FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE
SECTION 6047.60-6047.124
6047.60. The Legislature hereby finds and declares the following:
(a) California is the leading producer of table grapes in the
United States, accounting for 97 percent of table grapes grown in
this country.
(b) Table grapes are grown in 15 counties located throughout the
state.
(c) California grows more than 170,000 acres of table grapes
producing over 700,000 tons of table grapes per year, valued at more
than eight hundred sixty million dollars ($860,000,000) with a direct
and indirect impact on the state's economy that totals more than
four billion dollars ($4,000,000,000).
(d) The plant killing bacterium, Xylella fastidiosa, and the
resulting plant disease known as Pierce's disease, and its vectors,
present a clear and present danger to California's nearly three
billion dollar ($3,000,000,000) grape industry, as well as to many
other commodities and plant life.
(e) Pierce's disease and its vector the glassy-winged sharpshooter
have spread into the southern San Joaquin Valley, which, if left
unabated, places grapes and other commodities throughout California
in immediate peril.
(f) In addition to the research funds and program provisions set
forth in Article 8 (commencing with Section 6045) of Chapter 9 of
Part 1 of Division 4, dealing with wine grapes, the table grape
industry is at substantial risk for Pierce's disease and other pests
and recognizes the need for additional specific control programs.
(g) Additional programs may include field treatments similar to,
or the expansion of, the successful United States Department of
Agriculture and California Department of Food and Agriculture General
Beale area pilot program in Kern County. The expansion of those
programs may require industry assessments from the table grape
industry through the creation of a pest abatement district.
(h) The state has an interest in protecting its agricultural
products from further destruction by the glassy-winged sharpshooter
and Pierce's disease, and other designated pests and diseases.
(i) As a known vector for Pierce's disease, the glassy-winged
sharpshooter has been determined to carry and spread Pierce's disease
to many forms of California agriculture, usually with complete
destruction to the infected crop. This destructive effect of the
disease has been determined by experts in the viticulture field to be
especially true with respect to infected table grapes. To avoid a
potentially catastrophic loss to one of California's most important
industries, the Legislature declares that this article is in the
interest of the public health and welfare.
(j) This article shall not establish a precedent for, or
supercede, reduce, or in any way alter, government funding from any
source related to Pierce's disease and other designated pests and
diseases in this state.
(k) 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 article not duplicate existing services already being
provided by the University of California, state, counties, or the
county agricultural commissioners to eradicate the glassy-winged
sharpshooter and Pierce's disease, and other designated pests and
diseases.
6047.61. This article shall be known and may be cited as the Table
Grape Pest and Disease District Law.
6047.62. (a) It is the purpose of this article to make available a
procedure for the organization, operation, and dissolution of
districts to respond to the effects of the spread of the
glassy-winged sharpshooter and Pierce's disease, and other designated
pests and diseases that attack table grape plants, and to collect
and disseminate to table grape 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.
(b) Division 3 (commencing with Section 56000) of Title 5 of the
Government Code does not apply to districts organized pursuant to
this article.
6047.63. Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions in
this section govern the construction of this article.
(a) "Board" or "board of directors" means the board of directors
of a district.
(b) "District" means a table grape pest district organized
pursuant to this article.
(c) "Owner" includes joint owner, coowner, guardian, executor,
administrator, or any other person that holds property in a trust
capacity under court appointment.
(d) "Pierce's disease" is the disease of grapevines caused by the
bacterium Xylella fastidiosa.
(e) "Table grapes" means all table grape varieties specified in
the report issued pursuant to Section 55601.5. "Table grapes" also
means all raisin varieties specified in the report issued pursuant to
Section 55601.5 that are intended to be marketed in their fresh
form.
(f) "Table grape acreage" means any parcel of real property with
more than one acre of table grape plants.
(g) "Grower" or "producer" means any person who is engaged within
this state in the business of producing, or causing to be produced,
table grapes for market.
