Title FAC — California Food & Agric. Code

The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following: (a) The introduction of Mexican fruit flies into California presents a serious threat to California’s economy. (b) The use of alternative methods for pest control is generally preferred to the aerial application of p…

The director may establish and operate a facility outside of this state to produce sterile Mexican fruit flies or enter into an agreement with any other public or private entity to jointly establish and operate the facility.

Any contract entered into by the department to determine the appropriate location, select a suitable facility, or prepare preliminary plans and working drawings is exempt from the Public Contract Code.

It is hereby declared that the cotton industry of this state is threatened with the invasion of cotton boll weevil and pink bollworm of cotton. These two pests, if established in this state, will cause losses of several million dollars per year to this state’s number one field cr…

The director, or an entity designated by the Cotton Pest Control Board, may contract with the United States Department of Agriculture for the purpose of controlling, suppressing, or eradicating cotton boll weevil or pink bollworm in this state, the State of Arizona, or the Republ…

“First handler” means the first person who, as owner, agent, or broker, purchases, or otherwise acquires from a grower, possession or control of cotton.

(a) Every grower of cotton in the state shall pay a fee of three dollars ($3) for each bale of cotton ginned or for each bale of cotton sold by a grower in this state who received the cotton under the federal payment-in-kind program, Section 700 et seq. of Title 7 of the Code of …

The director shall appoint a Cotton Pest Control Board, consisting of 10 members, to assist and advise him or her on matters which pertain to the control of cotton pests and to carry out its authority specified in this article. The membership shall consist of at least one cottong…

It is hereby declared, as a matter of legislative determination, that cottongrowers appointed to the Cotton Pest Control Board pursuant to this article are intended to represent and further the interest of a particular agricultural industry concerned, and that such representation…

Any decision made by the Cotton Pest Control Board which results in an entity other than the department administering this article shall be made not later than May 1 of any year.

If the director receives a report from the executive officer of the State Department of Health Services which states that field rodents in a certain area carry, or are likely to carry, any disease, insect, or other vector of any disease which is transmissible and injurious to hum…

The commissioner shall cooperate in suppressing field rodents and insects, or other associated vectors of rodent-borne diseases transmissible and injurious to humans.

The director shall cooperate by entering into an agreement pursuant to Section 482 for the purpose of suppressing the field rodents and insects or other associated vectors in the reported areas and in neighboring areas, to prevent the spread of the rodents and insects, or other a…

In order to carry out the purposes of this article, the director or commissioner may enter upon any and all premises within any reported area or neighboring area to bait, trap, expose chemically treated baits, or perform any act which he deems necessary for the purpose of suppres…

The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following: (a) The continued viability of the agricultural economy is of paramount importance to the people of this state. (b) Vertebrate pests cause an estimated two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) damage to agricultura…

For purposes of this article, “vertebrate pest” means any specie of mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, or fish that causes damage to agricultural, natural, or industrial resources, or to any other resource, and to the public health or safety.

For purposes of this article, “research” means basic and applied research. Basic research is experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundation of phenomena and observable facts, without any particular application or use in…

Notwithstanding Section 597u of the Penal Code, carbon monoxide may be used for the control of burrowing rodent pests, provided the following conditions are met: (a) The carbon monoxide delivery device shall be permanently affixed with a warning label in plain view of the operato…

(a) The secretary shall establish and administer a research program to control vertebrate pests that pose a significant threat to the welfare of the state’s agricultural economy, infrastructure, and the public. (b) The specific purposes of the program include all of the following…

The secretary shall establish the Vertebrate Pest Control Research Advisory Committee consisting of the following members, appointed by the secretary, to serve at the pleasure of the secretary: (a) One representative of the department. (b) One representative of the California Agr…

On or before December 31 of each year, the committee shall recommend to the secretary priorities for conducting various vertebrate pest control research projects and the amount of the assessment necessary to carry out those research projects.

There is hereby created the Vertebrate Pest Control Research Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the money in the account is continuously appropriated to the secretary for purposes of carrying out this arti…

Expenditure of funds pursuant to this article shall be limited to the following: (a) Reasonable administrative and operational expenses of the committee and the department, subject to the recommendation of an annual budget by the committee and approval by the secretary. (b) Feder…

During the calendar year, each commissioner shall pay to the secretary a fee not to exceed fifty cents ($0.50) per pound of vertebrate pest control material sold, distributed, or applied by the county for vertebrate pest control purposes, less the amount necessary to recover the …

The assessment payments required pursuant to Section 6027.5, together with a report of the amount of vertebrate pest control materials sold, distributed, or applied during the previous six-month period, shall be made biannually by each commissioner to the secretary within one cal…

This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2035, and as of that date is repealed.

