SECTIONS 520-531 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 520-531

520. "University," as used in this article, means the University of
California.

521. It is the intent of the Legislature that the department
contract with the Regents of the University of California to operate
poultry and livestock disease laboratories pursuant to this article.
The central laboratory should be located next to the facilities of
the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of the University of
California at Davis, in order to take advantage of the expertise of
the veterinary specialists.

522. When a central diagnostic laboratory constructed on the Davis
campus of the university is ready for occupancy, the director shall
contract with the Regents of the University of California for its
School of Veterinary Medicine to establish and operate the California
Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory. The system shall be headed
by a director appointed by the Dean of the School of Veterinary
Medicine under applicable university hiring rules. The system shall
test, examine, and make diagnoses of infectious, nutritional, toxic,
metabolic, and other diseases of domestic animals.

523. The contract executed pursuant to this article shall provide
that the university maintain sufficient numbers of laboratories to
perform the functions contained in this article. The central
diagnostic laboratory shall be established on the Davis campus of the
university, and branch laboratories shall be operated as long as
these services are best performed at a branch laboratory, considering
the cost and quality of services.

524. (a) A central diagnostic laboratory building to be constructed
on the Davis campus of the university adjacent to the facilities of
the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, together with the equipment
necessary for a modern veterinary diagnostic laboratory, is hereby
specifically authorized. The department may include a request for
physical facilities planning and working drawings funds in its
1983-84 budget request and for construction funds in the 1984-85
budget request. The funds may be transferred, as appropriate, to the
university for planning, working drawings, and construction. Title to
the facility shall vest in the Regents of the University of
California, and the facility shall be dedicated for use as a
veterinary diagnostic laboratory so long as it is needed for that
purpose.
(b) Prior to completion of construction of a central diagnostic
laboratory on the Davis campus of the university, the director may
continue to provide interim laboratory services and to contract with
the university for diagnostic services which can be rendered more
effectively by the university. In order to assure the orderly
transfer of the veterinary diagnostic program from the department to
the university, a Transition Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
Administrative Committee is established. The committee shall consist
of the director or his or her designee, who will serve as chairman,
the Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine or his or her designee
who will serve as assistant chairman, and two additional members, one
appointed by the director and one by the dean. The committee shall
advise the department and the university on the operation of the
laboratories during the period prior to the diagnostic laboratory
system being fully transferred from the department to the university.

525. After the contract has been executed pursuant to Section 521,
the diagnostic functions of the regional laboratories maintained at
Petaluma and Sacramento shall be transferred to other laboratories in
the system and those two laboratories shall be closed.

526. The contract shall provide that the university, in
consultation with the department, shall establish a schedule of fees
to help defray the cost of operation of the laboratories.

527. The contract shall provide for all of the following services
which, when included in the department's budget, shall be provided
without charge:
(a) Services performed in the course of a department-approved
investigation of an animal health problem.
(b) Department-approved services provided to regulatory agencies.

528. The contract shall specify the accounting procedures to be
used and any reports necessary to assure compliance with state and
university requirements.

529. It is intended that the contractual arrangement between the
university and the department be of long-term duration. The
department's budget for the laboratories shall be reviewed annually.
A Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Board is hereby established,
consisting of representatives of the livestock and poultry industries
and practicing veterinarians who utilize the laboratory service. It
shall be appointed by the director in consultation with the Dean of
the School of Veterinary Medicine. The Chief of the Bureau of Animal
Health of the department, the Assistant Area Veterinarian in Charge
for California for the United States Department of Agriculture, and
the director of the California Animal Health and Food Safety
Laboratory created by this article shall be ex officio members. The
board shall advise the university and the department on all aspects
of the operation of the laboratories.

530. A member of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Board is
entitled to be paid his or her actual expenses which are incurred
while engaged in performing his or her duties that are authorized by
this article.

531. The budget for the California Animal Health and Food Safety
Laboratory shall be established as a line item in the budget of the
department. The operating budget requests shall be submitted
annually, and requests for funding of construction of facilities and
special items of laboratory equipment which cost over one hundred
fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) shall be submitted when required.
The director shall transfer funds appropriated for operation of the
laboratories, for equipment, and for construction of facilities to
the university to be managed according to university rules and
regulations, and in accordance with the contract between the
department and the university.