Pest control: citrus disease prevention.

Existing law creates in the Department of Food and Agriculture the California Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee, composed as specified, with specified powers and duties, including, among others, the authority to develop, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, a statewide citrus-specific pest and disease workplan that includes informational programs to educate and train residential owners of citrus fruit, local communities, groups, and individuals on the prevention of pests, and diseases and their vectors, specific to citrus and programs for surveying, detecting, analyzing, and treating citrus pests and diseases. Existing law authorizes the imposition of a monthly assessment on citrus producers, as provided, for specified related purposes, and requires the assessment to be remitted to the department and deposited into the Citrus Disease Management Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, which funds in that account are available upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would provide that the department is authorized to spend any funds collected pursuant to, and for the purposes of, the above provisions through June 30, 2010, thereby making an appropriation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.