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AB-732 Agriculture: neglected or abandoned crops: pests.(2025-2026)

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Date Published: 03/24/2025 09:00 PM
AB732:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 24, 2025

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 732

Introduced by Assembly Member Macedo

February 18, 2025

An act to amend Section 5006 of add Section 5556 to, and to add and repeal Article 5 (commencing with Section 5646) of Chapter 7 of Part 1 of Division 4 of, the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to pests. agriculture.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 732, as amended, Macedo. Pests. Agriculture: neglected or abandoned crops: pests.
Under existing law, a neglected or abandoned plant or crop is a public nuisance if it is a menace to the agriculture of the county, district, or vicinity because of the existence of any pest, in or on it, or other condition, or if it is a host plant of, or provides a favorable or likely harbor for, any pest. Existing law prohibits a person from maintaining a neglected or abandoned plant or crop that is a public nuisance. Existing law requires a county agricultural commissioner, in writing, to notify the owner of record or person in charge of the property having a neglected or abandoned plant or crop that the commissioner has found to be a public nuisance, of the need to remove or destroy the neglected or abandoned plant or crop, as specified. If the removal or destruction of the neglected or abandoned plant or crop is undertaken by the commissioner, existing law requires a commissioner to cause a notice of lien that describes the land on which it exists to be recorded. Existing law defines “pest” for these purposes as an infectious, transmissible, or contagious disease of any plant, or any disorder of any plant that manifests symptoms or behavior characteristic of an infectious, transmissible, or contagious disease, a form of animal life, or a form of vegetable life, that is, or is liable to be, dangerous or detrimental to the agricultural industry of the state.
This bill would instead define “pest” for those purposes as an infectious, transmissible, or contagious disease of a plant, or a disorder of a plant that manifests symptoms or behaviors characteristic of an infectious, transmissible, or contagious disease that is, or is liable to be, dangerous or detrimental to the agricultural industry of the state.
This bill would authorize a county agricultural commissioner, in lieu of imposing a lien, as described above, to levy a civil penalty against a person who maintains a public nuisance in violation of the above-described prohibition, as specified. The bill would require the civil penalty to be levied in accordance with specified procedures, including a requirement that the person charged with the violation receive notice of the nature of the violation and be given an opportunity to be heard. If the person takes a good faith action to rectify the violation within 15 days of receiving notice, the bill would provide that the person is not liable for that civil penalty. The bill would require that civil penalty to be in an amount of up to $500 for each acre of property found to be in violation and would authorize that amount to be increased to up to $1,000 per acre if the person does not take a good faith action to rectify the public nuisance within 30 days of issuance of the original civil penalty. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2035.

Existing law establishes the Department of Food and Agriculture, which is under the control of the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, and, among other things, requires the department to protect the agricultural industries of this state from pests. Existing law defines “pest” for purposes of these provisions.

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to the definition of “pest.”

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 5556 is added to the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:

5556.
 (a) Notwithstanding Section 5006, for the purposes of this chapter, “pest” means either of the following things that is, or is liable to be, dangerous or detrimental to the agricultural industry of the state:
(1) Any infectious, transmissible, or contagious disease of a plant.
(2) Any disorder of a plant that manifests symptoms or behaviors that the director, after investigation and hearing, finds and determines is characteristic of an infectious, transmissible, or contagious disease.
(b) “Pest” does not include either of the following:
(1) Biological control or beneficial organisms, as specified in Section 3162 of Title 3 of the California Code of Regulations.
(2) A conservation practice standard identified by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Field Office Technical Guide or an on-farm management practice identified by the Healthy Soils Program established pursuant to Section 569.
(c) The exclusions in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) do not supersede a commissioner’s authority to abate a pest that is harbored by a practice standard included in subdivision (a).

SEC. 2.

 Article 5 (commencing with Section 5646) is added to Chapter 7 of Part 1 of Division 4 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:
Article  5. Civil Penalties

5646.
 (a) In lieu of imposing a lien pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 5631), a commissioner may levy a civil penalty against a person who violates Section 5553 if the violation constitutes a pest-related nuisance to an adjoining or nearby property and the violation results in economic or ecological damage or would result in economic or ecological damage if the pest-related nuisance is not abated. The civil penalty shall be in an amount of up to five hundred dollars ($500), based on the severity of the nuisance and the person’s ability to pay, for each acre of property found to be in violation of Section 5553, as described in this subdivision.
(b) (1) A minimum of 15 days before a civil penalty is levied pursuant to subdivision (a), the person charged with a violation shall receive notice of the nature of the violation and shall be given an opportunity to be heard. This shall include the right to review the evidence and the right to present evidence on their own behalf.
(2) The notice shall include the internet website of the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program.
(3) Upon service of the notice, the commissioner shall refer the person charged with the violation to the nearest University of California Cooperative Extension service office.
(4) If the person charged with the violation cannot, after a reasonable search, be found within the county, the notice shall be served by posting copies of it in three conspicuous places upon the property or premises or by mailing a copy of the notice to the owner of the property or premises at their last known address.
(5) (A) The notice shall include, either within the notice or in a separate document that accompanies the notice, a statement that reads: “This is a notice of a violation of Section 5553 of the California Food and Agricultural Code, relating to maintaining a public nuisance. This notice of a violation has been issued by your county’s agricultural commissioner. For more information or assistance, please contact their office. Do not ignore this notice.”
(B) The statement described in subparagraph (A) shall be in both English and in any other language that over 10 percent of the persons residing within the county solely speak.
(c) If the person charged with the violation takes a good faith action to rectify the violation within 15 days of receiving notice pursuant to subdivision (b), the person shall not be liable for a civil penalty pursuant to subdivision (a).
(d) If the person charged with the violation does not take a good faith action to rectify the violation within 30 days from the issuance of a civil penalty pursuant to subdivision (a), the commissioner may increase the previously issued civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000), based on the severity of the nuisance and the person’s ability to pay, for each acre of property found to be in violation of Section 5553, as described in subdivision (a).
(e) Subdivision (d) of Section 5311 shall apply to any civil penalty levied pursuant to this chapter.
(f) Any moneys recovered by the commissioner pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the county general fund in the county in which the action is brought and shall be allocated to the commissioner to cover costs related to the enforcement of this division.

5647.
 This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2035, and as of that date is repealed.

SECTION 1.Section 5006 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read:
5006.

“Pest” means any of the following things that is, or is liable to be, dangerous or detrimental to the agricultural industry of the state:

(a)An infectious, transmissible, or contagious disease of a plant, or a disorder of a plant that manifests symptoms or behavior that the secretary, after investigation and hearing, finds and determines is characteristic of an infectious, transmissible, or contagious disease.

(b)A form of animal life.

(c)A form of vegetable life.