text:
(a) The district may do all of the following:

(1) Sue and be sued in all actions and proceedings in all courts and tribunals of competent jurisdiction.

(2) Adopt a seal and alter it at pleasure.

(3) Accept contributions, and by grant, purchase, gift, devise, lease, or otherwise, and hold, use and enjoy, and lease, or otherwise dispose of, real and personal property of every kind and description within or without the district necessary to the full and convenient exercise of its powers.

(4) Recommend an assessment to the board of supervisors to be levied on the owners of acreage of table grapes being grown in the district to pay obligations of the district incurred to accomplish the purposes of the district as provided in this article, which may involve funding all or a portion of a Pierce’s disease or glassy-winged sharpshooter program, or program involving other designated pests and diseases.

(5) Make contracts, and employ, except as otherwise provided in this article, all persons, firms, and corporations necessary to carry out the purposes and the powers of the district, and at any salary, wage, or other compensation as the board of directors shall determine.

(6) Respond to the effects of, the spread of glassy-winged sharpshooter and Pierce’s disease, and other designated pests and diseases, and collect and disseminate to table grape growers and the owners of table grapes acreage in the district relevant information and scientific studies concerning these pests or diseases, as well as to chart and determine the extent and location of any infestations.

(7) Take all actions necessary to control, eradicate, remove, or prevent the spread of the glassy-winged sharpshooter or Pierce’s disease, or other designated pests and diseases injurious to table grapes.

(8) With reasonable advance notice in writing to the landowner, as determined by the district, enter into or upon any land included within the boundaries of the district for the purpose of inspecting the grape plants and any other host plants and fruit growing on these lands.

(9) Eradicate, eliminate, remove, or destroy any table grape plants having evidence of Pierce’s disease or other designated pests and diseases.

(10) Coordinate with the county agricultural commissioner as to his or her taking appropriate actions to have any table grape plants growing within the district infested with Pierce’s disease or other designated pests and diseases adjudged a public nuisance, and decreed that the nuisance be abated.

(11) Coordinate district activities with other table grape pest and disease districts established pursuant to this article and Section 6047.3.

(12) Perform any and all acts, either within or outside the district, necessary or proper to fully and completely carry out the purposes for which the district is organized.

(b) The district’s administrative costs shall be limited to 5 percent of the annual assessment revenue.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 400, Sec. 14. Effective September 9, 2004.)


kind: section

code: FAC

text: Every district formed pursuant to this article has all of the powers prescribed by Section 6047.87 and other provisions of this article, regardless of any language in the petition for formation for any district or in any of the proceedings leading to the formation that would otherwise limit the power of the district.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 400, Sec. 15. Effective September 9, 2004.)

division: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL

part: 1. GENERALLY

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 9. Specific Pest Control and Abatement Provisions > 8.7. Table Grape Pest and Disease District


text: The county agricultural commissioner of the county in which the district is located shall, upon request of the board, assist the district to the extent possible in all activities undertaken by the district for the control of glassy-winged sharpshooter and Pierce’s disease or other designated pests and diseases.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 400, Sec. 16. Effective September 9, 2004.)

chapter: 9. Specific Pest Control and Abatement Provisions

article: 8.7. Table Grape Pest and Disease District


text: The board shall, immediately after its appointment and after public hearing, formulate an effective plan and adopt a budget of expenditures for the forthcoming fiscal year. At a public hearing on the plan and the budget, any owner of table grape acreage included in the district may make written or oral protest against the budget or any item in it. The plan and the budget, as thereafter approved by the board, shall be the plan and the budget of the district for the forthcoming fiscal year.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 244, Sec. 1. Effective August 29, 2003.)


text: There may be added to the budget for the first fiscal year of the operation of the district an amount not to exceed 20 percent of the total amount of the budget to cover the preliminary expenses of the district, including, but not limited to, the costs of formation, before the beginning of the first fiscal year.


text: For each fiscal year subsequent to the first year of operation of the district, the board shall adopt the final budget in the same manner that the budget for the first fiscal year was adopted.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 400, Sec. 16.5. Effective September 9, 2004.)


text: The district shall identify any parcel of real property with more than one acre of table grape plants that shall be subject to assessments.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 400, Sec. 18. Effective September 9, 2004.)


text: Whenever acreage within the district is planted with table grape plants in a fashion so as to qualify as table grape acreage, the acreage is subject to assessment as provided in this article.


text:
(a) After the district has been formed, an owner of table grape acreage in the district may present to the board a request in writing for the exclusion of that acreage or any part of the acreage from the district upon a showing that the acreage or part of the acreage will not be benefited by the activities of the district. Factors that the board may consider in its determination for exclusion, as set forth in an affidavit from the owner of the acreage, shall include those specified in Section 6047.74.

(b) After receipt of the request, the board shall cause an investigation of the parcel of acreage to be made and, if the board determines that the acreage or part of the acreage will not be benefited by the activities of the district and that exclusion of the acreage will not present a pest risk to the district, the board shall exclude the table grape acreage from the district and immediately certify this fact to the county assessor and the county auditor or tax collector.

(c) Any owner of table grape acreage outside of, or otherwise not included in, the district may present to the board a request in writing for inclusion of the acreage in the district.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 400, Sec. 19. Effective September 9, 2004.)


text:
(a) The board shall, on or before the first Monday in April of each year, or as soon thereafter as possible, file with the board of supervisors a budget that sets forth all estimated expenditures of the district for the fiscal year commencing on the first day of July. A copy of the budget shall also, at the same time, be filed with the auditor of the county.

(b) The board of supervisors may, by ordinance or by resolution, adopted after notice and a hearing, determine and levy an assessment for table grape pest and disease control activities or other activities specified in subdivision (a) of Section 6047.87 related to designated pests and diseases for any of the following purposes:

(1) Responding to, managing, and controlling the effects of the spread of glassy-winged sharpshooter and other designated pests and diseases that attack table grape plants.

(2) Collecting and disseminating to table grape growers in the district relevant information and scientific studies concerning the pest or pests.

(3) Charting and determining the extent and location of any Pierce’s disease infestations and infestations of other designated pests and diseases.

(4) Reimbursing the county or counties in which the district is located for expenses incurred in connection with providing services under this article that are not otherwise reimbursed.

(c) (1) The annual assessment shall not exceed fifteen dollars ($15) per planted acre.

(2) The maximum annual assessment shall be established in accordance with the voting requirements of Articles XIIIC and XIIID of the California Constitution, as incorporated by Proposition 218 of 1996, as provided for in Section 6047.100.

(3) The board shall annually establish the assessment which shall not exceed the maximum annual assessment specified in paragraph (1), except as otherwise specified in this section.

(d) An annual assessment greater than the amount provided for in this section may not be charged unless a greater assessment is approved by eligible owners in accordance with the voting requirements of Articles XIIIC and XIIID of the California Constitution, as incorporated by Proposition 218 of 1996, as provided for in Section 6047.100.

(e) The board of supervisors shall cause to be prepared and filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors a written report that contains all of the following information:

(1) A description of each parcel of property proposed to be subject to the assessment.

(2) The amount of the assessment of each parcel for the initial fiscal year.

(3) The maximum amount of the assessment that may be levied for each parcel during any fiscal year.

(4) The duration of the assessment.

(5) The basis of the assessment.

(6) The schedule of the assessment.

(7) A description specifying the requirements for written and oral protests, and the protest threshold necessary for requiring abandonment of the proposed assessment pursuant to subdivision (f).

(f) Unless otherwise excluded, the assessment shall be levied on each parcel within the boundaries of the district, zone, or area of benefit.

(g) (1) The board of supervisors shall comply with the notice, protest, and hearing procedures in Section 53753 of the Government Code.

(2) In addition, the mailed notice shall include the name of the district, the return address of the sender, the amount of the assessment for the initial fiscal year, the maximum amount of the assessment that may be levied during any fiscal year and the name and telephone number of the person designated by the board of supervisors to answer inquiries regarding the protest proceedings.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 400, Sec. 20. Effective September 9, 2004.)


text: The assessment authorized to be assessed and levied is hereby declared to be in the nature of a special assessment, and the Legislature hereby finds that the owners of all table grape plants will be benefited by the district to the same extent and in the same manner regardless of the age of the plants. The assessments authorized by this article shall be assessed and levied regardless of the age of the table grape plants growing on the land.


text:
(a) The assessment levied shall be computed and entered upon the assessment roll by the county auditor, and if the supervisors fail to levy the assessment as required, the auditor shall do so.

