the voting producer members, a majority of the voting shipper members, and a majority of the voting processor members on the commission.

This chapter does not apply to strawberries produced only for a producer's home use or to strawberries that are used only for ornamental purposes.

Every shipper and processor shall keep a complete and accurate record of all strawberries shipped or processed by him or her with the name of the producer whose strawberries were shipped or processed. A producer who delivers or markets strawberries to persons other than to a shipper or processor shall keep a complete and accurate record of all those strawberries. The records shall contain information required by the commission. The records shall be preserved by the producer, shipper, or processor 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 any source, including the names and addresses of producers, shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed except when required by court order in a judicial proceeding. 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.

Producer assessments shall be upon the producer. The first shipper or processor of strawberries being assessed shall deduct the assessment from amounts paid by him or her 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. A producer who delivers or markets strawberries to persons other than to a shipper or processor shall pay an assessment directly to the commission at the time and in the manner prescribed by the commission.

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

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

(a) Any producer, shipper, or processor 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 past due and, in addition, interest on the unpaid balance at the rate of 1.5 percent per month.
  (b) In addition to any other penalty imposed, the commission may require any person who fails to pay any 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.