(h) "Other designated pests and diseases" means pests and diseases
designated by the district as serious pests and diseases warranting
district action.
6047.64. (a) Proceedings for the formation of a district within any
county shall be commenced by a petition signed by the owners of 15
percent of the table grape acreage.
(b) The petition shall be addressed to, and filed with, the board
of supervisors of the county.
6047.65. 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.
6047.66. 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.
6047.67. (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 table grape acreage in the county
that is to be included in the district, or that all the table 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 designated is the boundary of the district, and the district
shall include all areas within the outside boundary.
6047.68. (a) The petition shall be accompanied by a fee in an
amount established by the board of supervisors as is necessary to
reimburse the county for all costs incurred by it in connection with
the proposed organization of the district. The board of supervisors
may charge the district for actual expenses incurred by the county in
connection with the proceedings for the formation of the district.
(b) Upon the establishment of the district, the district shall
reimburse those who provided the funds specified in subdivision (a)
from assessments collected pursuant to this article.
6047.69. (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 table grape acreage within the proposed district, and for an
investigation and report.
(b) The county agricultural commissioner shall create a register
of all table grape acreage owners within the proposed district and
specifically describe the net acreage of land devoted to the growing
of table grapes by each owner. The county agricultural commissioner
shall file with the register of table grape acreage owners a report
to the board of supervisors describing the present condition of the
glassy-winged sharpshooter and Pierce's disease infestations, or
infestation of other designated pests and diseases, and any proposed
program that may warrant the board of supervisors proceeding with the
organization of the district and recommendation as to the
advisability of creating the district.
6047.70. (a) The board of supervisors shall fix a time and place
for a 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 hearing that will do the
following:
(1) State the time and place for the hearing that was fixed by the
board of supervisors.
(2) State that at the hearing protests will be considered by the
board of supervisors.
(3) State that requests in writing for the exclusion of acreage
from, or the inclusion of acreage in, the proposed district, will be
heard and considered by the board of supervisors.
(4) State that the petition is available for inspection at the
office of the clerk of the board of supervisors.
(5) Designate the boundaries of the proposed district in
substantially the same way that they are described in the petition.
6047.71. Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication in a
newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the
district.
6047.72. The notice shall be published once a week for two
successive weeks prior to the date set for the hearing.
6047.73. 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 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.
6047.74. At the hearing, any owner of table grape acreage in the
proposed district may present to the board of supervisors a request,
in writing, for the exclusion of that acreage or any part of that
acreage from the proposed district upon a showing that the acreage or
part of that acreage will not be benefited by the activities of the
proposed district. However, if the excluded acreage is planted with
table grapes, the owner of the acreage shall inform the district, in
writing, within 30 days of planting. Factors that the board of
supervisors may consider in its determination for exclusion, as set
forth in an affidavit from the owner of the acreage, shall include
the following:
(a) That the acreage is not planted to table grapes and will not
be so planted in the foreseeable future, as evidenced by an affidavit
from the owner of the acreage so stating.
(b) That the table grape plants have been removed from the acreage
and that no living table grape plants remain on the acreage.
(c) That exclusion of the acreage, or any part of the acreage,
from the district will not present a risk of glassy-winged
sharpshooter infestation or infestation by other designated pests or
diseases because of the acreage's distance or isolation from infested
geographical regions.
6047.75. 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. If
the petition is dismissed, that portion of the fee imposed under
Section 6047.68 that would have been used to pay for costs of the
election shall be refunded.
6047.76. (a) If the board of supervisors determines that the
project is feasible and in the interest of the table grape acreage
owners of the county, the board of supervisors shall, by order
entered in its minutes, declare the district is 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
acreage pursuant to Section 6047.78, 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 certified by the clerk of the board of
supervisors shall be filed with the county recorder of the county in
which the district is situated.