(b) The assessment shall be collected at the same time, and in the same manner as, and together with and not separate from, general county taxes, and when collected shall be paid into the county treasury for the use of the district.


text: The general provisions of the laws of this state, prescribing the requirements for and manner of levying and collecting county taxes and the duties of the several county officers with respect to levying and collecting county taxes, are, so far as they are applicable and not in conflict with the specific provisions of this article, hereby adopted and made a part of this article. This article, however, shall operate so as to be compliant with Article XIII (C) and XIII (D) of the California Constitution, as incorporated by Proposition 218 of 1996. The several county officers referred to shall be liable upon their several official bonds for the faithful discharge of the duties imposed upon them by this article.


text: The revenue from the assessments imposed pursuant to this article by the district are trust funds and shall be encumbered only for the purposes for which the district is formed and for the benefit of the acreage assessed. The district shall expend the minimum amount necessary for overhead and other administrative costs. No district funds shall be donated, loaned, or transferred to any other local agency or to the state for any purpose, except for the implementation of the duties of the district, set forth under this article, as determined to be necessary by the district board.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 400, Sec. 21. Effective September 9, 2004.)


text:
(a) The county treasury shall be the repository of all the moneys of the district. The county treasurer shall receive and receipt for all those moneys, and place them to the credit of the district.

(b) The county treasurer shall be responsible upon his or her official bond for the safekeeping and disbursement, in the manner provided in this article, of all moneys held in the district.


text: If a consolidated district includes parts of two or more counties, the repository of all money of the district shall be the county treasury of the county in which is located the largest area of table grape acreage of the district. Money collected for the use of the district in any other county in which a part of the district is located shall be transferred by the county treasurer upon warrant of the county auditor of the county in which the money was collected to the county treasurer of the county serving as repository for the district, in the same manner as prescribed for the disbursement of money held for a local district. Money derived from any county in which the district is located may be expended in any part of the district for the purposes authorized by this article, notwithstanding any other provision of law limiting the expenditure of any money to a specific area or county.


text:
(a) The county treasurer shall pay out money of the district only upon warrants of the county auditor drawn upon the order of the board of directors of the district signed by the chairperson or vice chairperson and attested to by the secretary. The county treasurer, with the approval of the board of supervisors, shall pay out the money of the district upon one master warrant of the county auditor drawn upon the order of the board of directors of the district and signed by the chairperson or vice chairperson and attested to by the secretary, to meet the district’s expenses, including salaries, at intervals approved by the board of supervisors.

(b) The county treasurer shall report, in writing, on the first day of July, October, January, and March of each year, to the board of directors, the amount of money the treasurer then holds for the district, the amount of receipts since the last report, and the amounts paid out. Each report shall be verified and filed with the secretary of the district to whom it is addressed.


text: Acreage devoted exclusively to the growing of table grapes within a tract of land outside the district, but in the county in which the district is located, may be annexed to the district in the same manner provided in this article for the formation of the district.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 400, Sec. 22. Effective September 9, 2004.)


text: Any two or more districts organized or existing under this article may be consolidated, whether or not the boundaries are coterminous, and whether or not the districts are located in the same county.


text: The board of directors may adopt a resolution that recites the fact of receipt and the willingness of the district to consolidate, and shall then send copies of the resolution to the board of directors of each of the other districts. The board shall send a certified copy of the resolution to the board of supervisors of the county in which is located the largest area of table grape acreage of the proposed consolidated district, and a copy of the resolution to the board of supervisors of each of the other counties in which is located any part of the proposed consolidated district.


text: The board of supervisors of the county in which is located the largest area of table grape acreage of the proposed consolidated district shall fix a time and place for hearing the proposal. Notice shall be given and the hearing conducted in the same manner and with the same effect as prescribed for the formation of a district pursuant to Sections 6047.70, 6047.71, 6047.72, 6047.73, and 6047.74.


text: If the board of supervisors determines that consolidation is feasible and in the best interests of the table grape acreage owners of the respective districts, it shall, by resolution duly adopted, declare the districts consolidated into one district, giving the consolidated district a name that includes the term “consolidated.” Certified copies of the resolution shall be filed with the Secretary of State and with the county recorder of each county in which is located any part of the consolidated district. Upon the filing, the districts are consolidated into a single consolidated district with all the rights, privileges, and powers of a district. The consolidated district shall succeed to all the funds and other property, and is subject to all the indebtedness, bonded and otherwise, of the districts consolidated. Each district that is included in the consolidated district shall continue in existence for the purpose of representation on the board of the consolidated district, and for the purpose of levying, assessing, and collecting assessments for district purposes. The board of the consolidated district is, however, the board of each district that is included in the consolidated district.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 400, Sec. 23. Effective September 9, 2004.)


text: Upon the adoption of a resolution consolidating two or more districts, the board of supervisors of the county in which is located the largest area of table grape acreage shall immediately appoint a board of directors of at least five members, including at least one member from each of the districts that are included in the consolidated district, and at least two members from each county, if districts located in more than one county are included in the consolidated district. If any of the districts that are included in the consolidated district includes more than 15,000 acres of table grape acreage, the board of directors shall be increased by one additional director for each 10,000 acres, or fraction of 10,000 acres, in any one district that is included in the consolidated district. If the consolidated districts are located in more than two counties, the board of directors of the consolidated district shall have at least seven members.


text: The board of a consolidated district has all the duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the board of any other district organized pursuant to this article. The members of the consolidated board shall be appointed in the same manner and serve for the same term as the directors of any other district organized pursuant to this article.


text: Any district that has been included in a consolidated district may withdraw from the consolidated district and be reconstituted as a separate district by filing with the board of directors of the consolidated district a petition for withdrawal that is signed by the owners of not less than a majority, by area, of table grape acreage in the district. The board of directors of the consolidated district shall send the original petition to the board of supervisors of the county in which the withdrawing district is located, and a copy of the petition to the board of supervisors of each of the other counties in which is located any part of the consolidated district. Upon receipt of a petition for withdrawal, the board of supervisors of the county in which the withdrawing district is located shall fix a time and place for hearing the petition. Notice shall be given and the hearing conducted in the same manner and with the same effect as prescribed for the formation of a district pursuant to Sections 6047.70, 6047.71, 6047.72, 6047.73, and 6047.74. Upon withdrawal of a district, all moneys collected from the district for the use of the consolidated district, and all property purchased with these moneys, shall remain the property of the consolidated district.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 400, Sec. 24. Effective September 9, 2004.)


text: Upon the filing of a petition with the board of supervisors that is signed by either (1) 50 percent or more of the table grape acreage owners who own 65 percent or more of the affected acreage or by (2) 65 percent or more of the table grape acreage owners who own 50 percent or more of the affected acreage requesting the dissolution of the district, the board of supervisors shall set a time and place for hearing on the petition, which shall not be less than 20 days, or more than 40 days, after the filing of the petition.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 400, Sec. 25. Effective September 9, 2004.)


text: The board of supervisors shall give notice of the time and place fixed for the hearing upon the petition for dissolution.


text:
The notice of hearing shall state all of the following:

(a) That a petition has been filed requesting the dissolution of the district.

(b) That the petition is available for inspection at the offices of the board of supervisors.

(c) The time and place for the hearing.

(d) That at the hearing protests against the dissolution of the district shall be considered by the board of supervisors.


text: Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the district.


text: The notice shall be published once a week for two successive weeks prior to the date set for the hearing.


text: If, at the hearing, a majority of the board of supervisors does not find a compelling reason to override the owners’ petition to dissolve the district, the board of supervisors shall by resolution dissolve the district.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 400, Sec. 26. Effective September 9, 2004.)


text: The board of supervisors shall cause a certified copy of the resolution to be recorded in the office of the county recorder and shall file a certified copy of it with the Secretary of State. Thereupon, the district is dissolved for all purposes.


text: Upon dissolution, the right, title, and interest to property owned or controlled by the district that is situated within the corporate limits of any city shall vest absolutely in the city. If the property is situated outside the corporate limits of a city, it shall vest in the county in which the property is situated.


text: The board of supervisors is ex officio the governing body of the dissolved district. It may levy assessments and perform other acts solely for the purpose and as may be necessary to wind up the affairs of the district and to raise money for the payment of any outstanding indebtedness.


text: All claims and accounts against the district that have not been settled by the board within 90 days after the resolution is recorded pursuant to Section 6047.119 shall be presented to the board of supervisors of the county in which the district was located, or in the case of a consolidated district to the board of supervisors of the county in which is located the largest area of table grape acreage, and shall be passed and approved by the board of supervisors in the same manner as county claims and shall be paid out of the funds of the dissolved district.


text: If there are insufficient funds to discharge all claims and accounts brought pursuant to Section 6047.122, the board of supervisors shall, at the time of levying the next general county taxes, levy a special assessment upon the net acreage devoted to the growing of table grapes that benefited from the dissolved district in an amount sufficient to discharge all outstanding claims and accounts against the district. In the case of a consolidated district, the board of supervisors of each county in which a portion of the district is located shall levy a special assessment based upon the ratio that the proportion of outstanding claims and accounts bears to the net acreage of the district in each county.


text: Owners of wine grapes and raisin grapes and any other agricultural commodities may petition to become subject to any district established pursuant to this article. The petition shall adhere to all the requirements of this article and shall require the approval of the board of directors of the affected district. All provisions of this article are hereby incorporated in this section and are applicable to owners who become subject to a district established pursuant to this article as though set forth in full in this section unless a provision in this article expressly states that it is not applicable to this section.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 400, Sec. 27. Effective September 9, 2004.)


citation: FAC § 6048

text:
(a) The plant hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) is a noxious aquatic weed not native to the State of California. The Legislature hereby declares that the further introduction and spread of this serious aquatic weed pest would be detrimental to the state, causing irreparable damage to the agricultural industry and recreational use of streams, lakes, and waterways and further that the eradication of this aquatic weed pest is essential to the preservation of the environment.

