California Assembly Bill AB1976 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1976AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 13, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Irwin FEBRUARY 16, 2016 An act to amend Sections 67051, 67052, 67052.3,  67053, 67054,  67059, 67081, and  67132 of   67132 of, and to repeal Section 67051.1 of,  the Food and  Agriculture   Agricultural  Code, relating to avocados. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1976, as amended, Irwin. California Avocado Commission. Existing law establishes the California Avocado Commission within the state government, and requires the commission to establish no fewer than 3 districts and no more than 5 districts within the state, each representing approximately the same percentage of avocado production in California. Existing law requires the commission to consist of a specified number of producers who are not handlers, based on the number of districts the commission establishes, 4 handlers who are elected on a statewide basis, one public member, and the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, and requires there to be 2 alternate handler members.  Existing law requires a vacancy of a member position on the commission to be filled by the alternate member. Existing law authorizes certain handlers who handle a specified percentage of volume   of avocados to appoint one handler member to the commission and the other handlers to nominate and elect the remaining handler members.  This bill would  instead require a vacancy of a member position be filled by a majority vote of the commission. The bill would  decrease the number of handlers on the commission to 2 members and the number of alternate handler members to one member.  The bill would remove the authorization for the specified handlers to appoint a handler member.   Existing law requires producer members and alternate producer members, at the time of the election, to have a financial interest in producing, or causing to be produced, avocados for market within the district in which the producer stands for election. Existing law prohibits a producer who chooses to stand for election in a particular district from standing for election in any other district for a period of 4 years from the date of his or her most recent election to the commission.   This bill would delete this prohibition on the producer.  Existing law provides that a quorum of the commission is 11 voting members if the commission consists of 3 or 5 districts, and is 10 voting members if the commission consists of 4 districts. Existing law authorizes the commission to recommend to the secretary that the operations of the commission be suspended upon a specified finding of 11 voting members if the commission consists of 3 or 5 districts, or 10 voting members if the commission consists of 4 districts. This bill would instead provide that a quorum of the commission is 9 voting members if the commission consists of 3 or 4 districts, and is 10 voting members if the commission consists of 5 districts. The bill would make a similar change to the authorization of the commission to recommend suspension. Existing law requires the secretary to establish a list of producers in each district and, in establishing the lists, requires handlers to file, within 90 days following receipt of a written request by the secretary, certain information about each producer from whom the handler purchased or handled avocados. This bill would require handlers to file the information, including the grove location of each producer instead of district numbers, within 60 days. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 67051 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read: 67051. (a) There is in the state government the California Avocado Commission. (b) The commission shall be composed of the following members: (1) (A) If the commission consists of three districts, nine producers who are not handlers, three elected from each district. (B) If the commission consists of four districts, eight producers who are not handlers, two elected from each district. (C) If the commission consists of five districts, 10 producers who are not handlers, two elected from each district. (2) Two avocado handlers elected on a statewide basis. (3) One public member who shall be appointed to the commission by the secretary from nominees recommended by the commission. (4) The secretary who shall be a nonvoting ex officio member of the commission.  SEC. 2.   Section 67051.1 of the   Food and Agricultural Code   is repealed.   67051.1. Notwithstanding Section 67051, any handler that handles 30 percent or more of the volume of avocados in the preceding marketing season, as annually determined by the secretary, may appoint one handler member to the commission. All other handlers shall nominate and elect the remaining handler members pursuant to this chapter. Any handler appointed to the commission pursuant to this section shall maintain his or her eligibility under this section during the entire term of office. Any vacancy caused by the ineligibility of the handler shall be filled in accordance with Section 67053.   SEC. 2.   SEC. 3.  Section 67052 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read: 67052. (a) Each district shall have one alternate producer member, to be elected in the same manner as producer members. (b) The alternate producer member shall, in the absence of a producer member from the same district, sit in place of the absent producer member on the commission and shall have, and be able to exercise, all the rights, privileges, and powers of the producer member when sitting on the commission.  SEC. 3.   SEC. 4.  Section 67052.3 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read: 67052.3. (a) There shall be one alternate handler member to be elected in the same manner as the handler members. (b) The alternate handler member shall, in the absence of a handler member, sit in place of the absent handler member on the commission and shall have, and be able to exercise, all the rights, privileges, and powers of the handler member when sitting on the commission.  SEC. 5.   