6047.78. (a) In determining the boundaries of the district, the
board of supervisors shall exclude from the district any table grape
acreage that it finds will not be benefited by the proposed project,
pursuant to the facts in Section 6047.74, and it may include in the
district any acreage that it finds will be benefited if it also finds
it will be in the interest of the district to include this acreage.
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
acreage 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 acreage in which he or she has either a
legal or equitable interest. The notice shall describe the acreage
proposed to be included, and shall state the time and place at which
objections to the inclusion will be heard.
(c) Any owner of table grape acreage outside of the proposed
district may present to the board of supervisors a request in writing
for inclusion of the acreage in the proposed district.
6047.79. Upon the filing of the order of organization, the board of
supervisors shall appoint a board of directors of five members to
administer the affairs of the district.
6047.80. To be a director of the district, a person shall be either
an owner of, or the designee of an owner of, acreage included in the
district that is devoted, in whole or in part, to the growing of
table grapes.
6047.81. 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.
6047.82. (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 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
glassy-winged sharpshooter or Pierce's disease or other designated
pests and diseases warrant the reauthorization of the district for an
additional five years.
(c) 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 6047.71 and 6047.72. 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).
(d) If the board of supervisors approves the continuation of the
district, the board of supervisors shall, by an order entered in its
minutes, declare the district duly extended.
6047.83. (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.
6047.84. The members of the board shall serve for terms of two
years, or for a longer term as determined by the board of
supervisors, and until the appointment and qualification of their
successors.
6047.85. 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.
6047.86. 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.
6047.87. (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.
6047.88. 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.
6047.89. 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.
6047.90. 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.
6047.91. 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.
6047.92. 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.
6047.94. The district shall identify any parcel of real property
with more than one acre of table grape plants that shall be subject
to assessments.
6047.95. 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.
6047.96. (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.
6047.97. (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 XIII C and XIII D
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 XIII C and XIII D 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.
6047.98. 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.
6047.99. (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.
6047.100. 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.
6047.101. 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.
6047.102. (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.
6047.103. 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.
6047.104. (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.
6047.105. 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.
6047.106. 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.
6047.107. 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.
6047.108. 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.
6047.109. 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.
6047.110. 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.
6047.111. 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.
6047.112. 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.
6047.113. 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.
6047.114. The board of supervisors shall give notice of the time
and place fixed for the hearing upon the petition for dissolution.
6047.115. 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.
6047.116. Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication in a
newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the
district.
6047.117. The notice shall be published once a week for two
successive weeks prior to the date set for the hearing.
6047.118. 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.
6047.119. 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.
6047.120. 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.
6047.121. 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.
6047.122. 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.
6047.123. 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.
6047.124. 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.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE
SECTION 6047.60-6047.124
6047.60. The Legislature hereby finds and declares the following:
(a) California is the leading producer of table grapes in the
United States, accounting for 97 percent of table grapes grown in
this country.
(b) Table grapes are grown in 15 counties located throughout the
state.
(c) California grows more than 170,000 acres of table grapes
producing over 700,000 tons of table grapes per year, valued at more
than eight hundred sixty million dollars ($860,000,000) with a direct
and indirect impact on the state's economy that totals more than
four billion dollars ($4,000,000,000).
(d) The plant killing bacterium, Xylella fastidiosa, and the
resulting plant disease known as Pierce's disease, and its vectors,
present a clear and present danger to California's nearly three
billion dollar ($3,000,000,000) grape industry, as well as to many
other commodities and plant life.
(e) Pierce's disease and its vector the glassy-winged sharpshooter
have spread into the southern San Joaquin Valley, which, if left
unabated, places grapes and other commodities throughout California
in immediate peril.
(f) In addition to the research funds and program provisions set
forth in Article 8 (commencing with Section 6045) of Chapter 9 of
Part 1 of Division 4, dealing with wine grapes, the table grape
industry is at substantial risk for Pierce's disease and other pests
and recognizes the need for additional specific control programs.
