SECTIONS 221-227 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 221-227

221. The "Department of Food and Agriculture Fund," which is a
special fund, is continued in existence. Any money that is directed
by law to be paid into the fund shall be paid into it and, unless
otherwise specifically provided, shall be expended solely for the
enforcement of the law under which the money was derived. The
expenditure from the fund for the enforcement of any law shall not,
unless otherwise specifically provided, exceed the amount of money
that is credited to the fund pursuant to the law.
Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all money
deposited in the fund under the provisions enumerated below is hereby
continuously appropriated to the department without regard to fiscal
years for expenditure in carrying out the purposes for which the
money was deposited and for making the refunds authorized by Section
302.
All money deposited in the fund under the provisions enumerated
below is hereby exempted from Sections 13320 to 13324, inclusive, of
the Government Code:
(a) Article 7 (commencing with Section 5821) and Article 7.5
(commencing with Section 5850) of Chapter 8 of Part 1 of Division 4,
Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 6701) of Part 3 of Division 4, and
Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 53301) of Division 18.
(b) Article 5 (commencing with Section 6001) of Chapter 9 of Part
1 of Division 4.
(c) Article 8.5 (commencing with Section 6047.1) of Chapter 9 of
Part 1 of Division 4.
(d) Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 6971) and Article 5
(commencing with Section 6981) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 4.
(e) Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 14200), Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 14501), and Chapter 6 (commencing with
Section 14901) of Division 7.
(f) Part 1 (commencing with Section 16301) and Part 2 (commencing
with Section 17401) of Division 9.
(g) Sections 19225, 19227, 19312, and 19315.
(h) Division 10 (commencing with Section 20001).
(i) Division 11 (commencing with Section 23001).
(j) Part 4 (commencing with Section 27501) of Division 12.
(k) Division 16 (commencing with Section 40501).
(l) Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 44971) of Division 17.
(m) Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 52001) of Division 18.
(n) Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 52251) of Division 18.
(o) Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 52651) of Division 18.
(p) Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 52851) of Division 18.
(q) Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 55401), Chapter 7
(commencing with Section 56101), and Chapter 7.5 (commencing with
Section 56701) of Division 20.
(r) Section 58582.
(s) Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 61301), Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 61801), and Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 62700) of Part 3 of Division 21.
(t) Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 12531) of Division 5 of
the Business and Professions Code.
(u) Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 12700) of Division 5 of the
Business and Professions Code.
(v) Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 13400) and Chapter 15
(commencing with Section 13700) of Division 5 of the Business and
Professions Code.

221.1. (a) Notwithstanding Section 221, the department shall
establish all permanent positions with the Controller's office,
pursuant to standard state administrative practices.
(b) The department shall report to the chairs of the fiscal
committees of the Legislature and to the Legislative Analyst's office
on or before January 10, 2005, on the positions established pursuant
to subdivision (a) that have been funded by the department's general
authority. The report shall include a description of the positions
by program, classification, and source of funding, as well as a
complete description of the workload for the positions.

222. The director shall keep a separate record of the classes and
sources of income which are credited to, and disbursed from, the
Department of Food and Agriculture Fund.

223. A sum not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000)
may, upon approval of the Department of Finance, be withdrawn from
the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund to be used as a revolving
fund by the department for the purposes for which the Department of
Food and Agriculture Fund may be used.