Section 67053 of the   Food and Agricultural Code   is amended to read:  67053. (a) Any vacancy  of a member position  on the commission occurring  for any reason including   by  the failure of any  person elected to the commission as a member or alternate  member to continue in his or her position due to a change in status making him or her ineligible to serve, or through death, removal, or resignation, shall be filled, for the unexpired portion of the term, by  the alternate member for that position.   (b)     Any vacancy of an alternate member position on the commission occurring for any reason, including the alternate's move to the member position or the failure of any alternate member to continue in his or her position due to a change in status making him or her ineligible to serve, or through death, removal, or resignation, shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term by a   a  majority vote of the commission.  (c)   (b)  Any person filling a vacant member or alternate member position shall  fulfill   meet  all the qualifications set forth in this article as required for the member  or alternate member.   whose office he or she is to fill.   SEC. 6.   Section 67054 of the   Food and Agricultural Code   is amended to read:  67054. (a) Producer members and alternate producer members on the commission shall have a financial interest in producing, or causing to be produced, avocados for market. In order to be elected a member or alternate member, a producer shall, at the time of the election, have a financial interest in the production of avocados within the district in which the producer stands for election. (b) A producer may stand for election in any district in which the producer has a financial interest in the production of avocados.  (c) A producer who chooses to stand for election in a particular district shall not stand for election in any other district for a period of four years from the date of his or her most recent election to the commission. However, this subdivision does not apply in an election to fill vacancies created by the reapportionment of districts pursuant to Section 67042.   (d)   (c)  Handler members and the alternate handler members shall have a financial interest in handling avocados for markets.  (e)   (d)  The public member shall not have any financial interest in the avocado industry. Except for the nomination of another public member, the public member and his or her alternate member on the commission shall have all the powers, rights, and privileges of any other member on the commission. SEC. 4.   SEC. 7.  Section 67059 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read: 67059. Unless otherwise specified, a quorum of the commission shall be any nine voting members if the commission consists of three or four districts and any 10 voting members if the commission consists of five districts. The vote of a majority of members present at a meeting at which there is a quorum shall constitute the act of the commission.  SEC. 5.   SEC. 8.  Section 67081 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read: 67081. (a) The secretary shall establish a list of producers in each district. In establishing the lists, the secretary shall require that handlers in the state submit the names, mailing addresses, grove location, and handled volume of each producer from whom they purchased or handled avocados in the preceding marketing season. The request for information from handlers shall be in writing and shall be filed by the handlers within 60 days following receipt of the written request. (b) Any producer of avocados whose name does not appear upon the secretary's list of producers may have his or her name established on the list by filing with the commission a signed statement, identifying himself or herself as a producer. Failure to be on the list does not exempt the producer from paying assessments under this chapter.  SEC. 6.   SEC. 9.  Section 67132 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read: 67132. Upon the finding of nine voting members of the commission if the commission consists of three or four districts, or of 10 voting members of the commission if the commission consists of five districts, that this chapter has not tended to effectuate its declared purposes, the commission may recommend to the secretary that the operations of the commission shall be suspended, provided that the suspension shall not become effective until the expiration of the current marketing season. The secretary shall, upon receipt of the recommendation, or upon a petition filed with him or her requesting the suspension, signed by 15 percent of the producers by number who produced not less than 15 percent of the volume in the immediately preceding year, cause a referendum to be conducted among the listed producers to determine if the operation of this chapter and the operations of the commission shall be suspended, and shall establish a referendum period, which shall not be less than 10 days nor more than 60 days in duration. The secretary is authorized to prescribe any additional procedure necessary to conduct the referendum. At the close of the established referendum period, the secretary shall tabulate the ballots filed during the period. If at least 40 percent of the total number of producers, on a list established by the secretary marketing 40 percent of the total volume marketed by all producers during the last completed marketing season, participate in the referendum, the secretary shall suspend this chapter upon the expiration of the current marketing season, if he or she finds either one of the following: (a) Sixty-five percent or more of the producers who voted in the referendum voted in favor of the suspension, and the producers so voting marketed 51 percent or more of the total quantity of avocados marketed in the preceding marketing season by all of the producers who voted in the referendum. (b) Fifty-one percent or more of the producers who voted in the referendum voted in favor of suspension, and the producers so voting marketed 65 percent or more of the total quantity of avocados marketed in the preceding season by all of the producers who voted in the referendum.