20-9.008. Utilization of Certificate of Deposit or Letter of Credit in Lieu of Bond

(1) A handler wishing to post a certificate of deposit in lieu of a cash or surety bond to guarantee the payment of citrus assessments to the Department of Citrus, shall purchase such certificate in an amount to be determined according to the criteria as set forth in subsection 20-9.005(2), F.A.C. The certificate of deposit shall have the same face principal value as if a surety bond had been posted.

(2) Any certificate of deposit offered under this provision shall be issued either by a national or Florida chartered bank or savings and loan association and the face amount of such certificate shall be fully insured by the appropriate federal insurance corporation.

(3) The certificate of deposit shall be issued in the name of the licensed handler accompanied by an executed assignment of such handler’s interest in the certificate in favor of the State of Florida, Department of Citrus on the Assignment form – CIT/REV/07 7-11-07, incorporated by reference in subsection 20-100.004(38), F.A.C., http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-01953, and a letter from the issuing bank acknowledging the assignment of the certificate of deposit to the State of Florida, Department of Citrus. Such assignment shall be irrevocable for the period from the beginning of the citrus shipping season for which the certificate is submitted or from the date of submission of the certificate of deposit if occurring after commencement of the season, through September 1 of the following citrus season. The certificate of deposit may be reassigned by the Department of Citrus to such handler providing that all citrus assessments due and payable to the Department of Citrus by such handler during the term covered by the certificate shall have been paid to the Department in full. The conditions of the assignment from the handler to the Department of Citrus shall be that if the handler shall well and truly comply with the provisions of Florida law and Department of Citrus rules regarding the payment of citrus assessments, then the certificate of deposit subject to such assignment shall be reassigned by the Department of Citrus to the handler, otherwise said assignment to remain in full force and effect.

(4) All interest accruing on such certificate of deposit shall be paid directly to the handler and the handler shall register his federal employer tax number or other federal tax identification number with the financial institution issuing such certificate.

(5) A handler may reassign existing certificates of deposit to the Department of Citrus for subsequent years, provided all assessment liabilities for the current season have been satisfied. A separate certificate of deposit for the required amount of the bond otherwise called for must be assigned to the Department of Citrus for each citrus shipping season for which the handler desires to utilize this alternate procedure.

(6) A handler wishing to post a Letter of Credit in lieu of a cash or surety bond to guarantee the payment of citrus assessments to the Department of Citrus shall provide a good and sufficient letter of credit from a United States financial institution and in an amount to be determined according the criteria set forth in subsection 20-9.005(2), F.A.C. The letter of credit shall have the same face principal value as if a surety bond had been posted and a new letter of credit shall be posted for each current season.

Rulemaking Authority 601.10(1), 601.15(1) FS. Law Implemented 601.15(6)(b) FS. History–New 2-1-81, Formerly 20-9.08, Amended 11-27-01, 11-28-12, 11-26-20.