Hydrilla can be introduced into the state in shipments of fish and aquatic plants for wholesale and retail sale within the state. It can become established when aquariums containing hydrilla are dumped into California’s streams, lakes, ponds, and waterways. Subsequent spread is rapid, both naturally and artificially.

(b) It is unlawful to produce, propagate, harvest, possess, sell, or distribute hydrilla as such or incidental to the sale of fish, aquatic plants, or other hosts or possible carriers of hydrilla. The director may adopt quarantine or other regulations which prohibit the importation of hydrilla. Any violation of the regulations or of this section is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than seventy-five dollars ($75) for the first offense and is a misdemeanor for a second or subsequent offense within three years of a prior conviction of a violation of this section or of the regulations. These penalty provisions do not preclude civil action as provided in Article 2 (commencing with Section 5021) of Chapter 1.

(c) The director shall conduct an ongoing survey and detection program for hydrilla. Whenever and wherever hydrilla is discovered, the director shall immediately investigate the feasibility of eradication. If eradication is feasible, the director shall perform the eradication in cooperation with federal, city, county, and other state agencies taking those steps and actions the director deems necessary.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 752, Sec. 5.)

article: 9. Hydrilla

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 9. Specific Pest Control and Abatement Provisions > 9. Hydrilla


citation: FAC § 6049

text: The department, with the cooperation of the University of California, the United States Department of Agriculture, or other agencies, may develop and implement biological control methods to eradicate or control the aquatic weed pest hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) in any area of the state, and may conduct studies for those purposes. When the development or implementation involves the use of fish, each individual program for development or implementation shall first be approved by the Department of Fish and Game.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 752, Sec. 6.)

article: 9. Hydrilla


citation: FAC § 6051

text:
Cotton pests abatement districts may be organized and established by the board of supervisors of the Counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, and may exercise the powers expressly granted, or necessarily implied, by those provisions.

The district may include land in more than one of the counties listed in this section with the consent of the board of supervisors of the counties affected. The county which includes the majority of acreage in the district shall be designated the principal county. The agricultural commissioner and county officers in the principal county shall perform the acts required by the provisions of this chapter. District funds shall be deposited in the treasury of the principal county.

Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 54773) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Government Code and the District Reorganization Act of 1965 do not apply to cotton pests abatement districts organized pursuant to this chapter.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 191, Sec. 2. Effective May 3, 1982.)

chapter: 10. Cotton Pests Abatement Districts

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 10. Cotton Pests Abatement Districts


citation: FAC § 6052

text: In order to propose the organization of a cotton pests abatement district, a petition shall be presented to the board of supervisors of the county where the lands included within the proposed district are situated. The petition may consist of any number of separate instruments. The petition shall be signed by 25 percent of the cottongrowers or by 25 cottongrowers who grow cotton within the proposed district, whichever is less.


citation: FAC § 6053

text: Upon receipt of the petition, the board of supervisors shall direct the agricultural commissioner to create a register of all cottongrowers growing cotton within the proposed district describing the net acreage of land devoted to the growing of cotton by each grower.


citation: FAC § 6054

text: The commissioner shall file the cottongrowers register within 60 days of receipt of the order from the board of supervisors or by March 1st, whichever date is the later. The commissioner shall file with the register of cottongrowers a report and recommendation to the board of supervisors on whether conditions of disease, insect, or other pests of cotton warrant the board of supervisors in proceeding with the organization of the district.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1983, Ch. 142, Sec. 21.)


citation: FAC § 6055

text:
The proponents of the formation of the district may, within 30 days of the receipt by the board of supervisors of the register of cottongrowers from the agricultural commissioner, file with the board of supervisors a petition for the establishment of the district signed by not less than 50 percent of the cottongrowers who grow not less than 65 percent of the cotton within the proposed district or not less than 65 percent of the cottongrowers who grow not less than 50 percent of the cotton grown within the proposed district.

The petition presented to the board of supervisors pursuant to Section 6052 shall satisfy the requirements of this section if it contains the number of signatures required by this section.


citation: FAC § 6056

text: Upon receipt of the petition, the board of supervisors shall immediately refer the petition to the agricultural commissioner who shall examine it by reference to the register of cottongrowers, and shall, within 15 days after receiving the petition, return the petition to the board of supervisors with his or her certificate attached thereto certifying from the cottongrowers register that the petition qualifies as valid. The certificate of the agricultural commissioner shall be conclusive as to the sufficiency of the signatures on the petition.


citation: FAC § 6057

text: At its meeting at which the certificate is received from the agricultural commissioner, or at its next meeting, regular or special, thereafter, the board of supervisors shall by order fix a time and place for hearing the petition, which time shall be not less than 20 days nor more than 40 days from the date of the order, and shall give notice of the hearing by publication of the time and place thereof with a general statement of the purpose of the proposed district, together with a description of the boundaries of the proposed district, once a week for two successive weeks immediately prior to the date fixed for the hearing, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the district will be situated.


citation: FAC § 6058

text: At the hearing, the board of supervisors shall make such changes in the boundaries of the proposed district as they determine to be advisable, and shall determine and describe the boundaries of the district. The board of supervisors shall not modify the boundaries so as to exclude from the district any lands growing or capable of growing cotton which would be benefited by the formation of the district. The board of supervisors shall, at the hearing, hear all competent and relevant testimony, in support of the petition, and in opposition thereto, and shall determine whether the petition complies with the requirements of this chapter. The determination of the board of supervisors shall be entered upon the minutes of the meeting. No defect in the contents of the petition, or in the title to, or form of, the notice or signature, shall vitiate any proceeding thereon if the petition has a sufficient number of qualified signatures attached thereto.


citation: FAC § 6059

text: The board of supervisors shall, at the next regular or special meeting following the hearing upon the question of the organization of the proposed district, meet and, if it determines that the evidence presented at the hearing was sufficient to warrant the organization of the district, shall, by order entered upon its minutes, declare the district duly organized under the name designated in the petition. The order shall describe the boundaries of the district so that all lands included in it may be known, and a copy of the order shall be filed for record in the office of the county recorder of the county where the district is situated.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1983, Ch. 142, Sec. 22.)


citation: FAC § 6060

text: The board of supervisors shall, at the meeting at which the order declaring the district to be organized is made, appoint a board of five directors to administer the affairs of the district. No person shall, at any time, be eligible to hold the office of director of any district unless he or she is a resident of the state, and a cottongrower, either individually or as a joint tenant of, or is a member of a partnership which owns, or is an officer of, a corporation which grows cotton within the district.


citation: FAC § 6061

text: Each director so appointed shall, in the manner provided by law, give official bond for the faithful performance of his or her duties in the amount which shall be fixed by the board of supervisors, and shall subscribe the oath of office, and the bonds and oaths shall be filed with the county clerk of the county in which the district is situated. From and after the filing for record of the order declaring it organized and the appointment and qualifying of its board of directors, the organization of the district shall be complete.


citation: FAC § 6062

text:
Any cotton pests abatement district organized pursuant to this chapter may do all of the following:

(a) Have perpetual succession.

(b) Sue and be sued for all actions and proceedings in all courts and tribunals of competent jurisdiction.

(c) Adopt a seal and alter it at pleasure.

(d) Take by grant, purchase, gift, devise, lease or otherwise, and to hold, use, and enjoy, and to lease, or otherwise dispose of, real and personal property of every kind and description within or without the district necessary to the full and convenient exercise of its powers.

(e) Prohibit the planting, growing, or maintenance of cotton plants within the boundaries of the district if it determines that such a prohibition is necessary for cotton pest control.

(f) Charge fees for permits to plant cotton. The fees shall be used for the purpose of paying any obligation of the district and to accomplish the purposes of the district in the manner herein provided.

(g) Make contracts, and to employ, except as otherwise provided herein, all persons, firms, and corporations necessary to carry out the purposes and the powers of the district, at such salary, wage, or other compensation as the board of directors shall determine.

(h) Eradicate, remove, or prevent the spread of any disease, insect, or other pest injurious to cotton.

(i) Eradicate, eliminate, remove, or destroy any cotton plants except those cotton plants which are growing under the conditions established by a valid permit.

(j) Enter into or upon any land included in the district for the purpose of inspecting cotton growing thereon.

