There is in the state government the California Sea Urchin Commission. The commission shall be composed of 11 voting members, including five sea urchin handlers, five sea urchin divers, and one public member, and may include any number of nonvoting members, at the discretion of the commission.

(a) Handlers shall elect five commission members from among those persons qualified pursuant to this act and licensed pursuant to the Fish and Game Code to engage in the sea urchin fishery or a person specifically representing one or more handlers.

(b) (1) Divers statewide shall elect five persons from among those persons qualified pursuant to this act and licensed pursuant to the Fish and Game Code to engage in the sea urchin fishery.

(2) One diver member shall be elected from each of the following areas:

(A) San Diego County.

(B) Orange or Los Angeles County.

(C) Ventura County.

(D) Santa Barbara County.

(E) Sonoma or Mendocino County.

(3) Persons nominated for election to the commission as a diver member shall be nominated by a petition signed by not less than five divers eligible to vote pursuant to this chapter.

(c) The public member shall be appointed to the commission by the secretary from nominees recommended by the commission.

(d) The secretary and other appropriate individuals, as determined by the commission, shall be nonvoting members of the commission.

(e) If the secretary finds, pursuant to Section 79103, that either the divers or handlers, but not both, have voted in favor of the referendum, the number of commission voting members shall be six, composed of either five divers or five handlers, depending on which portion of the industry voted in favor of the referendum, elected pursuant to this section and one public member.

(f) If the composition of the commission is determined by subdivision (e) it shall also include at least one nonvoting member appointed by the commission representing either divers or handlers, whichever did not vote in favor of the referendum.

(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 499, Sec. 22. Effective January 1, 2007.)