SECTIONS 5021-5029 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 5021-5029

5021. Unless otherwise provided, any treatment which may be
required pursuant to this division is at the risk and at the expense
of the owner or person in charge or in possession of the property
which is treated at the time of treatment.

5022. This division shall not be construed to conflict with any
other law which provides for the extermination or control of ground
squirrels or other animal pests. If any proceedings are commenced,
however, pursuant to this division, this division and no other law
applies to such proceedings.

5023. The commissioner, whenever necessary, may enter and make an
inspection of any premises, plant, conveyance, or thing in his
jurisdiction.

5024. (a) The secretary or the commissioner shall, during the
maintenance of any quarantine established by the secretary pursuant
to Article 1 (commencing with Section 5301) of Chapter 5, inspect any
plant or thing that is, or is liable to be, infested or infected by,
or which might act as a carrier of, any pest. The person who
conducts the inspection shall not permit any of those plants or
things to pass over the quarantine line during the quarantine, except
pursuant to a certificate of inspection and release that is signed
by that person.
(b) Whenever the commissioner finds that a plant or thing does
not, and will not, present a threat to the state, the commissioner
may recommend to the secretary the waiver of, and the secretary may
waive, the inspection and certification requirements specified in
subdivision (a).

5025. The Regents of the University of California may collect and,
subject to the provisions of Section 6305, import into this state
from foreign countries, parasitic and predaceous insects for use in
the control of insect pests of horticultural and agricultural crops
and of livestock. The regents may, for this purpose, employ and send
abroad experts who shall be allowed, in addition to their
compensation, their necessary subsistence, traveling, and other
expenses incidental to the performance of their duties.

5025.5. (a) The department, in consultation with the University of
California, the United States Department of Agriculture, and members
of the scientific community with expertise in exotic pest managment,
shall conduct a study on the desirability and feasibility of
establishing an Exotic Pest Research Containment Facility, which
shall, as a primary function, conduct exotic pest research and
perform additional activities with respect to the administration,
training, service, and diagnostics relating to exotic pests. The
research of the facility shall emphasize flexibility and adaptability
to accommodate technological advances and research into new exotic
pest problem areas. The study shall include, but not be limited to,
the following:
(1) The availability of funding for the facility from federal,
state, local, and private sources.
(2) Whether to locate the facility within or outside of
California.
(3) Protocol for access to and operation of the facility.
(b) The department shall report its findings and recommendations
to the Legislature, not later than January 1, 1992.

5026. (a) The director may overrule a local agency's ordinance or
regulation where that ordinance or regulation would prevent or
inhibit an eradication effort. The director may act under this
section only when the Governor has declared a state of emergency
relating to the eradication effort and the effect of the local
ordinance or regulation will be to threaten agriculture on a
statewide basis, to materially interfere with the ability of the
director or the commissioner to eradicate a pest, or where the pest
is of such a nature that it could rapidly spread to other areas
beyond the boundaries of the local agency.
(b) "Local agency" means any public agency, other than a state
agency, board, or commission and includes, but is not limited to,
cities (chartered or otherwise), counties, and special districts.

5027. Unless otherwise expressly provided, a violation of any
provision of this division is a misdemeanor.

5028. (a) Any person who intentionally violates any state or
federal quarantine law or regulation is liable civilly as provided in
Sections 5310 and 5311, and subdivision (c) of this section, and is
subject to criminal or civil penalties, or both, pursuant to the
Unfair Practices Act (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 17000) of
Part 2 of Division 7) of the Business and Professions Code.
(b) Either of the following factual findings shall constitute
prima facie evidence that a violation of any state or federal
quarantine law or regulation pursuant to subdivision (a) is an
intentional violation:
(1) A violation of Section 6401 and possession of a shipment,
plant, or thing that is regulated by a state or federal quarantine
law or regulation and that has not been inspected and released by a
federal, state, or county quarantine official in either of the
following circumstances:
(A) The plant or thing is found concealed from view.
(B) The person in possession has been found repeatedly in
possession of those plants or things.
(2) A combination of findings showing that a person is in
possession of a shipment, plant, or thing that is regulated by a
state or federal quarantine law or regulation and that was
fraudulently or secretly brought into the state and the person in
possession is engaged in a business or other commercial activity
where a reasonable expectation exists that the person was aware of
the state or federal quarantine laws or regulations.
(c) Any person who negligently or intentionally violates any state
or federal law or regulation, including any quarantine regulation,
by importing any plant, or other article, that, by virtue of being
pest or disease infested, causes an infestation of a plant, pest, or
disease, or causes an existing infestation to spread beyond any
quarantine boundaries, is liable civilly in a sum not to exceed
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each act that constitutes
a violation of the law or regulation.
(d) The Attorney General, upon request of the secretary, shall
petition the superior court to impose, assess, and recover the sum
imposed pursuant to subdivision (c). In determining the amount to be
imposed, the court shall take into consideration all relevant
circumstances, including, but not limited to, the extent of harm
caused by the violation and the nature and persistence of the
violation.
(e) The remedy under this section is in addition to, and does not
supersede or limit, any and all other remedies, civil or criminal,
that are otherwise available to the state.
(f) Any funds recovered pursuant to this section shall be
deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund for
emergency pest or disease exclusion, detection, eradication, or
research of agricultural plant or animal pests or diseases. These
funds may be allocated to cover costs related to the enforcement of
this division. These funds are in addition to any funds appropriated
for those purposes pursuant to Section 224.

5029. (a) The department, in consultation with the State Department
of Health Services, shall design and implement a program to provide
information to persons who reside in areas scheduled to be treated
with pesticides on an emergency basis in order to eradicate plant
pests.
(b) The purpose of this program is to provide information about
the health effects of the pesticides used in eradication projects.
The program shall be designed to provide the greatest amount of
information practicable to affected citizens. The department shall
conduct outreach efforts to inform the public about the existence of
this program.