(g) Additional programs may include field treatments similar to,
or the expansion of, the successful United States Department of
Agriculture and California Department of Food and Agriculture General
Beale area pilot program in Kern County. The expansion of those
programs may require industry assessments from the table grape
industry through the creation of a pest abatement district.
(h) The state has an interest in protecting its agricultural
products from further destruction by the glassy-winged sharpshooter
and Pierce's disease, and other designated pests and diseases.
(i) As a known vector for Pierce's disease, the glassy-winged
sharpshooter has been determined to carry and spread Pierce's disease
to many forms of California agriculture, usually with complete
destruction to the infected crop. This destructive effect of the
disease has been determined by experts in the viticulture field to be
especially true with respect to infected table grapes. To avoid a
potentially catastrophic loss to one of California's most important
industries, the Legislature declares that this article is in the
interest of the public health and welfare.
(j) This article shall not establish a precedent for, or
supercede, reduce, or in any way alter, government funding from any
source related to Pierce's disease and other designated pests and
diseases in this state.
(k) 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 article not duplicate existing services already being
provided by the University of California, state, counties, or the
county agricultural commissioners to eradicate the glassy-winged
sharpshooter and Pierce's disease, and other designated pests and
diseases.
6047.61. This article shall be known and may be cited as the Table
Grape Pest and Disease District Law.
6047.62. (a) It is the purpose of this article to make available a
procedure for the organization, operation, and dissolution of
districts to respond to the effects of the spread of the
glassy-winged sharpshooter and Pierce's disease, and other designated
pests and diseases that attack table grape plants, and to collect
and disseminate to table grape 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.
(b) Division 3 (commencing with Section 56000) of Title 5 of the
Government Code does not apply to districts organized pursuant to
this article.
6047.63. Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions in
this section govern the construction of this article.
(a) "Board" or "board of directors" means the board of directors
of a district.
(b) "District" means a table grape pest district organized
pursuant to this article.
(c) "Owner" includes joint owner, coowner, guardian, executor,
administrator, or any other person that holds property in a trust
capacity under court appointment.
(d) "Pierce's disease" is the disease of grapevines caused by the
bacterium Xylella fastidiosa.
(e) "Table grapes" means all table grape varieties specified in
the report issued pursuant to Section 55601.5. "Table grapes" also
means all raisin varieties specified in the report issued pursuant to
Section 55601.5 that are intended to be marketed in their fresh
form.
(f) "Table grape acreage" means any parcel of real property with
more than one acre of table grape plants.
(g) "Grower" or "producer" means any person who is engaged within
this state in the business of producing, or causing to be produced,
table grapes for market.
(h) "Other designated pests and diseases" means pests and diseases
designated by the district as serious pests and diseases warranting
district action.
6047.64. (a) Proceedings for the formation of a district within any
county shall be commenced by a petition signed by the owners of 15
percent of the table grape acreage.
(b) The petition shall be addressed to, and filed with, the board
of supervisors of the county.
6047.65. 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.
6047.66. 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.
6047.67. (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 table grape acreage in the county
that is to be included in the district, or that all the table 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 designated is the boundary of the district, and the district
shall include all areas within the outside boundary.
6047.68. (a) The petition shall be accompanied by a fee in an
amount established by the board of supervisors as is necessary to
reimburse the county for all costs incurred by it in connection with
the proposed organization of the district. The board of supervisors
may charge the district for actual expenses incurred by the county in
connection with the proceedings for the formation of the district.
(b) Upon the establishment of the district, the district shall
reimburse those who provided the funds specified in subdivision (a)
from assessments collected pursuant to this article.
6047.69. (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 table grape acreage within the proposed district, and for an
investigation and report.
