Article 3. The California Forest Products Commission of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 22. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 18. >> Article 3.

(a) There is in the state government the California Forest Products Commission. The commission is composed of 10 members.
  (b) Three producers shall be elected by and from producers of 5,000,000 to 20,000,000, inclusive, board feet net Scribner Decimal C log rule, or the equivalent, thereof, in the preceding marketing year; three producers shall be elected by and from producers of between 20,000,001 to 100,000,000, inclusive, board feet net Scribner Decimal C log rule, or the equivalent, thereof, in the preceding marketing year; and three producers shall be elected by and from producers of over 100,000,000 board feet net Scribner Decimal C log rule, or the equivalent, thereof, in the preceding marketing year.
  (c) One member shall be either a public member or an industry member, as determined by a majority of the producer members elected pursuant to subdivision (b). If the producer members determine that the member shall be a public member, the public member shall be appointed by the secretary from the nominees recommended by the producer members. If the producer members determine that the member shall be an industry member, the producers shall elect an industry member to the commission by majority vote.
  (d) The secretary and other governmental officers, as determined by the commission, shall be ex officio members of the commission.
  (e) The ex officio members are nonvoting members of the commission.

(a) The secretary may require the commission to correct or cease any existing activity or function that is determined by the secretary not to be in the public interest or that is in violation of this chapter.
  (b) If the commission refuses or fails to cease these activities or functions or to make corrections required by the secretary, the secretary may, upon written notice, suspend all or a portion of the activities or functions of the commission until the cessation or correction of the activities or functions, as required by the secretary, has been accomplished by the commission.
  (c) Any actions of the commission in violation of the written notice are without legal force or effect. The secretary, to the extent feasible, shall issue the written notice prior to the commission entering into any contractual relationship affecting the existing or proposed activities or functions which are the subject of the written notice.
  (d) At the same time the written notice is provided to the commission, the secretary shall notify the commission in writing of the specific acts that the secretary determines are not in the public interest or are in violation of this chapter, the secretary's reasons for requiring a cessation or correction of specific existing or proposed activities or functions, and the secretary's recommendations with respect to any action that will make the activities or functions acceptable.

The commission or the secretary may bring an action for judicial relief from the secretary's written notice, or from noncompliance by the commission with the written notice, as the case may be, in a court of competent jurisdiction, which may issue a temporary restraining order, permanent injunction, or other applicable relief.

When the secretary is required to concur in a decision of the commission, the secretary shall concur, refuse to concur, or request additional information from the commission within 15 working days from the date the secretary receives notification of the decision.

The commission shall reimburse the secretary for all expenses incurred by the secretary in carrying out his or her duties and responsibilities pursuant to this chapter. However, a court may, if it finds that the secretary has acted arbitrarily or capriciously in restricting the activities or functions of the commission, relieve the commission of the responsibility for the payment of the secretary's legal costs with regard to that action.

An alternate member to each member of the commission, except the ex officio members, shall be elected or appointed in the same manner and for the same term as the member. Except as provided in Section 77551, an alternate member shall, in the absence of the member for whom he or she is an alternate, serve in the place of the member and shall have and exercise all of the rights, privileges, and powers of the member when serving on the commission. In the event the status of a member changes thereby making the member ineligible to serve, or in the event of the death, removal, resignation, or disqualification of a member, the alternate member shall act as a member of the commission until a qualified successor is elected.

Any vacancy on the commission occurring by the failure of any person elected or appointed to or serving on the commission as a member or alternate member to continue in his or her position because of a change in his or her status thereby making the person ineligible to serve, or because of the death, removal, resignation, or disqualification of a member, shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term by a majority vote of the remaining members of the commission. That person shall possess all of the same qualifications set forth in this article as is required for the person whose office he or she is to occupy.

(a) Any producer member and his or her alternate member shall be a producer or an authorized representative of a producer. Producer members and their alternate members shall maintain their qualifications pursuant to Section 77528 during their term of office.
  (b) Not more than one producer member and one alternate member shall be persons employed by, or connected in a proprietary capacity with, the same corporation, firm, partnership, association, or business organization. Any alternate serving on the commission who is employed by, or connected in a proprietary capacity with, a person serving as a member of the commission from the same corporation, firm, partnership, association, or business organization, shall serve as an alternate to the member.
  (c) The public member and his or her alternate member on the commission shall have all the powers, rights, and privileges of any other member or alternate member, respectively, on the commission. The public member and his or her alternate member shall not have any financial interest in the forest products industry.
  (d) The industry member and his or her alternate member on the commission shall have all the powers, rights, and privileges of any other member or alternate member, respectively, on the commission. The industry member or his or her alternate member may have a financial interest in the forest products industry. However, the industry member or his or her alternate member shall not be a producer as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 77528, or a person who sells or acquires timber but who is exempt from the meaning of "producer" pursuant to subdivision (c) of that section.

The term of office of each member, except the ex officio members, shall be three years, commencing with the beginning of the following marketing year and until a qualified successor is elected. However, with respect to the first producer members of the commission, one-third of each category specified in Section 77541 shall serve for one year, one-third shall serve for two years, and one-third shall serve for three years, with the determination of the term of each member within each category to be made by lot. No member may serve more than three consecutive three-year terms.

The commission shall be and is hereby declared to be a corporate body. It may sue and be sued, enter into contracts, adopt a seal, and have and possess all of the powers of a corporation. Copies of its proceedings, records, and acts when authenticated, shall be prima facie evidence of the truth of all statements therein.

A quorum of the commission shall be six members of whom at least five shall be producer members. Notwithstanding Section 77546, any alternate member may serve in the absence of any member if the member's alternate is also absent and the action is necessary to establish a quorum. Except as provided in Section 77663, the vote of a majority of the members present at a meeting at which there is a quorum constitutes an act of the commission.

The secretary or his or her representatives shall be notified and may attend each meeting of the commission and any committee meeting of the commission.

No member, alternate member, or member of a committee established by the commission who is a nonmember of the commission, shall receive compensation. Each member of the commission or each alternate member serving in the place of a member, except ex officio members who are officers or employees of a governmental entity, and each member of a committee established by the commission who is a nonmember of the commission, may receive per diem of not more than one hundred dollars ($100) per day, as established by the commission, and may also receive necessary traveling expenses and meal allowances, as approved by the commission. The per diem, traveling expenses, and allowances may be paid for each day spent in actual attendance at, or in traveling to and from, meetings of the commission or committees of the commission, or on special assignment for the commission, as approved by the commission.

All funds received by any person from the assessments levied pursuant to this chapter or otherwise received by the commission shall be deposited in banks that the commission may designate and shall be disbursed by order of the commission through an agent designated by the commission for that purpose. The agent shall be bonded by a fidelity bond that is executed by a surety company authorized to transact business in this state, in favor of the commission, in the amount of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).

The state is not liable for the acts of the commission or its contracts. Payments of all claims arising by reason of the administration of this chapter or acts of the commission are limited to the funds collected by the commission. No member of the commission, alternate member, or any employee or agent thereof, is personally liable for the contracts of the commission. No member of the commission, alternate member, or any employee or agent thereof, is responsible individually in any way to any other person for errors in judgment, mistakes, or other acts, either of commission or of omission, as principal, agent, or employee, except for his or her own individual acts of dishonesty or crime. No member of the commission, alternate member, or any employee or agent thereof, is responsible individually for any act or omission of any other member of the commission, alternate member, or any employee or agent thereof. Liability is several and not joint, and no member of the commission, alternate member, or any employee or agent thereof, is liable for the default of any other member of the commission, alternate member, or any employee or agent thereof.