(k) Commence and prosecute appropriate actions to have it adjudged that any cotton plant growing within the district infested with disease, insects, or pests injurious to cotton; or any cotton plant growing within the district without a valid permit; is a public nuisance, and have it decreed that the nuisance be abated.


citation: FAC § 6063

text: The general control and management of each district shall be vested in a board of directors of five members. Directors shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary traveling expenses incurred by them in and about the performance of any duties required by the board of directors to be performed by them for the district. All claims presented by any director shall be subject to the approval of three other members of the board of directors.


citation: FAC § 6064

text: The term of office of the directors shall be four years, except for those first appointed upon the organization of the district. The first appointees shall, immediately upon their appointment, classify themselves by lot so that the terms of three of them shall expire on the first day of May following the first biennial election of the district and the terms of the other two shall expire on the first day of May following the second biennial election of the district.


citation: FAC § 6065

text: In the event of a vacancy in the board of directors either by resignation, death, or otherwise, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the board of supervisors and the person so appointed shall hold office for the remainder of the term of his or her predecessor.


citation: FAC § 6066

text: The board of directors of each district shall have the power to appoint and to fix the compensation of a secretary of the district who shall keep all records and perform such other duties as are ordered by the board of directors.


citation: FAC § 6067

text: Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, all acts of the board of directors shall be by resolution, and the adoption of a resolution shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of the board of directors.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1983, Ch. 142, Sec. 23.)


citation: FAC § 6068

text: The powers conferred upon any cotton pests abatement district and its board of directors by the provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to be in lieu of other disease, pest, or insect control statutes, but an addition thereto, and no act of any district or of any of its directors, agents, or employees shall operate to deprive or hinder the duly appointed or designated state, county, or federal authorities in conducting any operation for the eradication or control or prevention of any disease, insect, or pest in the district.


citation: FAC § 6069

text: The agricultural commissioner of the county in which any district is situated, may, without fee or charge, supervise and direct, in accordance with the best known accepted methods as determined by the board of directors, all inspection, eradication, fumigation, and other activities undertaken by the district. The agricultural commissioner shall employ any and all assistants required in and about any such work, and the district shall bear and pay all expenses incurred in and about the work. Alternatively, the board of directors may employ a manager to carry out those duties and may employ such personnel as are necessary.


citation: FAC § 6070

text:
The board of supervisors in every county where a district has been organized and exists under the provisions of this chapter shall direct the agricultural commissioner to file with the board of supervisors on March 1st of each year a register of every cottongrower intending to grow cotton during the growing season immediately following that date, describing the net acreage of land to be devoted to the growing of cotton by each grower. The agricultural commissioner shall submit a preliminary estimate of the information required to be filed on March 1st in order for the board to prepare the district budget.

The agricultural commissioner shall submit a copy of the register to the clerk of the board of supervisors during election years.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 221, Sec. 23. Effective January 1, 2003.)


citation: FAC § 6071

text: The board of directors of each district shall, on or before the first Monday in February of each year, prepare and file with the board of supervisors of the county in which the district is situated, a budget setting forth all estimated expenditures of the district for the fiscal year commencing on the first day of the month of April of that fiscal year. The budget shall include any estimated expenditures for special benefits which will affect only certain properties. The board of directors may submit the budget or a revised budget to the board of supervisors later than the first Monday in February, but not later than March 15, if necessary in order to properly reflect changes in the acreage involved between the preliminary estimate and the register prepared pursuant to Section 6070 and the costs of programs therefor. A copy of the budget shall, at the same time, be filed with the auditor of the county.


citation: FAC § 6072

text: The board of supervisors of the county may annually establish a fee for a permit to grow cotton within each cotton pests abatement district situated within the county and shall issue the permit to any cottongrower who satisfies the requirements of this chapter. The board of supervisors shall determine the amount of the fee by dividing the budget by the number of acres which will be devoted to cotton production during the ensuing growing season as reported on the register of cottongrowers submitted to the board of supervisors on March 1st of each year. Special benefits which are included in the budget shall be paid for by an additional permit fee. This additional fee shall be based on the estimated cost of the benefit to be conferred on the specific property.


citation: FAC § 6073

text:
The permit fee shall be entered in the minutes of the board of supervisors who shall advise the board of directors of the district of the fee per acre required for the issuance of a permit. The board of directors shall collect this fee from the applicant for a permit to grow cotton in the district. The fees shall be paid into the county treasury for the use of the district. The board of directors may provide for the method and time of payment of the fees which may be monthly, quarterly, or as otherwise determined to be reasonable. The board of directors may provide for the refund of fees, or appropriate part thereof, collected from growers who have not grown any cotton or have grown less than that for which they have a permit, insofar as such a refund would not adversely affect the programs being conducted by the district.

The board of directors shall, at the close of the district’s fiscal year, refund any money not required for continuing programs that remains in the district fund on a pro rata basis to the persons from whom the fees being refunded were collected.

The board of directors shall pay the county or counties in which it is located the costs of county services performed at the request of the district. The district shall also reimburse the county or counties for services performed pursuant to Sections 6053, 6054, 6056, 6057, 6058, 6059, 6060, 6070, 6076, 6077, and 6081.

Petitioners for the formation of a cotton pest abatement district shall be assessed a fee by the commissioner in the amount necessary to cover any costs incurred as a result of duties performed by the commissioner under this chapter which are preparatory to the formation of a district if a district is not formed.


citation: FAC § 6074

text: The treasury of the county shall be the repository of all the moneys of the district. The county treasurer shall receive and receipt for all of these moneys, and place the same to the credit of the district. Any interest earned on the district funds shall be the property of the district. The treasurer shall be responsible upon his or her official bond for the safekeeping and disbursement, in the manner herein provided, of all moneys of any such district so held by him or her. The county treasurer shall pay out the moneys of the district only upon warrants of the county auditor drawn upon the order of the board of directors of the district signed by the president of the board and attested by the secretary. The county treasurer shall report in writing on the first day of July, October, January, and March of each year, to the board of directors of each district in his or her county, the amount of money he or she then holds for the district, the amount of receipts since his or her last report, and the amounts paid out; and each report shall be verified and filed with the secretary of the district to whom it is addressed.


citation: FAC § 6075

text: The board of directors, when prohibiting the planting, growing, or maintenance of cotton plants within the boundaries of the district, shall notify persons affected by this action within 15 days. The grower within 30 days may appeal the decision of the board of directors to the board of supervisors, which may, by a majority decision, modify, or rescind the decision of the board of directors.


citation: FAC § 6076

text:
In each cotton pests abatement district, a biennial election shall be held in March of each odd-numbered year by the county elections official of the county in which a majority of the acreage in the district is contained. Notice of the election, and of the offices to be filled, shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county once a week for three successive weeks before the first day of February. At the election a sufficient number of directors shall be elected to fill the places of those directors whose terms expire the first day of April immediately following the election.

The county elections official shall make declarations of candidacy available from between 113 and 88 days before the election. Any person eligible for the office of director, desiring to be a candidate for election, shall file a declaration with the county elections official on or before the 88th day before the election. The county elections official shall certify the qualified candidates and have ballots prepared and printed. The election shall be conducted, as nearly as practicable, in accordance with the general election laws of this state.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 221, Sec. 24. Effective January 1, 2003.)


citation: FAC § 6077

text:
The county elections official on or after the 29th day before the election shall mail a ballot, an identification envelope, and a stamped and addressed return envelope to each cottongrower on the register submitted by the agricultural commissioner. The ballot shall indicate the number of votes and the number shall be written on the ballot by the clerk. Each cottongrower appearing on the register shall be entitled to one vote for each acre of cotton for which a valid permit to grow cotton is possessed for each office to be filled, or proposition to be voted upon, at that election. Cumulative voting is not authorized.

The ballot shall be printed in substantially the following form:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

NOTICE OF INCOMPLETE TEXT: The Cotton Pest Abatement District official ballot appears in the hard-copy publication of the chaptered bill. See Sec. 25, Chapter 221, Statutes of 2002 (p. 946).

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The ballot shall be placed in the identification envelope by the voter after the voter has indicated his or her choices. The identification envelope shall be sealed and signed by the voter. The identification envelope shall be returned to the county elections official in the sealed return envelope.

Ballots in order to be counted shall be received by the elections official not later than 12 o’clock noon of the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March and the return envelopes containing the ballots shall not be opened until that time. The elections official shall then open the return envelopes and deposit the ballot in its unopened envelope in a ballot box. After deposit of all identification envelopes received, the elections official shall open the ballot box and count the votes cast and certify the results of the election.

