“Processor” and “first handler” are synonymous and mean any person engaged, within this state, in the operation of hulling and drying pistachios that he or she has produced or purchased or acquired from a producer, or that he or she is hulling and drying on behalf of a producer, whether as owner, agent, employee, broker, or otherwise. “Processor” does not include, however, a retailer, except a retailer who purchases or acquires from, or hulls and dries on behalf of, any producer, pistachios that were not previously subject to regulation by the commission. When the processor is a corporation, all the directors and officers of the corporation in their capacity as individuals are included, and any liability for failure to collect or make payment of assessments to which a corporate processor may be subject pursuant to this chapter includes the same liability for each individual director or officer of the corporation.
(Amended by Stats. 1997, Ch. 726, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 1998.)