ARTICLE 3. The California Spiny Lobster Commission [79160. - 79168.]

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC 3.

in effect

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79160. Section 79160.

(a) There is in the state government the California Spiny Lobster Commission. The commission shall be composed of six fishermen members and one public member. The secretary and other appropriate persons, as determined by the appointed commissioners, shall serve as ex officio members. (b) The fishermen members of the commission shall be elected as follows: (1) One fisherman member shall be elected by the fishermen in that county from each of the following counties: (A) County of San Diego. (B) County of Orange. (C) County of Ventura. (D) County of Santa Barbara. (E) County of Los Angeles. (2) One at-large member who is a qualified fisherman from any county shall be elected by all fishermen statewide. (c) Persons nominated for election to the commission as a fisherman member shall submit a petition signed by not less than five fishermen. (d) The public member shall be appointed to the commission by the secretary from nominees recommended by the commission.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79160.5. Section 79160.5.

(a) The secretary may require the commission to correct or cease any existing activity or function that is determined by the secretary not to be in the public interest or that is in violation of this chapter. (b) If the commission refuses or fails to cease those activities or functions or to make the corrections as required by the secretary, the secretary, upon written notice, may suspend all or a portion of the activities or functions of the commission until the time that the cessation or correction of the activities or functions as required by the secretary has been accomplished by the commission. (c) Actions of the commission in violation of the written notice are without legal force or effect. The secretary, to the extent feasible, shall issue the written notice prior to the commission entering into any contractual relationship affecting the existing or proposed activities or functions that are the subject of the written notice. (d) Upon service of the written notice, the secretary shall notify the commission in writing of the specific acts that the secretary determines are not in the public interest or are in violation of this chapter, his or her reasons for requiring a cessation or correction of specific existing or proposed activities or functions, and recommendations that will make the activities or functions acceptable.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79161. Section 79161.

The commission or the secretary may bring an action for judicial relief from the secretary’s written notice or from noncompliance by the commission with the written notice, as the case may be, in a court of competent jurisdiction, which may issue a temporary restraining order, permanent injunction, or other applicable relief.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79161.5. Section 79161.5.

When the secretary is required to concur in a decision of the commission, the secretary shall give his or her response to the commission within 15 working days from the notification of the decision. The secretary’s response may be a requirement that additional information be provided.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79162. Section 79162.

The commission shall reimburse the secretary for all expenditures incurred by the secretary in carrying out his or her duties and responsibilities pursuant to this chapter. However, a court, if it finds that the secretary acted arbitrarily or capriciously in restricting the activities or functions of the commission, may relieve the commission of the responsibility for the payment of the secretary’s legal costs with regard to that action.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79162.5. Section 79162.5.

Alternates for regular members may be elected in the same manner as members. An alternate, in the absence of the member for whom he or she is substituting, shall serve in place of a member and shall have and be able to exercise all the rights, privileges, and powers of a member when serving on the commission. In the event a change in status makes a member ineligible to serve or due to the death, removal, resignation, or disqualification of a member, an alternate shall act as a member of the commission until a qualified successor is elected or appointed.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79163. Section 79163.

A vacancy on the commission occurring by the failure of a person elected to the commission as a member or alternate to continue in his or her position due to a change in status making him or her ineligible to serve or due to death, removal, or resignation shall be filled by another eligible person for the unexpired portion of the term by a majority vote of the remaining members of the commission. The person shall fulfill all the qualifications set forth in this article as required for the person whose office he or she is to occupy.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79163.5. Section 79163.5.

Any vacancy on the commission occurring by the failure of the public member to continue in his or her position due to a change in status making him or her ineligible to serve or due to death, removal, resignation, or disqualification shall be filled by another eligible person for the unexpired portion of the term by the secretary from nominees recommended by the commission. The person shall fulfill all the qualifications set forth in this article as required for the member whose office he or she is to occupy.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79164. Section 79164.

A fisherman shall not be eligible to be elected to the commission as a member or alternate if he or she has been convicted of a violation of any law related to commercial fishing, not including any technical reporting or paperwork violation, within two years of seeking election to the commission and shall be immediately disqualified from serving on the commission if he or she is convicted during his or her term of service on the commission.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79164.5. Section 79164.5.

The public member and his or her alternate member on the commission shall have all the powers, rights, and privileges of any other member or alternate, respectively, on the commission. The public member and his or her alternate member shall not have a financial interest in the spiny lobster fishery.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79165. Section 79165.

(a) The term of office of all members and alternates on the commission, except ex officio members, shall be three years from the beginning of the fishery season in the year of their election and may serve not more than two consecutive terms. Following the final term, a member may serve until a qualified successor is elected. (b) A member or alternate who has served the maximum number of sequential years authorized by this section shall be again eligible for election to the commission following a period of not less than 12 months during which he or she has not served as a member.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79165.5. Section 79165.5.

The commission may sue and be sued and enter into contracts. Copies of its proceedings, records, and acts, when authenticated, shall be admissible in evidence in all courts of the state, and shall be prima facie evidence of the truth of all statements within the proceedings, records, and acts.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79166. Section 79166.

A quorum of the commission shall be four voting members, including at least four fishermen members. Except as provided in Section 79196.5, the vote of a majority of members present at a meeting at which there is a quorum shall constitute the act of the commission.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79166.5. Section 79166.5.

The secretary or his or her representative shall be notified and may attend each meeting of the commission and any committee meetings of the commission. However, the secretary or his or her representative is not entitled to attend an executive session of the commission or a committee of the commission called for the purpose of discussing potential or actual litigation against the department.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79167. Section 79167.

A member or alternate of the commission or member of a committee established by the commission who is a nonmember of the commission shall not receive a salary. Each member of the commission and each alternate serving in place of a member, except ex officio members who are officers or employees of a public agency, and each member of a committee established by the commission who is a nonmember of the commission, may receive reasonable and necessary traveling expenses and meal allowances as approved 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 special assignment for the commission.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79167.5. Section 79167.5.

(a) All moneys received by the commission or an agent of the commission from the assessments levied under this chapter or otherwise received by the commission shall be deposited in accounts that the commission may designate and the secretary shall approve. Commission moneys shall be expended for the purposes of this chapter only and shall be disbursed by order of the commission through an agent or agents as it may designate for that purpose. The agent or agents shall be bonded by a fidelity bond, executed by a surety company authorized to transact business in this state, in favor of the commission, in an amount of not less than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000). (b) Moneys that exceed the amount necessary for the annual operations of the commission and a prudent reserve may be invested by the commission.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 79168. Section 79168.

The state is not liable for the acts of the commission or its contracts. Payments of all claims arising by reason of the administration of this chapter or acts of the commission are limited to the moneys collected by the commission. A member or alternate of the commission, or any employee or agent thereof, shall not be personally liable for the contracts of the commission. A member or alternate of the commission, or any employee or agent thereof, shall not be responsible individually in any way to any other person for errors in judgment, mistakes, or other acts, either of commission or omission, as principal, agent, or employee, except for his or her own individual acts of dishonesty or crime. A member or alternate of the commission, or any employee or agent thereof, shall not be responsible individually for any act or omission of any other member or alternate of the commission, or any employee or agent thereof. Liability is several and not joint, and a member or alternate of the commission, or any employee or agent thereof, shall not be liable for the default of any other member or alternate of the commission, or any employee or agent thereof.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026