The returns of the election shall be reported to the board of directors of the district who shall meet on the Monday following the election and canvass the returns.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 221, Sec. 25. Effective January 1, 2003. Note: See published chaptered bill for complete section text. The Cotton Pest Abatement District official ballot appeared on page 13 of Ch. 221, and now appears on page 946 in Vol. 1 of the 2002 Statutes publication.)


citation: FAC § 6078

text: The persons declared elected shall take the oath of office and file their official bonds with the county elections official on or before the first day of April following their election and shall take office at noon of that day.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 221, Sec. 26. Effective January 1, 2003.)


citation: FAC § 6079

text: Any owner of land devoted to the growing of cotton in the county where the district is situated may file a petition for inclusion in the district with the board of directors of any cotton pests abatement district, and the land may, by order of the board of directors, be included within the district. A certified copy of each order of the board of directors including additional lands within the district shall be filed for record by the secretary of the district in the office of the county recorder of the county immediately upon passage by the board of directors, and each such order shall particularly describe each parcel of land to be included in the district.


citation: FAC § 6080

text: The board of directors of each cotton pests abatement district shall hold a regular meeting at least once each month at the time and place in the district designated by resolution of the board; and the board of directors of each district shall prescribe the rules and regulations for the conduct of its meetings and for calling and giving notice of special meetings of the board.


citation: FAC § 6081

text: Whenever the board of supervisors, by resolution, desires to dissolve the district, or whenever a petition, signed by not less than 25 percent of the cottongrowers within a district who are engaged in the growing of cotton, requesting the dissolution of the district is presented to and filed with the board of directors of the district, the board of directors shall submit the question of the dissolution of the district to the qualified voters of the district at the next biennial election of the district; provided, however, that the board of directors shall not be required to accept a petition for the dissolution of the district within 10 days preceding any biennial election of a district. If at the election 60 percent of the votes cast are in favor of the dissolution of the district, the directors of the district shall, within 60 days, file for recording in the office of the county recorder of the county a certified copy of an order declaring the district to be dissolved, and cease all activities, and shall proceed immediately to wind up the affairs of the district. The dissolution election procedures shall be the same as those contained in Sections 6076 and 6077.


citation: FAC § 6082

text: At the expiration of 90 days after the election, the board of directors shall deliver on the basis of the ratio of the acreage devoted to cottongrowing in each county in the district all property and assets in their possession belonging to the district to the agricultural commissioner of each county in the district to be held and used for the benefit of cotton production. Any funds which may be in the hands of the county treasurer to the credit of the district or to which the district may thereafter become entitled shall be transferred to the credit of the county in which the district is located and shall be expended by the board of supervisors for the benefit of cotton production.


citation: FAC § 6083

text: All claims and accounts against the district which have not been settled by the board of directors within 90 days after the election authorizing the dissolution of the district shall be presented to the board of supervisors of the county in which the district was located and shall be passed and approved by them in the same manner as county claims and shall be paid out of the funds of the dissolved district.


citation: FAC § 6084

text: In the event that there are insufficient funds to discharge all claims and accounts brought pursuant to Section 6083, the board of supervisors shall, at the time of levying the next general county taxes, make a special assessment upon the net acreage devoted to the growing of cotton which was benefited from the dissolved district sufficient in amount to discharge all outstanding claims and accounts against the district. Properties which received special benefits for which additional permit fees where paid in the last year of district operation shall have an additional pro rata charge made upon the net acreage affected.


citation: FAC § 6085

text: This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Cotton Pests Abatement District Act.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1983, Ch. 142, Sec. 24.)


citation: FAC § 6101

text: Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions in this article govern the construction of this chapter.

history: (History: Enacted by Stats. 1967, Ch. 15.)

chapter: 11. Caprifigs and Caprifig Trees

article: 1. Definitions

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 11. Caprifigs and Caprifig Trees > 1. Definitions


citation: FAC § 6102

text: “Blanks” means caprifigs which are devoid of Blastophaga insects or galls that contain Blastophaga insects.

article: 1. Definitions


citation: FAC § 6103

text: “Mamme” crop means the winter crop of caprifigs.

article: 1. Definitions


citation: FAC § 6104

text: “Matured pollen” means pollen in a powdery condition which can be dusted or shaken out from the anthers in appreciable quantities.

article: 1. Definitions


citation: FAC § 6105

text: “Profichi crops” means the crop of caprifigs which matures in June and July and is used to caprify or pollinate the main crop of the Smyrna type of figs.

article: 1. Definitions


citation: FAC § 6106

text: “Spent figs” means caprifigs from which all the female Blastophaga insects have issued.

article: 1. Definitions


citation: FAC § 6131

text: The commissioner shall enforce this chapter.

article: 2. Enforcement

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 11. Caprifigs and Caprifig Trees > 2. Enforcement


citation: FAC § 6132

text: The commissioner may enter any place where caprifigs are produced, packed, stored, shipped, delivered for shipment, or sold, and inspect them. He may seize and hold for evidence any caprifigs which are packed, shipped, delivered for shipment, or sold in violation of any provision of this chapter, and prosecute actions for any such violation.

article: 2. Enforcement


citation: FAC § 6133

text: The board of supervisors of any county may receive and accept on behalf of the county, any contribution or donation of money from a person or from any agency of this state or of the United States for the purpose of enforcing this chapter. Any money which is so received shall be credited to the budget of the commissioner and shall be expended solely for such enforcement.

article: 2. Enforcement


citation: FAC § 6134

text: It is unlawful for any person to willfully or otherwise interfere with the enforcement of any provision of this chapter.

article: 2. Enforcement


citation: FAC § 6151

text: Caprifigs, unless properly treated, contribute to, and are responsible for, the transmission of endosepsis and other plant diseases by the blastophaga which the figs contain.

article: 3. Caprifigs

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 11. Caprifigs and Caprifig Trees > 3. Caprifigs


citation: FAC § 6152

text: Every person who owns, raises, uses, packs, ships, or delivers for shipment or sells any caprifigs of the mamme crop for use within the county, shall treat such figs by a method which is approved by the commissioner for the prevention or elimination of endosepsis or the transmission of endosepsis by the blastophaga in the figs.

article: 3. Caprifigs


citation: FAC § 6153

text:
If any caprifigs of the mamme crop are to be shipped or used outside the county, the person that owns, raises, uses, packs, ships or delivers them for shipment shall notify the commissioner of the county within which the figs are to be used of all of the following:

(a) The shipment.

(b) The nature of the shipment.

(c) The name and residence of the consignee.

article: 3. Caprifigs


citation: FAC § 6154

text: After the notice, the commissioner shall require the consignee to properly treat the figs for the prevention or elimination of endosepsis before using them.

article: 3. Caprifigs


citation: FAC § 6155

text: It is unlawful for any person to violate Section 6152, 6153, or 6154.

article: 3. Caprifigs


citation: FAC § 6156

text:
It is unlawful for any person to pack, ship, deliver for shipment, or sell in any container any caprifigs of the profichi crop which violate any of the following:

(a) Do not contain matured pollen.

(b) Do not contain living Blastophaga insect in the adult stage.

(c) Contain more than 25 percent of spent figs.

(d) Contain more than 10 percent of blanks.

article: 3. Caprifigs


citation: FAC § 6157

text: It is unlawful for any person to pack, ship, deliver for shipment or sell in any container any caprifigs of the mamme crop, which contain more than 25 percent of spent figs, or more than 10 percent of blanks.

article: 3. Caprifigs


citation: FAC § 6171

text: Caprifig trees, unless properly controlled and regulated under supervision, constitute a menace because they are a source of infection and pests.

article: 4. Caprifig Trees

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 11. Caprifigs and Caprifig Trees > 4. Caprifig Trees


citation: FAC § 6172

text: Except as otherwise provided by Section 6173, in the interest of the public welfare and general prosperity of the state and to provide for the control, eradication, elimination, and prevention of endosepsis and other plant diseases, all caprifig trees used for shade, ornamental, or decorative purposes, and caprifig trees in, or associated with, any fig orchard which produces calimyrna or other Smyrna-type figs that aggregate in number more than one and one-half percent of the fig trees in the orchard, are unlawful and a public nuisance.

article: 4. Caprifig Trees


citation: FAC § 6173

text: Every commercial grower of calimyrna or other Smyrna-type fig may maintain at least one caprifig tree in connection with his planting.

article: 4. Caprifig Trees


citation: FAC § 6174

text:
The commissioner shall notify the owner of any fig tree which is a public nuisance under Section 6172 to graft or destroy it within a time which is specified in the notice.

He may furnish to the owner, at the time of serving the notice, instructions for application of methods by the owner which are best designed to accomplish the purposes of the notice.

article: 4. Caprifig Trees


citation: FAC § 6175

text: If the owner does not destroy or graft the fig tree within the time which is specified in the notice, the commissioner shall cause the grafting or destruction of the tree, at the expense of the owner, in a summary manner.

article: 4. Caprifig Trees


citation: FAC § 6176

text: A calimyrna grower, regardless of the size of his holdings, shall follow the standard procedures for cleanup of caprifig trees by picking the mamme caprifigs before the wasps begin to issue. He shall treat the mamme caprifigs which are picked with a fungicide, according to recognized procedures.

article: 4. Caprifig Trees


citation: FAC § 6177

text: The presence of both mamme and set profichi figs in the caprifig trees at the same time is a public nuisance. The caprifigs, or the trees, or both, shall be destroyed at the owner’s expense by the owner or by the commissioner, pursuant to this article, before the profichi caprifig crop matures.

article: 4. Caprifig Trees


citation: FAC § 6200

text:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) California is the leading producer of wine in the United States, accounting for 72 percent of all wine, foreign and domestic, consumed in this country.