The necessity of controlling beet leafhopper, the only known vector of the curly top virus, is recognized by the Legislature as being in the public benefit. The state’s agricultural business economy could be seriously damaged if measures are not continued to prevent the transmitt…

As used in this article “handler” means any person that engages in the operation of selling, marketing, or processing any of the crops vulnerable to damage from curly top virus, as covered by this chapter, which he or she has purchased, or acquired from a producer or which he or …

Except as otherwise provided in this article, the assessment collected from producers by handlers or due from producer-handlers shall be paid by the handlers or producer-handlers to the secretary as provided by regulations of the secretary.

(a) Any assessment that is imposed on the producer pursuant to this article is a personal debt of the producer. (b) Every handler or producer-handler is personally liable for the payment of the assessment. The failure of the handler or producer-handler to collect the assessment d…

For the purpose of assessment, the following districts are established: District I, Imperial and Riverside Counties; District II, Kern, Kings, Tulare, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin Counties, and that portion of Los Angeles County lying north of the San Gabri…

The secretary may establish the rate of assessment by district and crop and may adjust the assessment rate from time to time, whenever necessary as provided in Section 6036.

The assessment rate may vary from district to district and from crop to crop based on the degree of vulnerability to damage from curly top virus experienced by those crops in those districts. The rates may also vary in accordance with the protection afforded to those crops in tho…

Any money which is received by the director pursuant to this article shall be deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund to be used for the administration and enforcement of this article.

The director may receive moneys from other sources for this program, which shall be deposited into the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund and used to carry out the purposes of this article.

The secretary shall appoint a Curly Top Virus Control Board consisting of nine members. The membership shall consist of at least one representative of each of the primary crop commodities assessed and shall include representation from each of the districts assessed. The secretary…

It is hereby declared, as a matter of legislative determination, that persons appointed to the Curly Top Virus Control Board pursuant to Section 6039 are intended to represent and further the interest of a particular agricultural industry concerned, and that such representation a…

Board members shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the board shall be advisory to the secretary and may make recommendations on all matters pertaining to this article including, but not limited to, the annual budget, the adoption, modification, and repeal of regulations and procedures, t…

The board shall meet at the call of its chairman or the secretary or at the request of any three members of the board. The board shall meet at least once a year. Members of the board shall be allowed per diem and mileage in accordance with rules of the Department of Human Resourc…

Upon termination of this article, any remaining funds received pursuant to this article shall be refunded on a pro rata basis to all persons from whom assessments were collected during the 12-month period preceding the date of termination, unless the secretary finds the amounts s…

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that the plant killing bacterium, Xyella Fastidiosa, and the resulting pathogen, Pierce’s disease, and its vectors present a clear and present danger to California’s sixty-billion-dollar grape industry, as well as to many other commodities a…

(a) There is hereby created in the department the Pierce’s Disease Control Program. (b) The secretary shall appoint a statewide coordinator and provide an appropriate level of support staffing and logistical support for combating Pierce’s disease and its vectors. (c) (1) There is…

The secretary may establish, maintain, and enforce regulations consistent with the intent of the Legislature as expressed in this article as may be necessary to interpret, clarify, or implement this article. This authority shall be liberally construed to effectuate the intent of …

The Legislature finds and declares the following: (a) The state’s agricultural business economy could be seriously damaged if measures are not taken to prevent the transmittal of the plant killing bacterium that causes Pierce’s disease and to contain its vectors, particularly the…

(a) All assessments payable under this article shall be remitted to the department no later than January 31 of each year. The department shall deposit the assessments remitted into the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund. (b) In no event shall any proprietary information spec…

The general provisions of the laws of this state, prescribing the requirements for and manner of levying and collecting county taxes and the duties of the several county officers with respect to levying and collecting county taxes, are, so far as they are applicable and not in co…

The revenue from the assessments imposed pursuant to this article by the district are trust funds and shall be encumbered only for the purposes for which the district is formed and for the benefit of the acreage assessed. The district shall expend the minimum amount necessary for…

(a) The county treasury shall be the repository of all the moneys of the district. The county treasurer shall receive and receipt for all those moneys, and place them to the credit of the district. (b) The county treasurer shall be responsible upon his or her official bond for th…

If a consolidated district includes parts of two or more counties, the repository of all money of the district shall be the county treasury of the county in which is located the largest area of table grape acreage of the district. Money collected for the use of the district in an…