(a) The Legislature designates the department as the lead department in noxious weed management and the department is responsible for the implementation of this article in cooperation with the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency.
(b) There is hereby created in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund the Noxious Weed Management Account.
(c) Moneys appropriated for expenditure by the secretary for the purposes of this article may be spent without regard to fiscal year and shall be allocated as follows:
(1) Sixty percent of the moneys in the account shall be made available to eligible weed management areas or county agricultural commissioners for the control and abatement of noxious and invasive weeds according to an approved integrated weed management plan. These control moneys shall be made available through a grant program administered by the department. Proposals shall be evaluated based on the strategic importance for local and regional eradication of high priority noxious and invasive weeds.
(2) (A) Twenty percent shall be made available toward research on the biology, ecology, or management of noxious and invasive weeds; the mapping, risk assessment, and prioritization of weeds; the prevention of weed introduction and spread; and education and outreach activities. These moneys shall be made available to qualified applicants through a grant program administered by the department. Proposals shall be evaluated in consultation with the Range Management Advisory Committee, established pursuant to Section 741 of the Public Resources Code, with an emphasis placed on funding of needs-based, applied, and practical research.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, a qualified applicant includes nonprofits, publicly funded educational institutions, state and local agencies, and California Native American tribes.
(3) Twenty percent shall be made available to the department, and shall only be used for the following purposes:
(A) Carrying out the provisions of this article.
(B) Developing noxious weed control strategies.
(C) Seeking new, effective biological control agents for the long-term control of noxious weeds.
(D) Conducting private and public workshops as needed to discuss and plan weed management strategies with all interested and affected local, state, and federal agencies, private landowners, educational institutions, interest groups, and county agricultural commissioners.
(E) Appointing a noxious weed coordinator and weed mapping specialist to assist in weed inventory, mapping, and control strategies.
(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 870, Sec. 2. (AB 2470) Effective January 1, 2019.)