(b) Winegrapes are grown in virtually every county for processing by more than 800 wineries located throughout the state.

(c) California grows more than 327,455 acres of winegrapes producing 2,570,707 tons of grapes per year valued at more than seven hundred eighteen million dollars ($718,000,000), as of 1990, with a direct and indirect impact on the state’s economy totaling more than eight billion six hundred million dollars ($8,600,000,000).

(d) Destructive pests and diseases, including phylloxera, pose a significant and imminent threat to the state’s important grape and wine industry.

(e) Phylloxera has already infested grape acreage in many California counties, including Napa and Sonoma, resulting in losses totaling two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000) to growers and the wine industry.

(f) The state has an interest in protecting its agricultural products from further destruction by phylloxera and other harmful pests and diseases.

(g) To avoid a potentially catastrophic loss to one of California’s most important industries, the Legislature declares that this chapter is in the interest of the public health and welfare.

(h) The Legislature further declares that it is in the interest of the public health and welfare that the districts authorized to be created by this chapter not duplicate existing services already being provided to grape growers by the University of California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor or the county agricultural commissioners.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1993, Ch. 1078, Sec. 1. Effective October 11, 1993.)

article: 1. Findings and Definitions

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 12. Winegrape Pest and Disease Control District Law > 1. Findings and Definitions


text: This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Winegrape Pest and Disease Control District Law.

chapter: 12. Winegrape Pest and Disease Control District Law

article: 1. Findings and Definitions


citation: FAC § 6201

text:
It is the purpose of this chapter to make available a procedure for the organization, operation, government, and dissolution of districts to respond to, manage, and control the effects of the spread of the phylloxera pest, and other pests that attack winegrape plants, and to collect and disseminate to winegrape producers in the district all relevant information and scientific studies concerning the pest or pests, as well as to chart and determine the extent and location of any infestations.

Division 3 (commencing with Section 56000) of Title 5 of the Government Code does not apply to districts organized pursuant to this chapter.

article: 1. Findings and Definitions


citation: FAC § 6202

text:
Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions in this section govern the construction of this chapter.

(a) “Board” or “board of directors” means the board of directors of a district.

(b) “District” means a winegrape pest and disease control district organized pursuant to this chapter.

(c) “Owner” includes joint owner, coowner, guardian, executor, administrator, or any other person that holds property in a trust capacity under court appointment.

(d) “Phylloxera,” Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, is an aphid-like pest in the family of Phylloxeridae that attacks winegrape plants (Vitus sp.).

(e) “Winegrapes” means grapes produced that are intended to be converted from their fresh form into grape juice, grape concentrate, wine, or products thereof, including, but not limited to, high proof and brandy produced from winegrapes.

article: 1. Findings and Definitions


citation: FAC § 6210

text:
Proceedings for the formation of a district within any county shall be commenced by a petition that is either of the following:

(a) Signed by 50 percent or more of the growers who own 65 percent or more of the affected land.

(b) Signed by 65 percent or more of the growers who own 50 percent or more of the affected land.

The petition shall be addressed to, and filed with, the board of supervisors of the county.

article: 2. Formation of Districts

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 12. Winegrape Pest and Disease Control District Law > 2. Formation of Districts


citation: FAC § 6211

text: The petition may be filed in sections, each of which shall comply with all the requirements for a petition, except that a section need not contain the total number of signatures required for the petition.

article: 2. Formation of Districts


citation: FAC § 6212

text: Signatures to the petition may be withdrawn at any time before it has been acted upon by filing with the clerk of the board of supervisors a declaration signed by the petitioner that states that it is the intention of the petitioner to withdraw his or her signature from the petition.

article: 2. Formation of Districts


citation: FAC § 6213

text:
(a) The petition shall state the name of the proposed district and shall set forth its boundaries or describe the lands to be included.

(b) It is a sufficient designation of the boundaries of a proposed district to recite that all the grape acreage in the county is to be included in the district, or that all the grape acreage in a designated area within the county is to be included in the district.

(c) If either designation is used, the outside boundary of the area so designated is the boundary of the district, and the district shall include all area within the outside boundary.

article: 2. Formation of Districts


citation: FAC § 6214

text:
(a) Upon the presentation and filing of a petition, the board of supervisors shall refer the petition to the county agricultural commissioner for the preparation of a register of owners of winegrape acreage within the proposed district, and for an investigation and report.

(b) The agricultural commissioner shall create a register of all winegrape acreage owners within the proposed district describing the net acreage of land devoted to the growing of winegrapes by each grower. The commissioner shall file with the register a report and recommendation to the board of supervisors on whether conditions of the phylloxera or other pest or disease warrant the board of supervisors proceeding with the organization of the district.

article: 2. Formation of Districts


citation: FAC § 6215

text:
(a) The board of supervisors shall fix a time and place for the hearing of the petition.

(b) The hearing shall not be less than 20 days, or more than 40 days, after the filing of the petition with the board of supervisors.

(c) The board of supervisors shall order the clerk of the board of supervisors to give notice of the time and place fixed for the hearing upon the petition.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 221, Sec. 27. Effective January 1, 2003.)

article: 2. Formation of Districts


citation: FAC § 6216

text:
The notice of hearing shall do all of the following:

(a) State the name of the district and that it is being formed for the control of winegrape pests and diseases.

(b) State the petition is available for inspection at the office of the clerk of the board of supervisors.

(c) Designate the boundaries of the proposed district in substantially the same way that they are described in the petition.

(d) State the time and place for the hearing.

(e) State that at the hearing protests will be considered by the board of supervisors.

(f) State that requests in writing for the exclusion of lands from, or the inclusion of lands in, the proposed district, will be heard and considered by the board of supervisors.

article: 2. Formation of Districts


citation: FAC § 6217

text: Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the district.

article: 2. Formation of Districts


citation: FAC § 6218

text: The notice shall be published once a week for two successive weeks prior to the date set for the hearing.

article: 2. Formation of Districts


citation: FAC § 6219

text: At the hearing, the report of the county agricultural commissioner shall be received. Protests may be made orally or in writing by any person interested in the formation of the proposed district. Any protest that pertains to the regularity or sufficiency of the proceedings shall be in writing and shall clearly set forth the irregularities and defects to which objection is made. All written protests shall be filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors on or before the time fixed for the final hearing. The hearing may be continued from time to time, not to exceed 60 days.

article: 2. Formation of Districts


citation: FAC § 6220

text: At the hearing, any owner of winegrape acreage in the proposed district may present to the board of supervisors a request, in writing, for the exclusion of that land or any part of that land from the proposed district upon a showing that the land or part of that land will not be benefited by the activities of the proposed district. Factors that the board of supervisors may consider in its determination to exclude shall include an affidavit from the landowner stating that the land has already been affected by phylloxera or other winegrape plant pests or diseases and the winegrape plants have been removed from the land, that more than 66 percent of the subject parcel is planted with non-vinifera-crossed rootstock, including, but not limited to, St. George, S04, 5C, or 5BB rootstock, or that the subject parcel does not have a pest or disease problem that can be controlled by the district. Any owner of winegrape acreage outside the proposed district may present to the board of supervisors a request in writing for inclusion of that land in the proposed district.

article: 2. Formation of Districts


citation: FAC § 6221

text: If the board of supervisors determines that the petition does not comply with the requirements of law, the matter may be dismissed without prejudice to present a new petition covering the same matter. A finding by the board of supervisors in favor of the sufficiency of the petition and notice is final and conclusive against all persons except the state in a proceeding brought by the Attorney General within one year of the date of the making of the order establishing and describing the boundaries of the district.

article: 2. Formation of Districts


citation: FAC § 6222

text:
(a) If the board of supervisors determines that the project is feasible and in the interest of the winegrape growers of the county, the board of supervisors shall, by order entered in its minutes, declare the district duly organized under the name designated in the petition for the formation of the district.

(b) The order shall describe the territory included in the district and, if the board of supervisors does not exclude or include land pursuant to Section 6223, it is a sufficient description of the territory to describe the boundaries in substantially the same way as they are described in the petition.

(c) A copy of the order duly certified by the clerk of the board of supervisors shall be filed for record in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the district is situated.

article: 2. Formation of Districts


citation: FAC § 6223

text:
(a) In determining the boundaries of the district, the board of supervisors shall exclude from the district any winegrape acreage that it finds will not be benefited by the proposed project, and it may include in the district any lands that it finds will be benefited if it also finds it will be in the interest of the district to include these lands. The inclusion may be upon application of the owner or, without the owner’s application, upon giving the owner notice of the proposed inclusion and an opportunity for a hearing on the inclusion.

