California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2402

Introduced by Assembly Member Buchanan

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Frazier)

February 21, 2014

An act to amend Sections 7270, 7271, 7272.5, and 7273 of the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to noxious weed management, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2402, as introduced, Buchanan. Noxious weed management.

Under existing law, the Department of Food and Agriculture is designated as the lead department in noxious weed management, and requires the department, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, to implement provisions relating to noxious weed management. Existing law creates the Noxious Weed Management Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, and provides for the allocation of those funds, by percentage, for specified purposes, including control and abatement, research, and to the department for purposes of carrying out those provisions relating to noxious weed management.

This bill would revise the percentages of those allocations, and would also revise the purposes for which the percentage of funds allocated for research may be used to include mapping, risk assessment, and prioritization of weeds. The bill would specify that the funds made available for the control and abatement of noxious and invasive weeds shall be made available through a grant program administered by the department, as specified.

Existing law, to be eligible for funds from the Noxious Weed Management Account, requires a county agricultural commissioner to submit a cost-sharing integrated weed management plan to implement a control program for noxious weeds, and identifies specified goals that are required to be included in that program, including, among others, protecting the biodiversity of native ecosystems.

This bill would also include increasing water supply and flow among the goals that are required to be included in the program. The bill would revise the legislative findings and declarations relating to noxious weed management, and would make other clarifying and nonsubstantive changes.

This bill would appropriate $2,500,000 from the General Fund to the Noxious Weed Management Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund to be expended for purposes of the provisions specified above.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 7270 of the Food and Agricultural Code
is amended to read:

7270.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The destructive impact of invasive and begin delete often poisonous end delete
noxious weeds is profound, affecting California’s cropland,
rangeland, forests, parks, begin insert waterways, end insert and wildlands.

(b) These pests cause enormous losses of private, state, and
federal resources through decreased land productivity, begin insert decreased
water supply, end insert degradation of wildlife habitat, and outright
destruction of crops, livestock begin insert range end insert , wetlands, waterways,
watersheds, and recreational areas.

(c) The estimated begin insert annual end insert lost crop begin insert and pasture end insert productivity
caused by noxious weeds is begin delete seven end delete begin insert twenty-five end insert billion begin delete four hundred
million end delete dollars begin delete ($7,400,000,000) end delete begin insert ($25,000,000,000) end insert nationwide,
a large proportion of which is attributable to California. Nationally,
the direct and indirect costs of controlling noxious weeds begin delete may be
as high as five end delete begin insert is estimated to be at least nine end insert billion begin delete four end delete begin insert six end insert
hundred million dollars begin delete ($5,400,000,000) end delete begin insert ($9,600,000,000) end insert
annually.

begin insert

(d) Local programs conducted under this article since 2000
have successfully eradicated over 2,000 populations of high
priority weed infestations, while engaging hundreds of
collaborating organizations and leveraging three dollars ($3) of
additional support for every state dollar spent.

end insert

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
begin delete for end delete begin insert of the Natural end insert Resources begin insert Agency end insert .

(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)  begin delete Eighty end delete begin insert Sixty end insert 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 begin insert and
invasive end insert weeds according to an approved integrated weed
management plan. begin insert These control moneys shall be made available
through a grant program administered by the department.
Proposals shall be evaluated based on strategic importance for
local and regional eradication of high priority noxious and invasive
weeds. end insert

(2)  begin delete Ten end delete begin insert Twenty end insert percent shall be made available toward research
on the biology, ecology, or management of noxious and invasive
begin delete weeds. end delete

begin delete These end delete begin insert weeds, and mapping, risk assessment, and prioritization
of weeds. These end insert 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)  begin delete Ten end delete begin insert Twenty end insert 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 begin delete of end delete 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.

SEC. 3.  

Section 7272.5 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
amended to read:

7272.5.  

(a) To be eligible to receive funding from the Noxious
Weed Management Account pursuant to this article, a county
agricultural commissioner shall submit a cost-share integrated
weed management plan to implement an aggressive control
program for noxious weeds. The goals of the program shall include,
but not be limited to, all of the following:

(1) Increase the profitability and value of cropland and
rangeland.

(2) Decrease the costs of roadside, park, and waterway
maintenance.

(3) Reduce the fire hazard and fire control costs in the state.

(4) Protect the biodiversity of native ecosystems.

(5) Maintain the recreational and aesthetic value of open space,
recreational, and public areas.

begin insert

(6) Increase water supply and flow.

end insert

(b) Funds dispersed pursuant to this section shall be allocated
on the basis of the total number of infested acres in each county
and the degree of infestation that exists in the counties, and shall
be only used for the following purposes upon submission of a plan
approved by county boards of supervisors and the begin delete department. end delete
begin insert department: end insert

(1) Operation of programs by the begin insert county end insert agricultural
commissioner for control of noxious weeds along county roads
and other local government owned property.

(2) Matching funds for control of noxious weeds on city owned
streets, parks, rights-of-way, and other public areas.

(3) Disseminating biological control agents by the county
agricultural commissioner for the long-term control of yellow
starthistle or other noxious weeds.

(4) Abatement of noxious weed infestations on land vital to the
success of the program.

(5) Not more than 10 percent of the noxious weed management
funds distributed to a begin delete local agriculture end delete begin insert county agricultural end insert
commissioner subject to this section may be used by that
commissioner for meeting, travel, administration, and coordination
costs.

SEC. 4.  

Section 7273 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
amended to read:

7273.  

(a) The department shall designate and provide staff
support to an oversight committee to monitor this article and shall
consider input from weed management areas, county agricultural
commissioners, and the Range Management Advisory Committee.

(b) The membership of the oversight committee shall include
an equitable number of representatives from each of the following
interests:

(1) Livestock production.

(2) Agricultural crop protection.

(3) Forest products industry.

(4) California begin delete Exotic Pest end delete begin insert Invasive end insert Plant Council.

(5) Research institutions.

(6) Wildlife conservation groups.

(7) Environmental groups.

(8) Resource conservation districts.

(9) The general public.

(10) Local government.

(11) The Department of Fish and begin delete Game. end delete begin insert Wildlife. end insert

SEC. 5.  

The sum of two million five hundred thousand dollars
($2,500,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the
Noxious Weed Management Account in the Department of Food
and Agriculture Fund, to be expended by the Department of Food
and Agriculture for purposes of Article 1.7 (commencing with
Section 7270) of Chapter 1 of Part 4 of Division 4 of the Food and
Agricultural Code.