BILL NUMBER: AB 2479	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 16, 2006
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  MAY 31, 2006
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 30, 2006
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 6, 2006

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Cogdill
   (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Berg, Villines, and Yee)
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Leslie)
   (Coauthors: Senators Bowen and Cox)

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2006

   An act to amend Section 7271 of the Food and Agricultural Code,
relating to noxious and invasive weeds.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2479, Cogdill  Noxious and invasive weeds.
   Existing law provides that within the Department of Food and
Agriculture Fund there is the Noxious Weed Management Account, the
funds in which are made available to eligible weed management areas
or county agricultural commissioners for the control and abatement of
noxious weeds according to an approved integrated weed management
plan. Existing law provides that only 5% of the funds in the account
shall be made available to the Department of Food and Agriculture for
carrying out provisions relating to management of noxious and
invasive weeds, developing noxious weed strategies, seeking new
biological control agents, conducting workshops, and appointing a
noxious weed coordinator and weed mapping specialist.
   This bill would make various findings and declarations regarding
the impact of noxious and invasive weeds on California. This bill
would increase the percentage of Noxious Weed Management Account
funds that shall be made available to the department to 10%.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares each of the
following:
   (a) The spread of certain harmful, nonnative species of plants
causes enormous damage to the environment and economy of California.

   (b) The destructive impact of invasive and often poisonous noxious
weeds is profound, affecting California's cropland, rangeland,
forests, parks, and wildlands.
   (c) Enormous sums of private, state, and federal resources are
lost through decreased land productivity, degradation of wildlife
habitat, and outright destruction of crops, livestock, wetlands,
waterways, watersheds, and recreational areas caused by noxious and
invasive weeds.
   (d) The estimated lost crop and forage productivity caused by
invasive and noxious weeds is $33 billion nationwide, a large
proportion of which is attributable to California.
   (e) Noxious and invasive weeds have destroyed large portions of
riparian habitat along creeks, streams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs,
and other bodies of freshwater in California, damaging the integrity
of riparian system by altering erosion, sedimentation, flooding, and
fire.
   (f) Proper noxious and invasive weed management in riparian
habitats is critical to sustaining California's freshwater supply.
   (g) The invasive weed Arundo donax (giant reed) has established
large colonies across the state, most notably southern California,
where one in 10,000 acre area of the weed has been estimated to have
consumed more than 30,000 acre-feet of water each year, or enough
water to meet the yearly freshwater needs of 150,000 persons. Over
one million dollars ($1,000,000) is spent annually on controlling
Arundo in southern California.
   (h) The invasive weed yellow star thistle has infested more than
20,000,000 acres, roughly 22 percent of the state, and is quickly
expanding in the Sierra and into the Coastal Range, making it the
most common invasive plant in California, choking out native plants
and killing horses who eat its poisonous early season growth. Yellow
star thistle consumes extra groundwater estimated to cost sixteen
million dollars ($16,000,000) to seventy-five million dollars
($75,000,000) each year in the Sacramento River watershed alone.
   (i) Tamarisk (saltcedar) trees, found along waterways throughout
the arid west, including southern California, are estimated to cost
between $133 billion and $292 billion nationally each year in lost
water, flood control, hydropower, wildlife habitat, and recreation.
   (j) California has a noxious weed management program for the
purpose of managing and eradicating noxious weeds though specified
local weed management areas. These programs to prevent, control,
manage, and eradicate nonnative and noxious weeds have emphasized
information sharing, education, and public awareness and
participation as critical to the success of prevention, control, and
eradication efforts.
   (k) Local weed management groups have benefited greatly from the
commitment of the state to fund weed eradication, and these weed
management groups have been successful in identifying and eradicating
invasive and noxious weed species in their regions.
   (l) The California Noxious and Invasive Weed Action Plan,
September 2005, calls for expanding funding for local weed management
groups.
  SEC. 2.  Section 7271 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended
to read:
   7271.  (a) The Legislature designates the Department of Food and
Agriculture as the lead department in noxious weed management and the
department is responsible for the implementation of this article in
cooperation with the Secretary for Resources.
   (b) There is hereby created in the Department of Food and
Agriculture Fund the Noxious Weed Management Account.
   (c) Funds appropriated for expenditure by the secretary for
purposes of this article may be spent without regard to fiscal year
and shall be allocated as follows:
   (1) Eighty percent of moneys in the account shall be made
available to eligible weed management areas or county agricultural
commissioners for the control and abatement of noxious weeds
according to an approved integrated weed management plan.
   (2) Ten percent shall be made available toward research on the
biology, ecology, or management of noxious and invasive weeds.
   These research moneys shall be made available to qualified
researchers through a grant program administered by the department.
Proposals shall be evaluated in consultation with the Range
Management Advisory Committee, with emphasis placed on funding of
needs-based, applied and practical research.
   (3) Ten percent shall be made available to the department, and
shall only be used for the following purposes:
   (A) Carrying out the provisions of this article.
   (B) Developing of noxious weed control strategies.
   (C) Seeking new, effective biological control agents for the
long-term control of noxious weeds.
   (D) Conducting private and public workshops as needed to discuss
and plan weed management strategies with all interested and affected
local, state, and federal agencies, private landowners, educational
institutions, interest groups, and county agricultural commissioners.

   (E) Appointing a noxious weed coordinator and weed mapping
specialist to assist in weed inventory, mapping, and control
strategies.