78921-78928
FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE
SECTION 78921-78928
78921. Prior to the beginning of each marketing season, or as soon
as possible thereafter, the commission shall establish assessment
rates for the marketing season, as follows:
(a) An annual assessment on producers of not less than one hundred
dollars ($100) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), as
determined by the commission, based on the number of tons of
winegrapes marketed during the preceding marketing season.
(b) In addition, producers shall pay an assessment not less than
one dollar ($1) and not greater than twelve dollars ($12) per ton of
winegrapes marketed by producers. In the discretion of the
commission, the producer assessment may be established as a percent
of the gross dollar value received by producers for winegrapes rather
than on a per ton basis. The assessment shall be established on a
sliding scale that decreases the assessment by two dollars ($2) per
ton, or the percentage equivalent if the assessment is a percent of
gross dollar value, for every 500 tons of winegrapes marketed by
producers in excess of 1000 tons.
(c) An annual assessment on vintners of not less than three
hundred fifty dollars ($350) and not more than seven thousand five
hundred dollars ($7,500), as determined by the commission, based on
the number of tons of winegrapes processed and marketed by vintners
during the preceding marketing season.
(d) In addition, vintners shall pay an assessment not less than
one dollar ($1) and not greater than twelve dollars ($12) per ton of
winegrapes processed by vintners for which an assessment has not
already been paid by a producer. The assessment shall be established
on a sliding scale that decreases the assessment by two dollars ($2)
per ton for every 500 tons of winegrapes processed by vintners in
excess of 1000 tons.
(e) An assessment greater than the amount provided for in this
section may not be charged unless and until a greater amount is
approved by a majority of the commission and by eligible producers
and vintners pursuant to the referendum procedures specified in
Section 78903.
78923. This chapter shall not apply to winegrapes produced for a
producer's home or ornamental use, or processed for a vintner's home
use. A producer growing winegrapes commercially on three acres or
less shall be exempted from the base assessment in subdivision (a) of
Section 78921. Any producer or vintner requesting an exemption from
the payment of assessments shall provide an affidavit approved by the
commission containing information required by the commission. The
commission shall review the affidavit, conduct any additional
investigation it deems appropriate, and approve or deny the
exemption. If granted, the exemption shall be valid for one marketing
season and a new affidavit shall be filed and approved prior to each
marketing season in order to retain an exemption from this chapter.
78924. (a) Every producer and vintner shall keep complete and
accurate records of winegrapes produced, processed, and marketed,
including, but not limited to, the number of tons of winegrapes
delivered to or received by vintners, whether within or outside of
Mendocino County, the names of the producers from which vintners
receive winegrapes, and records related to the sale of winegrapes,
wine, or winegrape products. The records shall be in simple form and
contain information as the commission shall prescribe. The records
shall be preserved by producers and vintners for a period of five
years and shall be offered and submitted for inspection at any
reasonable time upon demand of the commission or its duly authorized
agent.
(b) For purposes of this section and for any other section of this
chapter that relates to recordkeeping or the collection and
remittance of assessments from producers, including any section
dealing with confidentiality of information received from vintners,
the term "vintner" shall include persons in this state outside
Mendocino County who otherwise meet the definition of vintner in
Section 78839. Those persons shall not be required to pay the vintner
assessment established by the commission, but shall collect and
remit assessments and reports regarding winegrapes received that were
produced in Mendocino County.
78925. (a) All proprietary and trade secret information obtained by
the commission from producers and vintners shall be confidential and
shall not be disclosed except when required by a court order after a
hearing in a judicial proceeding involving this chapter. The
Legislature finds and declares that this provision is required to
ensure that producer and vintner proprietary and trade secret
information shall not be disclosed.
(b) In addition, and notwithstanding any other provision of law,
all proprietary or trade secret information developed or gathered
pursuant to this chapter by the commission, or by the department on
behalf of the commission, from any source is confidential, shall not
be considered a public record as that term is defined in Section 6252
of the Government Code, and shall not be disclosed by the commission
or the secretary except when required by a court order after a
hearing in a judicial proceeding involving this chapter.
(c) 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 other information that give only totals,
but excludes individual information, may be disclosed by the
commission.
(d) The commission shall determine whether information is
proprietary or trade secret and not subject to disclosure. If the
commission denies a request for disclosure of this information, the
commission shall provide written justification for its decision to
the person requesting the information who may appeal the decision of
the commission to the secretary.
78926. (a) Any assessment levied by the commission, pursuant to
this chapter, is a personal debt of every person so assessed and is
due and payable in the time and manner prescribed by the commission.
Failure of a vintner to collect the assessment from a producer shall
not exempt the vintner from liability nor relieve the producer of the
obligation to pay the assessment.
(b) When the producer or vintner is a corporation, general or
limited partnership, or trust, all of the directors and officers of
the corporation, all of the members and managers of the limited
liability company, all of the general and limited partners in the
partnership, and all of the trustees of the trust, 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 and officer of the corporation, each
member and manager of the limited liability company, each general and
limited partner in the partnership, and each trustee of the trust.
Title to the assessments, shall pass immediately to the commission.
When collecting and remitting producer assessments, vintners shall
hold the assessments in trust for the benefit of the commission until
remitted in the time and manner specified by the commission.
78927. Any person who fails to file a return, or remit 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, 1.5 percent
interest per month on the unpaid balance.
78928. In addition to any other penalty imposed, the commission may
require any person who fails to submit records or 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.