ARTICLE 5. Host-Free Periods and Districts [5781. - 5786.]

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC 5.

in effect

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 5781. Section 5781.

If the director determines that a particular pest, either within the state or from any area which is adjacent to the state, cannot be eradicated or effectively controlled by recognized ordinary means, or that it is impracticable to eradicate or control the pest without the destruction, in whole or in part, of uninfected or uninfested host plants, the director may adopt regulations which do all of the following: (a) Declares a host-free period or a host-free district, or both. (b) Describes any host and the district in which the planting, growing, cultivating, or maintenance in any manner of any plant which is capable of continuing the particular pest is prohibited during a specified period of time and until the menace from it no longer exists.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 5782. Section 5782.

During the existence of a host-free period or host-free district which is established by regulations of the director, any host which is planted, growing, or being cultivated or maintained within the host-free period or district is a public nuisance and is subject to all the laws which relate to the abatement of the nuisance.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 5783. Section 5783.

It is unlawful for any person to plant, grow, cultivate, or maintain any host which is described in any regulation of the director that establishes a host-free period or host-free district, within the host-free period or host-free district after notice of the host-free period or host-free district.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 5784. Section 5784.

(a) The regulations adopted by the director upon the establishment of a cotton host-free period or district for a particular pest shall, insofar as practical, be uniform and shall be uniformly enforced in all cotton host-free periods or districts established for that pest. Any exemptions or variances thereafter shall be extended to all other districts or periods unless the director finds that it will be detrimental to the eradication or effective control of the particular pest to do so. (b) The remedies provided in this article for any violation of this article are in addition to any other remedy provided by law. (c) Any person producing cotton in violation of cotton plowdown requirements adopted pursuant to this article is subject to a civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) for the first violation and one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each subsequent violation. Each acre not in compliance is a separate additional violation subject to a civil penalty of five dollars ($5) per acre of land not in compliance for the first violation and ten dollars ($10) per acre of land not in compliance for each subsequent violation. (d) Any person producing cotton in violation of cotton planting dates adopted pursuant to this article is subject to a civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) for the first violation and one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each subsequent violation. Each acre not in compliance is a separate additional violation subject to a civil fine of fifty dollars ($50) per acre of land not in compliance for the first violation and one hundred dollars ($100) per acre of land not in compliance for each subsequent violation. (e) The Attorney General, upon the request of the director, or the district attorney or county counsel, upon the request of the commissioner, may request a court to issue an injunction or take other appropriate action to restrain violations of this article relating to cotton pests.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 5785. Section 5785.

(a) Celery which is being produced in violation of a host-free period or district adopted pursuant to this article is a nuisance. (b) The commissioner shall take abatement action against any celery plants or parts thereof, other than seed, including any variety or subspecies of Apium graveolens found in violation of celery host-free period or district regulations. The person producing, who has produced, or who owns the celery shall be given not more than 48 hours to commence abatement of the nuisance and shall be given not more than five days to complete abatement. (c) If the person who is producing, has produced, or owns celery fails to commence and complete abatement within the time specified by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision (b), the commissioner shall abate the nuisance by appropriate means. The person who produced the celery plants shall pay 150 percent of all costs associated with the commissioner’s abatement of the nuisance. (d) The commissioner, with the approval of the director, may approve or deny a request for a hardship variance for celery plowdown due to adverse weather conditions. (e) It is unlawful to harvest for sale or to sell any celery grown during a host-free period. Any person, firm, or corporation harvesting celery (Apium graveolens) in violation of a host-free period regulation shall forfeit the total sale price received for the celery to the county in which the violations occurred. An action to recover the sale price shall be brought in the name of the county on order of the board of supervisors by the county counsel of the county. This remedy shall be in addition to any other remedy provided for by law. (f) The commissioner may request that the district attorney or county counsel assist him or her in expediting abatements and other actions necessary pursuant to this section.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 5786. Section 5786.

(a) The Legislature finds that any cotton plants and parts thereof not in compliance with any cotton plowdown dates adopted pursuant to this article constitutes a public nuisance which immediately threatens the health and safety of the public. (b) In addition to any other remedies provided by law, any cotton plant or part thereof not in compliance with any cotton plowdown order may be abated at the direction of the commissioner in the county where the cotton plant or parts exist. The notice of the cotton plowdown date shall serve as notice to the owner of the plant or parts thereof that the plant or parts constitute a public nuisance if not brought into compliance with the orders by that date. Thereafter, the commissioner may take any abatement action as is reasonably necessary to bring the plant and parts thereof into compliance. (c) The person who produced the cotton plant and parts thereof shall pay 150 percent of all costs associated with the commissioner’s abatement of the nuisance. The producers may, when making the payment of the amount, submit a written appeal of the payment to the director. (d) Any moneys collected pursuant to Section 5784 or this section for violation of cotton pest provisions shall be allocated to the commissioner in the county where the action is brought.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026