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

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

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

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

Either the commission or the secretary 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.

and elected, a handler or alternate handler shall handle no less than 1 percent of the total industry volume of avocados in the preceding marketing year. A handler elected to the commission pursuant to this section shall be required to maintain their eligibility under this section during their entire term of office.

their alternate member on the commission shall have all the powers, rights, and privileges of any other member on the commission.

and until their successors are

qualified.

members from each district,

the terms of the members shall continue to be staggered, as provided in this subdivision.

The commission shall have the power to sue and be sued and to contract and be contracted with.

Copies of its proceedings, records, and acts, when certified by an officer, are admissible in evidence in all courts of the state, and are prima facie evidence of the truth of all statements therein.

The commission may appoint its own officers, including a chair, one or more vice chair, and other officers it deems necessary. The officers shall have the powers and duties as may be delegated to them by the commission.

The commission shall have the power to appoint committees composed of both members and nonmembers of the commission to advise the commission in carrying out this chapter.

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.

The secretary or the secretary’s representatives shall be notified and may attend each meeting of the commission.

A member, alternate member, or member of a committee who is a nonmember of the commission shall not receive a

salary, but may receive a sum of not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) per day, as established by the commission, for each day spent in actual attendance at or in traveling to and from meetings of the commission or committees of the commission, or on authorized assignment for the commission, together with the necessary traveling expenses and meal allowances, as approved by the commission.

All moneys received by any person from the assessments levied under the authority of this chapter or otherwise received by the commission, shall be deposited in such financial institutions as the commission may designate and shall be disbursed by order of the commission through a member, officer, or employee designated for that purpose. Any such person shall be bonded by a fidelity bond, executed by a surety company authorized to transact business as such in the State of California, in favor of the commission, conditioned upon the strict accounting of all funds of the commission in the penal sum of not less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).

The state is not liable for the acts of the commission or its contracts, except for state-directed supervision of the avocado inspection program, as specified in Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 44971) of Division 17, which is performed under an agreement that specifies that each of the parties shall be responsible and liable for that party’s decisions made pursuant to the agreement, and that each of the parties shall not be held liable by the other party for the decisions made pursuant to the agreement. Payment of all claims arising by reason of the administration of this chapter or acts of the commission shall be limited to the funds collected by the commission. A member of the commission or alternate member, or any employee or agent thereof, shall not be personally

liable on the contracts of the commission nor shall a member, alternate member, or employee of the commission be responsible individually in any way to a producer or handler or any other person for error in judgment, mistakes, or other acts, either of commission or omission, as principal, agent, or employee, except for their own individual acts of dishonesty or crime. A member or alternate member shall not be held responsible individually for any act or omission of any member of the commission. The liability of the members and alternate members shall be several and not joint, and a member or alternate member shall not be liable for the default of any other members or alternate members.