There is hereby created the California Iceberg Lettuce Commission to be thus known and designated. The commission is composed of 19 members, of which 14 are handlers as defined in Section 66532, four are members-at-large of which two may be grower-handlers from Arizona who otherwise qualify pursuant to Section 66532, and one is a person who is neither a producer nor a handler and who is appointed specifically to represent the public generally.

The director may require the commission to correct or cease any activity or function which is determined by the director not to be in the public interest or is in violation of this chapter.

If the commission refuses or fails to cease such activities or functions or to make such corrections as required by the director, the director may, upon written notice, suspend all or a portion of the activities of the commission until such time that the cessation or correction of activities or functions as required by the director have been accomplished.

Any written notice, to cease any such activity which is the subject of a contract of the commission entered into by the commission prior to such notice, shall not be effective until after the period of notice for termination provided in such contract or 120 days whichever is shorter.

Upon service of the written notice, the director shall notify the commission in writing, of the specific acts which he determines are not in the public interest or are in violation of this chapter.

Either party may bring an action for judicial relief in a court of competent jurisdiction, which may issue a temporary restraining order, permanent injunction, or other applicable relief.

The public member is appointed to the commission by the director from nominees recommended by the commission.

The commission shall be and is hereby declared and created a corporate body. It shall have the power to sue and be sued, to contract and be contracted with, and to have and possess all of the powers of a corporation. It shall adopt a corporate seal. Copies of its proceedings, records, and acts, when certified by the secretary, shall be admissible in evidence in all courts of the state, and shall be prima facie evidence of the truth of all statements therein.

The commission may appoint a president, a treasurer, a secretary, and any other necessary personnel to carry out this chapter. The compensation of each officer shall be fixed by the commission. No officer shall be a member of the commission.

Except as provided in Section 66561, each member of the commission is required to be a citizen and a resident of this state. Additionally:

Each of the five districts is represented by the following number of handlers:

The regular term of office for handler members of the commission is three years, commencing April 1 of any year in which they are appointed, and, except with respect to the first of the members, each serves as follows:

Members-at-large and the public representative shall serve 3-year terms.

Each handler member for each district shall be elected by a plurality of votes cast by handlers in the district. Each handler who has handled iceberg lettuce in the district in which he is qualified to vote during the year preceding any election shall be entitled to one vote for each membership position apportioned to such district and for which the election is being held. In the event of a tie vote, there shall be another election to resolve the tie vote. The district in which a handler is qualified to vote shall be the district of his headquarters unless, upon application, he is certified to vote in a different district in which he handled iceberg lettuce during the preceding year.

Each member-at-large and the public member are persons nominated for appointment by the handler members of the commission and appointed by the director. Any nomination requires a plurality of votes cast by the handler members. When any positions later become vacant for any reason or cause, proceedings to fill the vacancy are the same as for the initial appointments and are undertaken at the next meeting of the commission after the position is vacated.

Immediately after January 1, 1978, the director shall establish a list of handlers in each district. Such list of handlers may be established from lists of such persons whose names and addresses appear on file in the department.

The commission or the director, in preparing a list of handlers to be used pursuant to this chapter, may omit from the list any person who functions as a handler, but who handles less than 250,000 pounds of iceberg lettuce during a marketing season. Any person so omitted from the list is not subject to this chapter, including the payment of any assessments, and is not qualified as a handler under this chapter. Any person omitted from a list pursuant to this section may be included on any subsequent list if found qualified as a handler at the time of preparing the list.

Lists of handlers may be obtained whenever and in the manner that the director deems necessary or advisable, including for the purpose of checking, comparing, or correcting the lists. The handler list shall, subject to any proper corrections, be final and conclusive in making determinations relative to the number and qualifications of handlers entitled to vote for commissioners.

Any handler, whose name does not appear on the director’s list of handlers, but who is otherwise qualified to participate in the commission activities, may have his or her name established thereon by filing with the director a signed statement advising that he or she handled iceberg lettuce in the immediately preceding marketing season and giving the quantity handled in each district and the quantity introduced into trade.

Upon establishment of lists of handlers, the director shall call meetings of handlers in each district for the purpose of nominating persons to be appointed to the office of commissioner. At each district meeting for the nomination of members, the director, or an authorized representative thereof, shall preside and receive nominations and, at the conclusion of each meeting, shall announce the names of persons nominated at the meeting and the time, the manner, and instructions for voting by mail. Thereafter, within 10 days after the final district meeting, the director shall mail to all handlers ballots for the election of members in the respective districts, with instructions for voting by mail. All ballots are required to be returned to the director and mailed for delivery within 10 days after issuance by the director.

Upon expiration of the voting period the director shall tabulate all votes and shall announce the names of those persons nominated for appointment as handler members of the commission from each district and shall appoint the nominees as members of the commission.

Nonreceipt of notice of a meeting for the nomination of commissioners or of ballots shall not invalidate any such meeting, nomination, or election.

The commission shall compile and maintain a list of qualified handlers.