CA Codes (fac:230-240.5)


230.  As used in this article:
   (a) "Advisory body" means the advisory body for each individual
agriculture program.
   (b) "Agriculture programs" means the programs specified in Section
221, Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 5301) of Division 4,
Sections 6037, 6038, and 9641.5, Chapter 1 (commencing with Section
29001) of Division 13, Division 15 (commencing with Section 32501),
Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 42801) of Chapter 2 of Division
17, and Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 46000) of Division 17.
   (c) "Trust fund" means the Agriculture Trust Fund created pursuant
to Section 232.

231.  The Legislature finds and declares that the maintenance of
agriculture funded programs described in subdivision (b) of Section
230 is necessary to ensure the consuming public of a continuous and
safe supply of food and fiber and is affected with a public interest.
  This article is enacted in the exercise of the police power of this
state for the purpose of protecting the health and welfare of the
people of this state.

232.  The Agriculture Trust Fund is hereby created.  The trust fund
is not a fund of the State Treasury.  Transfers to the trust fund may
be deposited in the State Treasury, or in a bank or other depository
approved by the Department of Finance.  Funds that are so
transferred are exempt from Sections 11270 and 11272 of the
Government Code and shall be deposited and disbursed only to pay for
attorney's fees and other costs incurred in litigation involving the
trust fund, expenses generated by the auditing requirement imposed by
Section 239, and the costs set forth in Section 240.

233.  (a) The trust fund consists of moneys transferred by the
director from the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, including
all income therefrom.  The amount of funds, excluding interest earned
thereon, contained in the trust fund shall be determined by the
director, and shall be the same percentage for all agricultural
programs, but shall not exceed 10 percent of the annual operating
budgets of each agricultural program.  Funds in excess of 10 percent
of the annual operating budgets of each agricultural program that are
in the trust fund, or such other lesser percentage as the director
may determine, may be returned to the Department of Food and
Agriculture Fund.
   (b) The director shall establish separate accounts in the trust
fund for the money transferred to the fund from each of the
agricultural program accounts in the Department of Food and
Agriculture Fund.  The trust accounts shall be used by the Department
of Food and Agriculture Fund for expenditure when necessary for the
exclusive purpose of implementing and continuing any of the
agriculture programs with money contained in the trust fund.


234.  The trust fund is created for the exclusive purpose of
implementing and continuing the agricultural programs for which the
funds were collected.

235.  Each agricultural program specified in subdivision (b) of
Section 230 with funds contained in the Department of Food and
Agriculture Fund shall participate in the trust fund unless an entity
is designated pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 227 or Section
6005 or 45021.

236.  The beneficiaries of the trust are the agricultural programs
with money contained in the trust fund.

237.  The trust fund shall continue in existence for as long as any
of the agricultural programs specified in subdivision (b) of Section
230 continues to exist.  Upon termination of any of those
agricultural programs, all of that program's remaining funds,
exclusive of all financial obligations of that program, shall be
returned on a pro rata basis to all persons from whom assessments or
fees were collected for purposes of that program in the immediately
preceding marketing season.  However, if the director finds that the
amounts returnable are so small as to make impractical the
computation and remitting of a pro rata refund to those persons, any
funds remaining after payment of all expenses shall be paid to any
existing state or federally authorized agricultural program relating
to the same industry.  If no such program exists, any remaining money
shall be paid to the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund.  If
the account of a terminating agricultural program is insufficient to
meet all financial obligations, the director may borrow a pro rata
share from all other accounts in the trust fund to pay those
obligations.  The director shall collect a supplemental assessment
from all persons from whom assessments or fees were collected for the
purposes of the program being terminated in the immediately
preceding marketing seasons to reimburse the trust fund.  Upon the
termination of all the agricultural programs specified in subdivision
(b) of Section 230, the trustee shall transfer the remaining funds
to the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund.

238.  It is hereby declared, as a matter of legislative
determination, that the advisory body for each of the identified
agricultural programs is intended to represent and further the
interest of a particular agricultural industry concerned, and that
this representation and furtherance is intended to serve the public
interest.  Accordingly, the Legislature finds that, with respect to
persons who are appointed to any advisory body, the particular
agricultural industry concerned is tantamount to, and constitutes,
the public generally within the meaning of Section 87103 of the
Government Code.

238.5.  The chairperson of each advisory body shall advise the
director on the administration of the trust fund, including, but not
limited to, the amount of the fund to be applied to program closures,
unanticipated occurrences, and replenishment.


239.  All trust fund activities shall be subject to an audit at
least once every two years by an auditing firm selected by the
director in accordance with Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 10290)
of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.  A copy of the
audit shall be delivered to the director within 30 days after
completion.

239.5.  Any money that is deposited pursuant to Section 232, which
the director determines is available for investment, may be invested
or reinvested in any of the securities described in Article 1
(commencing with Section 16430) of Chapter 3 of Part 2 of Division 4
of Title 2 of the Government Code.

240.  The moneys in the trust fund shall be disbursed only to pay
for costs arising from unanticipated occurrences associated with
administering self-funded programs.  These costs shall include, but
are not limited to:  attorney costs related to litigation; workers'
compensation costs; unemployment costs; phaseout costs of existing
programs; and temporary funding for programs that are implementing a
fee increase.  Any program using the moneys from the trust fund shall
repay the trust fund based on a schedule approved by the director.
   In addition to the costs specified above, the director may impose
a charge in the amount necessary to cover the department's costs in
administering this article.

240.5.  This article shall be liberally construed.  If any provision
of this article or the application thereof to any person or
circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other
provisions or applications of the article that can be given effect
without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the
provisions of this article are severable.