(b) The county agricultural commissioner shall create a register
of all table grape acreage owners within the proposed district and
specifically describe the net acreage of land devoted to the growing
of table grapes by each owner. The county agricultural commissioner
shall file with the register of table grape acreage owners a report
to the board of supervisors describing the present condition of the
glassy-winged sharpshooter and Pierce's disease infestations, or
infestation of other designated pests and diseases, and any proposed
program that may warrant the board of supervisors proceeding with the
organization of the district and recommendation as to the
advisability of creating the district.
6047.70. (a) The board of supervisors shall fix a time and place
for a 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 hearing that will do the
following:
(1) State the time and place for the hearing that was fixed by the
board of supervisors.
(2) State that at the hearing protests will be considered by the
board of supervisors.
(3) State that requests in writing for the exclusion of acreage
from, or the inclusion of acreage in, the proposed district, will be
heard and considered by the board of supervisors.
(4) State that the petition is available for inspection at the
office of the clerk of the board of supervisors.
(5) Designate the boundaries of the proposed district in
substantially the same way that they are described in the petition.
6047.71. Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication in a
newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the
district.
6047.72. The notice shall be published once a week for two
successive weeks prior to the date set for the hearing.
6047.73. 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 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.
6047.74. At the hearing, any owner of table grape acreage in the
proposed district may present to the board of supervisors a request,
in writing, for the exclusion of that acreage or any part of that
acreage from the proposed district upon a showing that the acreage or
part of that acreage will not be benefited by the activities of the
proposed district. However, if the excluded acreage is planted with
table grapes, the owner of the acreage shall inform the district, in
writing, within 30 days of planting. Factors that the board of
supervisors may consider in its determination for exclusion, as set
forth in an affidavit from the owner of the acreage, shall include
the following:
(a) That the acreage is not planted to table grapes and will not
be so planted in the foreseeable future, as evidenced by an affidavit
from the owner of the acreage so stating.
(b) That the table grape plants have been removed from the acreage
and that no living table grape plants remain on the acreage.
(c) That exclusion of the acreage, or any part of the acreage,
from the district will not present a risk of glassy-winged
sharpshooter infestation or infestation by other designated pests or
diseases because of the acreage's distance or isolation from infested
geographical regions.
6047.75. 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. If
the petition is dismissed, that portion of the fee imposed under
Section 6047.68 that would have been used to pay for costs of the
election shall be refunded.
6047.76. (a) If the board of supervisors determines that the
project is feasible and in the interest of the table grape acreage
owners of the county, the board of supervisors shall, by order
entered in its minutes, declare the district is 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
acreage pursuant to Section 6047.78, 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 certified by the clerk of the board of
supervisors shall be filed with the county recorder of the county in
which the district is situated.
6047.78. (a) In determining the boundaries of the district, the
board of supervisors shall exclude from the district any table grape
acreage that it finds will not be benefited by the proposed project,
pursuant to the facts in Section 6047.74, and it may include in the
district any acreage that it finds will be benefited if it also finds
it will be in the interest of the district to include this acreage.
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
acreage 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 acreage in which he or she has either a
legal or equitable interest. The notice shall describe the acreage
proposed to be included, and shall state the time and place at which
objections to the inclusion will be heard.
(c) Any owner of table grape acreage outside of the proposed
district may present to the board of supervisors a request in writing
for inclusion of the acreage in the proposed district.
6047.79. Upon the filing of the order of organization, the board of
supervisors shall appoint a board of directors of five members to
administer the affairs of the district.
6047.80. To be a director of the district, a person shall be either
an owner of, or the designee of an owner of, acreage included in the
district that is devoted, in whole or in part, to the growing of
table grapes.
6047.81. 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.
6047.82. (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 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
glassy-winged sharpshooter or Pierce's disease or other designated
pests and diseases warrant the reauthorization of the district for an
additional five years.
(c) 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 6047.71 and 6047.72. 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).
(d) If the board of supervisors approves the continuation of the
district, the board of supervisors shall, by an order entered in its
minutes, declare the district duly extended.
6047.83. (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.
