(a) The department may provide, upon request, nonregulatory accreditation, analytical, certification, diagnostic, inspection, quality assurance, testing, and other nonregulatory services relating to nursery stock, plants, seed, or other plant pests and diseases on a charge-for-service basis or may accredit private persons or business entities to perform those services.
(b) To ensure that the activities performed by private persons or business entities are valid and reliable, the department shall adopt regulations to establish accreditation criteria to govern its accreditation, monitoring or auditing, and revocation of accreditation activities. Any regulations adopted by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be consistent with applicable federal law. The department may adopt by reference any pertinent federal laws or regulations pertaining to the accreditation of persons or business entities for the performance of work required to certify compliance with the quarantine, quality, and other import requirements established by other states or foreign countries. No private, nongovernmental entities that perform diagnostic or field inspections for the issuance of federal phytosanitary certificates shall be accredited until federal rules are adopted that permit and regulate those activities.
(c) To retain accreditation, those persons or business entities providing services described in subdivision (a) shall agree to be monitored or assessed and evaluated on a periodic basis by means of proficiency testing or sample checking.
(d) It is unlawful for any person or business entity that is not accredited by the department to make any representation regarding accreditation by the department. Any person or business entity that makes that representation, without valid departmental accreditation, may be enjoined from doing so by any court of competent jurisdiction upon suit by the department.
(e) Each governmental agency within the state that governs and conducts activities related to plant quarantine or conducts a program to control the pests or diseases of nursery stock, plants, or seed shall accept the test results of any laboratory accredited under this section as being valid, unless the agency establishes specific criteria and standards for rejecting the results prior to the rejection and provides written justification to the state accrediting entity and laboratory stating the reasons the laboratory results do not meet the quarantine or disease or pest control program requirements under its jurisdiction. Any agency under this subdivision wishing to reject the accreditation of any laboratory or the test results of any laboratory accredited under this section must first obtain written approval from the secretary.
(f) To assure validity and reliability, the department may specify, by order, the location or locations where the services described in subdivision (a) will be provided.
(g) The department may establish, by regulation, a schedule of charges to cover the department’s costs for specific services it provides. Charges for the accreditation and monitoring of laboratories located outside the state shall include the expenses for all required travel and per diem and may include application, basic, initial, renewal, and other charges that the department deems necessary to cover its costs for accreditation and monitoring or auditing for compliance. Funds collected through cost-recovery charges are dedicated to, and may only be used for, carrying out the activities and functions specified in this article.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code regarding the provision of the services described in subdivision (a), orders issued by the department and regulations establishing charges adopted by the secretary pursuant to this section shall not be subject to review, approval, or disapproval by the Office of Administrative Law.
(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to interfere with or supersede any existing inspection, quality assurance, or certification program conducted by an agricultural trade or commodity organization, and this section shall not be construed to require those programs to be certified or accredited by the department.
(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 256, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2002.)