224. Moneys transferred by the Controller to the Department of Food
and Agriculture Fund from the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account pursuant to
Section 8352.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code shall be expended by
the Secretary of Food and Agriculture as follows:
(a) Of the amount transferred each fiscal year, nine million
dollars ($9,000,000) is hereby appropriated to the Department of Food
and Agriculture for payment to the counties for pesticide use
enforcement programs supervised by the Director of Pesticide
Regulation. Reimbursement shall be apportioned to the counties in
relation to each county's expenditures to the total amount expended
by all counties for the preceding fiscal year for pesticide use
enforcement programs, as determined by the director, or with the
collective agreement of the agricultural commissioners, disbursement
to counties for a current fiscal year according to criteria developed
in work plans, or any combination of reimbursement and disbursement
as agreed upon by the director and the commissioners. The amount to
be transferred to any county for a fiscal year may be increased or
decreased by the director to compensate for incorrect previous
transfers to that county, or adjusted based on evaluations of annual
county Pesticide Enforcement Workplans conducted by the Department of
Pesticide Regulation.
(b) Of the amount transferred each fiscal year, two hundred fifty
thousand dollars ($250,000) is hereby appropriated to the Department
of Food and Agriculture for state and county liaison activities and
for departmental expenses directly related to administration of this
section.
(c) Of the amount transferred each fiscal year, one million five
hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) is hereby appropriated to the
department for divisional and departmental overhead charges to the
Department of Food and Agriculture.
(d) Of the amount transferred each fiscal year in excess of the
amount transferred in the 2006-07 fiscal year, 7 percent is hereby
appropriated to the department for full disbursement to individual
counties, in proportion to the distribution each county is to receive
pursuant to subdivision (g) to offset expenses associated with
programs, personnel, and materials that ensure the uniform
application of state agricultural policy or administer programs
supervised by the secretary.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, of the amount
transferred each fiscal year, three million dollars ($3,000,000) is
hereby appropriated for distribution to counties in a manner
prescribed by the secretary for pest detection or trapping programs.
These funds are intended to supplement funds available for pest
detection or trapping in the annual Budget Act. As a condition of
receiving these funds, counties shall not reduce their level of
support from any other funds for pest detection or trapping programs.
If a county declines to participate in a pest detection or trapping
program, or fails to conduct the program to the state's satisfaction,
the secretary shall reduce, by the amount that would otherwise be
allocated to the county, funds available pursuant to this subdivision
and any state allocations from the annual Budget Act. Those
forfeited funds are hereby appropriated to the Department of Food and
Agriculture for purposes of operating the pest detection or trapping
programs in those counties.
(f) (1) Of the amount transferred each fiscal year, three million
dollars ($3,000,000) is hereby appropriated to the Department of Food
and Agriculture to be used for emergency detection, investigation,
or eradication of agricultural plant or animal pests or diseases
during the fiscal year, upon approval of the Director of Finance. At
the end of each fiscal year, any unencumbered balance of these funds
shall be carried over to the next fiscal year, or at the discretion
of the secretary, may be used for planning and research involving
detection, investigation, eradication, and methods of quarantine
compliance for agricultural plant or animal pests or diseases.
(2) The department shall develop policies, in consultation with
the agricultural commissioners and in compliance with any
requirements of the annual Budget Act, to guide the ongoing use of
these funds.
(g) The total amount transferred during each fiscal year less the
amounts provided in subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, is hereby
appropriated to be paid to the counties for agricultural programs
authorized by this code that are supervised by the department and
administered by agricultural commissioners. Reimbursement shall be
apportioned to the counties in relation to each county's expenditures
to the total amount expended by all counties for the preceding
fiscal year for agricultural programs, as determined by the
secretary, or with the collective agreement of the agricultural
commissioners, disbursement to counties according to criteria
developed in work plans for a current fiscal year, or any combination
of reimbursement and disbursement as agreed upon by the secretary
and the commissioners. The amount to be transferred to any county for
a fiscal year may be increased or decreased by the secretary to
provide that, insofar as those transferred unclaimed refundable gas
tax funds for apportionment to the counties are available, no county
shall receive smaller combined apportionments of gas taxes and
unclaimed refundable gas taxes than that county would have received
had the gas taxes been apportioned without the transfer required by
Section 8352.5, as determined by the secretary, except that the
amount of unclaimed refundable gas tax funds to be transferred to any
county for a fiscal year may be increased or decreased by the
secretary to compensate for incorrect previous transfers to that
county, and to account for any failure to meet the criteria listed in
Section 224.5.
(h) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2008.

224.5. (a) In order to be eligible for the transfer specified in
subdivision (g) of Section 224, counties must meet all of the
following criteria, as determined by the secretary:
(1) Currently employ or contract with a licensed agricultural
commissioner.
(2) Submit annual agricultural expenditure reports to the
department in a timely manner.
(3) Maintain county general fund support for agricultural
commissioner services at least equal to the average amount expended
for the five preceding fiscal years, unless the county is facing
unusual economic hardship that precludes that support.
(b) In the event that a county does not meet the criteria listed
in subdivision (a) in a timely fashion, nothing shall preclude the
secretary from completing transfers only to those counties that have
met the criteria, while reserving funds for distribution to counties
that may later be determined to have met them, or to set a date
certain each fiscal year by which all available funds will be
distributed to the counties that have met the criteria.
(c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2008.

225. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on all funds
transferred from the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund and the
Acala Cotton Fund for any purpose other than to carry out or enforce
the law directly relating to the source of those funds, interest
shall be paid to the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund or the
Acala Cotton Fund which otherwise would have been earned if the funds
had not been transferred.

226. (a) Notwithstanding Section 11044 of the Government Code, the
sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) is hereby continuously
appropriated from the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund in
each fiscal year to the department for litigation expenses incurred
by the Bureau of Market Enforcement.
(b) At any time in a given fiscal year that the one hundred
thousand dollars ($100,000) appropriated for litigation costs in
subdivision (a) is completely expended, the Department of Food and
Agriculture Fund and the General Fund shall share additional
litigation costs on a basis of 20 percent paid by the Department of
Food and Agriculture Fund and 80 percent paid by the General Fund.
These additional funds are to be used only when the bureau or the
department is a defendant, or becomes a cross-defendant, in an action
relating to market enforcement.
(c) If a legal action is carried from one fiscal year to the next,
the costs incurred in the following year shall not be charged
against the one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) annually
allocated pursuant to subdivision (a) to the bureau, but instead
shall continue to be funded in the following years with 80 percent
being paid by the General Fund and 20 percent being paid by the
Department of Food and Agriculture Fund.
(d) In civil actions in which the bureau is a party, the
prevailing party may be awarded court costs and attorneys fees.

227. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in order to
avoid unnecessary charges and to provide for efficient program
implementation, the fees and assessments required by law to be paid
to the director or the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund to
support the agricultural programs specified in subdivision (b) of
Section 230, except those specified in Article 5 (commencing with
Section 6001) of Chapter 9 of Part 1 of Division 4, Article 8.5
(commencing with Section 6047.1) of Chapter 9 of Part 1 of Division
4, and Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 44971) of Division 17, may
be deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, or with
an entity that is (1) a bank or other depository approved by the
Department of Finance, (2) a marketing order board or commission
created pursuant to this code, or (3) another state agency,
designated by the agricultural program's advisory body, if any. The
fees and assessments required by law to be paid to the Department of
Food and Agriculture Fund in Article 8.5 (commencing with Section
6047.1) of Chapter 9 of Part 1 of Division 4 may be deposited in the
Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, or with an entity that is a
bank or other depository approved by the Department of Finance. The
director may designate that entity if an advisory body has not been
created by statute for an agricultural program. All unencumbered
funds in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund and the
Agriculture Trust Fund, including income therefrom, that have been
collected pursuant to the agricultural program may also be deposited
with the designated entity.
(b) The funds deposited with the designated entity shall be
expended exclusively for the purpose of implementing and continuing
the agricultural program for which they were collected.
(c) Prior to the deposit of any funds with an entity designated
pursuant to subdivision (a), the entity shall enter into an agreement
with the department that shall include, but not be limited to, all
of the following requirements:
(1) The entity shall serve as custodian for the safekeeping of the
funds.
(2) Funds deposited with the entity shall be encumbered for the
exclusive purpose of implementing and continuing the agricultural
program for which they were collected.
(3) Funds deposited with the entity shall be subject to an audit
at least once every two years by an auditor selected by the director.
A copy of the audit shall be provided to the director within 30 days
of completion of the audit.
(4) The department shall be reimbursed for all expenses it incurs
that are reasonably related to implementing and continuing the
agricultural program for which the funds were collected in accordance
with the agreement. With respect to the agricultural program created
in Article 8.5 (commencing with Section 6047.1) of Chapter 9 of Part
1 of Division 4, the department shall be limited to those
expenditures permitted under Section 6047.12. When practicable, as
determined by the department, the designated entity shall deposit
advance payments for these expenses with the department.
(5) The entity shall maintain a reserve in an amount sufficient to
pay for costs arising from unanticipated occurrences associated with
the administration of the program. Provided that, with respect to
the agricultural program created in Article 8.5 (commencing with
Section 6047.1) of Chapter 9 of Part 1 of Division 4, the reserve
shall include only an amount sufficient to pay for costs associated
with the administrative expenditures described in Section 6047.12,
and may be expended annually for those purposes.
(d) In transferring funds from the department to any entity
pursuant to subdivision (a), the director shall not be personally
liable in any way for errors in judgment, mistakes, or other acts,
either by commission or omission, except for his or her own
individual acts of dishonesty or crime.