(a) (1) “Handler” means any person who engages, in this state, in the operation of selling, marketing, or distributing avocados which he or she has produced or purchased or acquired from a producer, or which he or she is marketing on behalf of a producer, whether as owner, agent, employee, broker, or otherwise.
(2) “Handler” also includes any person engaged as a processor in the business of processing avocados.
(b) When the handler is a corporation or a limited liability company, all of the directors, officers, managers, and members of the corporation or limited liability company in their capacity as individuals shall be included, and any liability for failure to collect or make payment of assessments to which a corporate handler or a handler that is a limited liability company may be subject pursuant to this chapter shall include identical liability upon each individual director, officer, manager, or member of the corporation or limited liability company.
(c) (1) “Handler” does not include a cooperative bargaining association that recommends that its members market their avocados through specified handlers and which otherwise is not involved in the sale of avocados.
(2) “Handler” also does not include a retailer, except for a retailer who purchases or acquires from any producer, or handles on behalf of any producer, avocados which were not previously subjected to regulation by the commission.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 946, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 2003.)