Olives Grown in California; Modification to Handler Membership on the California Olive Committee

This rule invites comments on modifications to the handler membership on the California Olive Committee (Committee). The Committee locally administers the California olive marketing order (order) which regulates the handling of olives grown in California. The Committee is composed of 16 industry members of which 8 are producers and 8 are handlers. Current handler membership is allocated between cooperative marketing organizations and independent handlers (handlers not affiliated with cooperatives), and the number of handler members that may be affiliated with any one handler is limited to two. This rule removes the distinction between cooperative and independent handlers, removes the limitation on handler affiliation, and reallocates handler membership on the basis of the total quantity of olives handled. These modifications will allow two vacant handler member positions on the Committee to be filled. This rule was unanimously recommended by the Committee.