6047.84. The members of the board shall serve for terms of two
years, or for a longer term as determined by the board of
supervisors, and until the appointment and qualification of their
successors.
6047.85. 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.
6047.86. 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.
6047.87. (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.
6047.88. 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.
6047.89. 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.
6047.90. 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.
6047.91. 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.
6047.92. 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.
6047.94. The district shall identify any parcel of real property
with more than one acre of table grape plants that shall be subject
to assessments.
6047.95. 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.
6047.96. (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.
6047.97. (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 XIII C and XIII D
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 XIII C and XIII D 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.
6047.98. 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.
6047.99. (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.
6047.100. 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.
6047.101. 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.
6047.102. (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.
6047.103. 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.
6047.104. (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.
6047.105. 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.
6047.106. 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.
6047.107. 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.
6047.108. 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.
6047.109. 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.
6047.110. 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.
6047.111. 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.
6047.112. 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.
6047.113. 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.
6047.114. The board of supervisors shall give notice of the time
and place fixed for the hearing upon the petition for dissolution.
6047.115. 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.
6047.116. Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication in a
newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the
district.
6047.117. The notice shall be published once a week for two
successive weeks prior to the date set for the hearing.
6047.118. 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.
6047.119. 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.
6047.120. 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.
6047.121. 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.
6047.122. 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.
6047.123. 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.
6047.124. 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.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE
SECTION 6047.60-6047.124
6047.60. The Legislature hereby finds and declares the following:
(a) California is the leading producer of table grapes in the
United States, accounting for 97 percent of table grapes grown in
this country.
(b) Table grapes are grown in 15 counties located throughout the
state.
(c) California grows more than 170,000 acres of table grapes
producing over 700,000 tons of table grapes per year, valued at more
than eight hundred sixty million dollars ($860,000,000) with a direct
and indirect impact on the state's economy that totals more than
four billion dollars ($4,000,000,000).
(d) The plant killing bacterium, Xylella fastidiosa, and the
resulting plant disease known as Pierce's disease, and its vectors,
present a clear and present danger to California's nearly three
billion dollar ($3,000,000,000) grape industry, as well as to many
other commodities and plant life.
(e) Pierce's disease and its vector the glassy-winged sharpshooter
have spread into the southern San Joaquin Valley, which, if left
unabated, places grapes and other commodities throughout California
in immediate peril.
(f) In addition to the research funds and program provisions set
forth in Article 8 (commencing with Section 6045) of Chapter 9 of
Part 1 of Division 4, dealing with wine grapes, the table grape
industry is at substantial risk for Pierce's disease and other pests
and recognizes the need for additional specific control programs.
(g) Additional programs may include field treatments similar to,
or the expansion of, the successful United States Department of
Agriculture and California Department of Food and Agriculture General
Beale area pilot program in Kern County. The expansion of those
programs may require industry assessments from the table grape
industry through the creation of a pest abatement district.
(h) The state has an interest in protecting its agricultural
products from further destruction by the glassy-winged sharpshooter
and Pierce's disease, and other designated pests and diseases.
(i) As a known vector for Pierce's disease, the glassy-winged
sharpshooter has been determined to carry and spread Pierce's disease
to many forms of California agriculture, usually with complete
destruction to the infected crop. This destructive effect of the
disease has been determined by experts in the viticulture field to be
especially true with respect to infected table grapes. To avoid a
potentially catastrophic loss to one of California's most important
industries, the Legislature declares that this article is in the
interest of the public health and welfare.
(j) This article shall not establish a precedent for, or
supercede, reduce, or in any way alter, government funding from any
source related to Pierce's disease and other designated pests and
diseases in this state.
(k) 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 article not duplicate existing services already being
provided by the University of California, state, counties, or the
county agricultural commissioners to eradicate the glassy-winged
sharpshooter and Pierce's disease, and other designated pests and
diseases.
6047.61. This article shall be known and may be cited as the Table
Grape Pest and Disease District Law.
