Cal. Food & Agric. Code § 58935

For the convenience of making collections of any producer assessments which are established pursuant to this article, the director may collect such assessments from the handlers of the commodity which is being regulated. Any handler that pays any such assessments for and on behalf of any producer may deduct such producer assessments from any money which is owed by such handler to such producer. Any marketing order may require a handler to deduct producer assessments from any money which is owed by such handler to such producer. Such producer assessment deductions are hereby declared to be trust funds held by the handler for the purposes of the marketing order concerned and shall be remitted timely, with assessment reports, to the director.