CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2745

Introduced by Assembly Member Mathis

February 15, 2024

An act to add Section 5402.5 to the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to pests.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2745, as introduced, Mathis. Agricultural pests: public nuisance: civil penalty.
Under existing law, any premises, plants, conveyances, or things that are infected or infested with a pest are a public nuisance and may be abated pursuant to a specified procedure. Existing law makes it unlawful for any person to maintain that public nuisance. Under existing law, each county agricultural commissioner, acting under the supervision of the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, is an enforcing officer of all laws and regulations that relate to the prevention of the introduction into, or the spread within, the state of pests. For purposes of these provisions, existing law defines “pest” to mean specified things that are, or are liable to be, dangerous or detrimental to the agricultural industry of the state.
Existing law authorizes the secretary or a county agricultural commissioner, in lieu of specified civil actions, and except as specified, to levy a civil penalty against a person violating specified provisions relating to plant quarantine and pest control, not to exceed $2,500 for each violation.
This bill would authorize a county agricultural commissioner, in lieu of those civil and administrative actions, to levy a civil penalty against a person who maintains a public nuisance in violation of the above-described provision in accordance with specified procedures, including a process to appeal to the secretary within 10 days of the date of receiving notification of the penalty. The bill would require that civil penalty to be in the amount of $500 for each acre of property found to be in violation and would authorize that amount to be increased to $1,000 per acre if the public nuisance is not rectified within 30 days of issuance of the original civil penalty.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 5402.5 is added to the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:

5402.5.
 (a) In lieu of a civil action initiated pursuant to Section 5310 or an administrative action initiated pursuant to Section 5311, a commissioner may levy a civil penalty against a person for a violation of Section 5402 in the amount of five hundred dollars ($500) for each acre of property found to be in violation of Section 5402.
(b) If the person does not take action to rectify the public nuisance within 30 days from the issuance of a civil penalty pursuant to subdivision (a), the commissioner may increase the previously issued civil penalty to one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each acre of property found to be in violation of Section 5402.
(c) Before a civil penalty is levied pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b), the person charged with the violation shall receive notice of the nature of the violation and shall be given an opportunity to be heard. This shall include the right to review the evidence and a right to present evidence on their own behalf. Subdivision (d) of Section 5311 shall apply to any civil penalty levied pursuant to this section.
(d) Any moneys recovered by the commissioner pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the county general fund in the county in which the action is brought and shall be allocated to the commissioner to cover costs related to the enforcement of this division.