6047.62. (a) It is the purpose of this article to make available a
procedure for the organization, operation, and dissolution of
districts to respond to the effects of the spread of the
glassy-winged sharpshooter and Pierce's disease, and other designated
pests and diseases that attack table grape plants, and to collect
and disseminate to table grape 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.
(b) Division 3 (commencing with Section 56000) of Title 5 of the
Government Code does not apply to districts organized pursuant to
this article.
6047.63. Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions in
this section govern the construction of this article.
(a) "Board" or "board of directors" means the board of directors
of a district.
(b) "District" means a table grape pest district organized
pursuant to this article.
(c) "Owner" includes joint owner, coowner, guardian, executor,
administrator, or any other person that holds property in a trust
capacity under court appointment.
(d) "Pierce's disease" is the disease of grapevines caused by the
bacterium Xylella fastidiosa.
(e) "Table grapes" means all table grape varieties specified in
the report issued pursuant to Section 55601.5. "Table grapes" also
means all raisin varieties specified in the report issued pursuant to
Section 55601.5 that are intended to be marketed in their fresh
form.
(f) "Table grape acreage" means any parcel of real property with
more than one acre of table grape plants.
(g) "Grower" or "producer" means any person who is engaged within
this state in the business of producing, or causing to be produced,
table grapes for market.
(h) "Other designated pests and diseases" means pests and diseases
designated by the district as serious pests and diseases warranting
district action.
6047.64. (a) Proceedings for the formation of a district within any
county shall be commenced by a petition signed by the owners of 15
percent of the table grape acreage.
(b) The petition shall be addressed to, and filed with, the board
of supervisors of the county.
6047.65. 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.
6047.66. 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.
6047.67. (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 table grape acreage in the county
that is to be included in the district, or that all the table 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 designated is the boundary of the district, and the district
shall include all areas within the outside boundary.
6047.68. (a) The petition shall be accompanied by a fee in an
amount established by the board of supervisors as is necessary to
reimburse the county for all costs incurred by it in connection with
the proposed organization of the district. The board of supervisors
may charge the district for actual expenses incurred by the county in
connection with the proceedings for the formation of the district.
(b) Upon the establishment of the district, the district shall
reimburse those who provided the funds specified in subdivision (a)
from assessments collected pursuant to this article.
6047.69. (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 table grape acreage within the proposed district, and for an
investigation and report.
(b) The county agricultural commissioner shall create a register
of all table grape acreage owners within the proposed district and
specifically describe the net acreage of land devoted to the growing
of table grapes by each owner. The county agricultural commissioner
shall file with the register of table grape acreage owners a report
to the board of supervisors describing the present condition of the
glassy-winged sharpshooter and Pierce's disease infestations, or
infestation of other designated pests and diseases, and any proposed
program that may warrant the board of supervisors proceeding with the
organization of the district and recommendation as to the
advisability of creating the district.
6047.70. (a) The board of supervisors shall fix a time and place
for a 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 hearing that will do the
following:
(1) State the time and place for the hearing that was fixed by the
board of supervisors.
(2) State that at the hearing protests will be considered by the
board of supervisors.
(3) State that requests in writing for the exclusion of acreage
from, or the inclusion of acreage in, the proposed district, will be
heard and considered by the board of supervisors.
(4) State that the petition is available for inspection at the
office of the clerk of the board of supervisors.
(5) Designate the boundaries of the proposed district in
substantially the same way that they are described in the petition.
6047.71. Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication in a
newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the
district.
6047.72. The notice shall be published once a week for two
successive weeks prior to the date set for the hearing.
6047.73. 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 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.
