5021-5029
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.