(b) Notice of inclusion shall be mailed, postage prepaid, by the clerk of the board of supervisors, to the address of the owner of the land as shown by the last equalized county assessment roll, and to any person that has filed with the clerk that person’s name and address and description of land in which he or she has either a legal or equitable interest. The notice shall describe the land proposed to be included, and shall state the time and place at which objections to the inclusion will be heard.

article: 2. Formation of Districts


citation: FAC § 6230

text: Upon the adoption of the order of organization, the board of supervisors shall immediately appoint a board of directors of five members to administer the affairs of the district.

article: 3. Organization of Districts

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 12. Winegrape Pest and Disease Control District Law > 3. Organization of Districts


citation: FAC § 6231

text: In order to be eligible to be a director of the district, a person shall be a citizen of the United States and of this state, and an owner of lands included in the district that are devoted, in whole or in part, to the growing of the product for which the district is established.

article: 3. Organization of Districts


citation: FAC § 6232

text: Upon his or her appointment, each director shall, in the manner provided by law, subscribe the oath of office and file the oath with the county clerk.

article: 3. Organization of Districts


citation: FAC § 6233

text:
(a) From and after the filing for record of the order of the board of supervisors declaring the district organized, and the appointment and qualification of its first board of directors, the organization of the district is complete. The district shall operate for a period of five years from the date of its organization, and shall cease to exist after five years unless the district is reauthorized and approved by the board of supervisors.

(b) The board of directors shall hold a public hearing six months prior to termination of its initial organization or last reauthorization to determine whether the conditions of the phylloxera or other pest or disease determined pursuant to Section 6214 warrant the reauthorization of the district for an additional five years. The notice of hearing shall state the name of the district and that consideration is being given to reauthorizing the district for an additional five years, the boundaries of the district, and the time and place for the hearing. Notice of the hearing shall be given as provided in Sections 6217 and 6218. The board of directors shall submit the record of the hearing and its recommendation to the board of supervisors within 90 days of the hearing. The board of supervisors shall approve or reject the recommendation; if it rejects the recommendation, the board of supervisors shall return the report accompanied by its reasons for the rejection to the board of directors within 30 days of receipt. The board of directors may thereafter address the reasons for rejection by the board of supervisors and submit an amended report and new recommendations for reauthorization for approval or rejection by the board of supervisors, unless the district has ceased to exist pursuant to subdivision (a).

article: 3. Organization of Districts


citation: FAC § 6234

text:
(a) Immediately after the organization of the district, the directors shall meet and organize as a board and shall elect a chairperson, vice chairperson and secretary from among their own number.

(b) The chairperson shall call and preside at all meetings of the board, sign all warrants drawn on the county treasurer, and all contracts and other documents, and the minutes of all meetings at which the chairperson is present. In case of the chairperson’s absence from a meeting, the vice chairperson shall act as chairperson pro tempore. The vice chairperson may sign warrants in place of the chairperson if the chairperson is absent from a meeting or unavailable. The secretary shall give notice of and keep the minutes of all meetings and prepare and have custody of all records and papers, and have custody of the seal of the district. The secretary shall attest all warrants drawn on the county treasury, all contracts and other documents, and shall sign the minutes of all meetings at which he or she is present. The secretary shall prepare the annual reports and any other reports required by the board and shall prepare all notices and all calls for bids.

article: 3. Organization of Districts


citation: FAC § 6235

text: The members of the board shall serve for terms of one year, or for a longer term as determined by the board of supervisors, and until the appointment and qualification of their successors.

article: 3. Organization of Districts


citation: FAC § 6236

text: Upon the expiration of the term of any member of the board, the board of supervisors shall appoint the successor. Vacancies shall be filled by the board of supervisors for the unexpired term.

article: 3. Organization of Districts


citation: FAC § 6237

text: The members of the board shall not receive any compensation for their services, but may be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses, when claims for those expenses have been approved by the board.

article: 3. Organization of Districts


citation: FAC § 6240

text:
The district may do all of the following:

(a) Sue and be sued in all actions and proceedings in all courts and tribunals of competent jurisdiction.

(b) Adopt a seal and alter it at pleasure.

(c) Take by grant, purchase, gift, devise, lease, or otherwise, and hold, use and enjoy, and lease, or otherwise dispose of, real and personal property of every kind and description within or without the district necessary to the full and convenient exercise of its powers.

(d) Cause assessments to be levied, as provided in Article 5 (commencing with Section 6250), to pay any obligation of the district and to accomplish the purposes of the district in the manner provided in this chapter.

(e) Make contracts, and employ, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all persons, firms, and corporations necessary to carry out the purposes and the powers of the district, and at any salary, wage, or other compensation as the board of directors shall determine.

(f) Respond to the effects of, the spread of phylloxera and other winegrape plant pests and diseases and collect and disseminate to winegrape growers in the district all relevant information and scientific studies concerning the pest or pests or diseases, as well as to chart and determine the extent and location of any infestations.

(g) With reasonable advance notice in writing to the landowner, as determined by the district, enter into or upon any land included within the boundaries of the district for the purpose of inspecting the winegrape plants and any other host plants and fruit growing on them.

(h) Perform any and all acts, either within or outside the district, necessary or proper to fully and completely carry out the purposes for which the district is organized.

article: 4. Powers and Duties of the District

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 12. Winegrape Pest and Disease Control District Law > 4. Powers and Duties of the District


citation: FAC § 6241

text: Every district formed pursuant to this chapter has all of the powers prescribed by Section 6240 and other provisions of this chapter, regardless of any language in the petition for formation for any district or in any of the proceedings leading to the formation that would otherwise limit the power of the district.

article: 4. Powers and Duties of the District


citation: FAC § 6242

text: The county agricultural commissioner of the county in which the district is located shall, upon request of the board, assist the district to the extent possible in all activities undertaken by the district for the control of phylloxera or other winegrape plant pests or diseases.

article: 4. Powers and Duties of the District


citation: FAC § 6243

text: The board shall, immediately after its appointment and after public hearing, formulate an effective plan and adopt a budget of expenditures for the forthcoming fiscal year. At a public hearing on the plan and the budget, any owner of winegrape acreage included in the district may make written or oral protest against the budget or any item in it. The plan and the budget, as thereafter approved by the board, shall be the plan and the budget of the district for the forthcoming fiscal year.

article: 4. Powers and Duties of the District


citation: FAC § 6244

text: There may be added to the budget for the first fiscal year of the operation of the district an amount not to exceed 20 percent of the total amount of the budget to cover the preliminary expenses of the district, including, but not limited to, the costs of formation, before the beginning of the first fiscal year.

article: 4. Powers and Duties of the District


citation: FAC § 6245

text: For each fiscal year subsequent to the first year of operation of the district, the board shall adopt the final budget therefor in the same manner and at the same time that the budget for the first fiscal year was adopted.

article: 4. Powers and Duties of the District


citation: FAC § 6246

text: The board of supervisors may charge the district for any expenses incurred by the county in connection with the proceedings for the formation of the district, and the district shall reimburse the county from assessments levied for those expenses.

article: 4. Powers and Duties of the District


citation: FAC § 6250

text: The county assessor, in making the annual assessment of property included in the district each and every year after the organization of the district, shall identify any parcel of real property with one acre or more of winegrape plants.

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 12. Winegrape Pest and Disease Control District Law > 5. Levy of Assessments for District Purposes


citation: FAC § 6251

text: Whenever acreage within the district is planted with winegrape plants in such a fashion as to qualify as winegrape acreage, the acreage is subject to assessment as provided in this article.

article: 5. Levy of Assessments for District Purposes


citation: FAC § 6252

text:
(a) After the district has been formed, an owner of winegrape acreage in the district may present to the board a request in writing for the exclusion of that land or any part of the land from the district upon a showing that the land or part of the land will not be benefited by the activities of the district. Factors that the board may consider in its determination for exclusion shall include an affidavit from the owner that the land has already been affected by phylloxera or other winegrape plant pests and the winegrape plants have been removed from the land, more than 66 percent of the subject parcel is planted with non-vinifera-crossed rootstock, including, but not limited to, St. George, S04, 5C or 5BB rootstock, or that the subject parcel does not have a pest or disease problem that can be controlled by the district.

(b) After receipt of the request, the board shall cause an investigation of the parcel of land to be made and, if the board determines that the land or part of the land will not be benefited by the activities of the district, the board shall exclude the winegrape acreage from the district and immediately certify this fact to the county assessor and the county auditor or tax collector.

(c) Any owner of winegrape acreage outside of, or otherwise not included in, the district may present to the board a request in writing for inclusion of the land in the district.


citation: FAC § 6253

text:
(a) The board shall, on or before the first Monday in April of each year, file with the board of supervisors a budget that sets forth all estimated expenditures of the district for the fiscal year commencing on the first day of July. A copy of the budget shall also, at the same time, be filed with the auditor of the county.

(b) The board of supervisors may, by ordinance or by resolution, adopted after notice and hearing, determine and levy an assessment for winegrape pest and disease control activities for any of the following purposes:

(1) Responding to, managing, and controlling the effects of the spread of the phylloxera pest and other pests that attack winegrape plants.

(2) Collecting and disseminating to winegrape producers in the district all relevant information and scientific studies concerning the pest or pests.

(3) Charting and determining the extent and location of any infestations.

(c) The annual assessment shall not exceed five dollars ($5) per planted acre.