6047.74. At the hearing, any owner of table grape acreage in the
proposed district may present to the board of supervisors a request,
in writing, for the exclusion of that acreage or any part of that
acreage from the proposed district upon a showing that the acreage or
part of that acreage will not be benefited by the activities of the
proposed district. However, if the excluded acreage is planted with
table grapes, the owner of the acreage shall inform the district, in
writing, within 30 days of planting. Factors that the board of
supervisors may consider in its determination for exclusion, as set
forth in an affidavit from the owner of the acreage, shall include
the following:
(a) That the acreage is not planted to table grapes and will not
be so planted in the foreseeable future, as evidenced by an affidavit
from the owner of the acreage so stating.
(b) That the table grape plants have been removed from the acreage
and that no living table grape plants remain on the acreage.
(c) That exclusion of the acreage, or any part of the acreage,
from the district will not present a risk of glassy-winged
sharpshooter infestation or infestation by other designated pests or
diseases because of the acreage's distance or isolation from infested
geographical regions.
6047.75. 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. If
the petition is dismissed, that portion of the fee imposed under
Section 6047.68 that would have been used to pay for costs of the
election shall be refunded.
6047.76. (a) If the board of supervisors determines that the
project is feasible and in the interest of the table grape acreage
owners of the county, the board of supervisors shall, by order
entered in its minutes, declare the district is 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
acreage pursuant to Section 6047.78, 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 certified by the clerk of the board of
supervisors shall be filed with the county recorder of the county in
which the district is situated.
6047.78. (a) In determining the boundaries of the district, the
board of supervisors shall exclude from the district any table grape
acreage that it finds will not be benefited by the proposed project,
pursuant to the facts in Section 6047.74, and it may include in the
district any acreage that it finds will be benefited if it also finds
it will be in the interest of the district to include this acreage.
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
acreage 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 acreage in which he or she has either a
legal or equitable interest. The notice shall describe the acreage
proposed to be included, and shall state the time and place at which
objections to the inclusion will be heard.
(c) Any owner of table grape acreage outside of the proposed
district may present to the board of supervisors a request in writing
for inclusion of the acreage in the proposed district.
6047.79. Upon the filing of the order of organization, the board of
supervisors shall appoint a board of directors of five members to
administer the affairs of the district.
6047.80. To be a director of the district, a person shall be either
an owner of, or the designee of an owner of, acreage included in the
district that is devoted, in whole or in part, to the growing of
table grapes.
6047.81. 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.
6047.82. (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 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
glassy-winged sharpshooter or Pierce's disease or other designated
pests and diseases warrant the reauthorization of the district for an
additional five years.
(c) 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 6047.71 and 6047.72. 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).
(d) If the board of supervisors approves the continuation of the
district, the board of supervisors shall, by an order entered in its
minutes, declare the district duly extended.
6047.83. (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.
6047.84. The members of the board shall serve for terms of two
years, or for a longer term as determined by the board of
supervisors, and until the appointment and qualification of their
successors.
6047.85. 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.
6047.86. 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.
6047.87. (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.
6047.88. 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.
6047.89. 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.
6047.90. 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.
6047.91. 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.
6047.92. 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.
6047.94. The district shall identify any parcel of real property
with more than one acre of table grape plants that shall be subject
to assessments.
6047.95. 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.
6047.96. (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.
6047.97. (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 XIII C and XIII D
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 XIII C and XIII D 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.
6047.98. 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.
6047.99. (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.
6047.100. 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.
6047.101. 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.
6047.102. (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.
6047.103. 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.
6047.104. (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.
6047.105. 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.
6047.106. 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.
6047.107. 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.
6047.108. 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.
6047.109. 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.
6047.110. 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.
6047.111. 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.
6047.112. 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.
6047.113. 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.
6047.114. The board of supervisors shall give notice of the time
and place fixed for the hearing upon the petition for dissolution.
6047.115. 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.
6047.116. Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication in a
newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the
district.
6047.117. The notice shall be published once a week for two
successive weeks prior to the date set for the hearing.
6047.118. 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.
6047.119. 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.
6047.120. 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.
6047.121. 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.
6047.122. 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.
6047.123. 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.
6047.124. 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.
