(a) Every person acting as a handler of commodities subject to this division shall do all of the following:
(1) Register with the director and submit reports and assessments required pursuant to this article and the regulations adopted thereunder.
(2) Keep a complete and accurate record of commodities shipped by him or her. The records shall be in simple form and contain information as prescribed by the director.
(3) Maintain records for a period of two years that shall be offered and submitted for inspection and audit at any reasonable time upon written demand of the director.
(b) Every person acting as a handler of commodities subject to this division, shall be personally liable for the payment of assessments. Any handler who fails to file the required reports or pay any assessment or inspection fee by the last day of the month immediately following the month in which the commodities were shipped shall pay to the director a penalty of 10 percent of the assessment or fee determined to be due, and in addition, 11/2 percent interest per month on the unpaid balance.
(c) Handlers shall maintain and file the records required pursuant to this article even if no assessments are due for a reporting period.
(d) Any person that violates this article or the regulations adopted thereunder may be prosecuted criminally pursuant to Article 12 (commencing with Section 42971), and, in addition, shall be subject to the civil penalties and remedies set forth in Article 13 (commencing with Section 43001).
(e) For the purposes of this article, “handler” means any person engaged in marketing commodities subject to this article that the person has purchased or acquired from a producer and who first prepares the commodities for market on behalf of the producer, whether as owner, agent, broker, processor, or otherwise. A producer engaged in marketing commodities subject to this article directly to a person who purchases the commodity solely for retail sale is deemed to be the handler and is subject to this section.
(Added by Stats. 1992, Ch. 76, Sec. 1. Effective June 3, 1992. Repealed as of January 1, 2025, pursuant to Section 42815.)