(d) The board of supervisors shall cause to be prepared and filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors a written report that contains all of the following information:

(1) A description of each parcel of property proposed to be subject to the assessment.

(2) The amount of the assessment of each parcel for the initial fiscal year.

(3) The maximum amount of the assessment that may be levied for each parcel during any fiscal year.

(4) The duration of the assessment.

(5) The basis of the assessment.

(6) The schedule of the assessment.

(7) A description specifying the requirements for written and oral protests, and the protest threshold necessary for requiring abandonment of the proposed assessment pursuant to subdivision (f).

(e) (1) The board may establish zones or areas of benefit within the district, and may restrict the imposition of assessments to areas lying within one or more of the zones or areas of benefit established within the district.

(2) The assessment shall be levied on each parcel within the boundaries of the district, zone, or area of benefit.

(f) (1) The board of supervisors shall comply with the notice, protest, and hearing procedures in Section 53753 of the Government Code.

(2) In addition, the mailed notice shall include the name of the district, the return address of the sender, the amount of the assessment for the initial fiscal year, the maximum amount of the assessment that may be levied during any fiscal year and the name and telephone number of the person designated by the board of supervisors to answer inquiries regarding the protest proceedings.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 118, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2005.)


citation: FAC § 6254

text: The assessment authorized to be assessed and levied is hereby declared to be in the nature of a special assessment, and the Legislature hereby finds that the owners of all winegrape plants will be benefited by the district to the same extent and in the same manner regardless of the age of the plants. The assessments authorized by this article to be assessed and levied shall be assessed and levied regardless of the age of the plants growing on the land.


citation: FAC § 6255

text: The assessment so levied shall be computed and entered upon the assessment roll by the county auditor, and if the supervisors fail to levy the assessment as required, the auditor shall do so. The assessment shall be collected at the same time, and in the same manner as, and together with and not separate from, general county taxes, and when collected shall be paid into the county treasury for the use of the district.


citation: FAC § 6256

text: The general provisions of the laws of this state, prescribing the manner of levying and collecting county taxes and the duties of the several county officers with respect to levying and collecting county taxes, are, so far as they are applicable and not in conflict with the specific provisions of this article, hereby adopted and made a part of this article. The several county officers thus referred to shall be liable upon their several official bonds for the faithful discharge of the duties imposed upon them by this chapter.


text: The revenue from the assessments imposed pursuant to this chapter by the district are trust funds and shall be encumbered only for the purposes for which the district is formed and for the benefit of the property assessed. The district shall expend the minimum amount necessary for overhead and other administrative costs. No district funds shall be donated, loaned, or transferred to any other local agency or to the state for any purpose.


citation: FAC § 6257

text: The county treasury shall be the repository of all the moneys of the district. The county treasurer shall receive and receipt for all those moneys, and place the same to the credit of the district. The county treasurer shall be responsible upon his or her official bond for the safekeeping and disbursement, in the manner provided in this article, of all moneys of the district so held.


citation: FAC § 6258

text: If a consolidated district includes parts of two or more counties, the repository of all money of the district shall be the county treasury of the county in which is located the largest area of the district. Money collected for the use of the district in any other county in which a part of the district is located shall be transferred by the county treasurer upon warrant of the county auditor of the county in which the money was collected to the county treasurer of the county serving as repository for the district, in the same manner as prescribed for the disbursement of money held for a local district. Money derived from any county in which the district is located may be expended in any part of the district for the purposes authorized by this chapter, notwithstanding any other provision of law limiting the expenditure of any such money to a specific area or county.


citation: FAC § 6259

text:
(a) The county treasurer shall pay out money of the district only upon warrants of the county auditor drawn upon the order of the board of directors of the district signed by the chairperson or vice chairperson and attested to by the secretary. The county treasurer, with the approval of the board of supervisors, shall pay out the money of the district upon one master warrant of the county auditor drawn upon the order of the board of directors of the district and signed by the chairperson or vice chairperson and attested to by the secretary, to meet the district’s expenses, including salaries, at such intervals as is approved by the board of supervisors.

(b) The county treasurer shall report, in writing, on the first day of July, October, January, and March of each year, to the board of directors, the amount of money the treasurer then holds for the district, the amount of receipts since the last report, and the amounts paid out. Each report shall be verified and filed with the secretary of the district to whom it is addressed.


citation: FAC § 6260

text: Lands devoted exclusively to the growing of winegrapes within a tract of land outside the district, but in the county in which the district is located, may be annexed to the district in the same manner provided in this chapter for the formation of the district.

article: 6. Inclusion of Lands

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 12. Winegrape Pest and Disease Control District Law > 6. Inclusion of Lands


citation: FAC § 6270

text: Any two or more districts organized or existing under this chapter may be consolidated, whether or not the boundaries are coterminous, and whether or not the districts are located in the same county.

article: 7. Consolidation

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 12. Winegrape Pest and Disease Control District Law > 7. Consolidation


citation: FAC § 6271

text: The board of directors may adopt a resolution that recites the fact of receipt and the willingness of the district to consolidate, and shall then send copies of the resolution to the board of directors of each of the other districts. The board shall send a certified copy of the resolution to the board of supervisors of the county in which is located the largest area of winegrape acreage of the proposed consolidated district, and a copy of the resolution to the board of supervisors of each of the other counties in which is located any part of the proposed consolidated district.

article: 7. Consolidation


citation: FAC § 6272

text: The board of supervisors of the county in which is located the largest area of winegrape acreage of the proposed consolidated district shall fix a time and place for hearing the proposal. Notice shall be given and the hearing conducted in the same manner and with the same effect as prescribed for the formation of a district pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 6210).

article: 7. Consolidation


citation: FAC § 6273

text: If the board of supervisors determines that consolidation is feasible and in the best interests of the winegrape growers of the respective districts, it shall, by resolution duly adopted, declare the districts consolidated into one district, giving the consolidated district a name that includes the term “consolidated.” Certified copies of the resolution shall be filed with the Secretary of State and, for record, with the county recorder of each county in which is located any part of the consolidated district. Upon the filing, the districts are consolidated into a single consolidated district with all the rights, privileges, and powers of a district. The consolidated district shall succeed to all the funds and other property, and is subject to all the indebtedness, bonded and otherwise, of the districts consolidated. Each district that is included in the consolidated district shall continue in existence for the purpose of representation on the board of the consolidated district, and for the purpose of levying, assessing, and collecting assessments for district purposes. The board of the consolidated district is, however, the board of each district that is included in the consolidated district.

article: 7. Consolidation


citation: FAC § 6274

text: Upon the adoption of a resolution consolidating two or more districts, the board of supervisors of the county in which is located the largest area of winegrape acreage shall immediately appoint a board of directors of at least five members, including at least one member from each of the districts that are included in the consolidated district, and at least two members from each county, if districts located in more than one county are included in the consolidated district. If any of the districts that are included in the consolidated district includes more than 15,000 acres of winegrape acreage, the board of directors shall be increased by one additional director for each 10,000 acres, or fraction of 10,000 acres, in any one district that is included in the consolidated district. If the consolidated districts are located in more than two counties, the board of directors of the consolidated district shall have at least seven members.

article: 7. Consolidation


citation: FAC § 6275

text: The board of a consolidated district has all the duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the board of any other district organized pursuant to this chapter. The members of the consolidated board shall be appointed in the same manner and serve for the same term as the directors of any other district organized pursuant to this chapter.

article: 7. Consolidation


citation: FAC § 6276

text: Any district that has been included in a consolidated district may withdraw from the consolidated district and be reconstituted as a separate district by filing with the board of directors of the consolidated district a petition for withdrawal that is signed by the owners of not less than 51 percent, by area, of winegrape land in the district. The board of directors of the consolidated district shall send the original petition to the board of supervisors of the county in which the withdrawing district is located, and a copy of the petition to the board of supervisors of each of the other counties in which is located any part of the consolidated district. Upon receipt of a petition for withdrawal, the board of supervisors of the county in which the withdrawing district is located shall fix a time and place for hearing the petition. Notice shall be given and the hearing conducted in the same manner and with the same effect as prescribed for the formation of a district under Article 2 (commencing with Section 6210). Upon withdrawal of a district, all moneys collected from the district for the use of the consolidated district, and all property purchased with these moneys, shall remain the property of the consolidated district.

article: 7. Consolidation


citation: FAC § 6280

text: Upon the filing of a petition with the board of supervisors, signed by the owners of not less than 60 percent by area of the winegrape acreage in the district, requesting the dissolution of the district, the board of supervisors shall set a time and place for hearing on the petition, which shall not be less than 20 days, or more than 40 days, after the filing of the petition.

article: 8. Dissolution of Districts

path: 4. PLANT QUARANTINE AND PEST CONTROL > 1. GENERALLY > 12. Winegrape Pest and Disease Control District Law > 8. Dissolution of Districts


citation: FAC § 6281

text: The board of supervisors shall give notice of the time and place fixed for the hearing upon the petition for dissolution.

article: 8. Dissolution of Districts