The secretary is the instrumentality of this state for the purpose of administering and enforcing this chapter and to execute the legislative intent expressed in this chapter, and is hereby vested with the administrative authority specified in this chapter.

The secretary may exercise any or all of the powers conferred by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11150) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code upon the head of a department with respect to hearings and investigations under this chapter.

For purposes of enforcing this chapter, the secretary may investigate any and all transactions between producers and handlers, between nonprofit cooperative associations and producers, and among handlers. For that purpose, the secretary shall have access to, and may enter at all reasonable hours, any place where milk is being stored, bottled, or manufactured and where milk is being bought, sold, or handled, or where the books, papers, records, or documents that relate to those transactions are kept. The secretary may inspect and copy those books, papers, records, or documents at any place within the state.

Any order of the secretary made pursuant to this chapter that substantially affects the rights of any directly affected party shall be subject to judicial review upon petition to the appropriate court. The petition shall be filed within 30 days after the effective date of the order.

Any producer who recovers from the fund shall subrogate to the secretary all rights of recovery against any person or organization, and the producer shall execute and deliver to the secretary instruments and papers and perform any other acts necessary to carry out this section.

Any payments made to producers from the fund due to a handler’s default shall accrue interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum from the date of payment. The payments and accrued interest is a judgment against the defaulting handler. The judgment shall be considered a lien on all real and personal property of the defaulting handler. The secretary may file the lien for record with any county recorder where a defaulting handler’s property is located and shall specify the amount owed, the name of the handler, the federal social security number or the federal employer tax number if known, and the last known address of the handler. The lien shall remain in full force and effect until the handler has repaid to the fund an amount equal

to the default.