(a) (1) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shall expend funds, subject to appropriation in the Budget Act, on sudden oak death management activities pursuant to this section. The department shall take into account the recommendations of the task force for the expenditure of the funds.

(2) The department shall expend the funds appropriated pursuant to this subdivision to take various actions to control the spread of Phytophthora ramorum, to find effective treatments to prevent or eliminate sudden oak death, and to assist state and local agencies and private property owners to perform, identify, remove, and appropriately dispose of trees and plants that have become infected or expired due to sudden oak death.

(3) (A) Of the amount to be expended pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall expend the amount of funds it deems necessary on sudden oak death monitoring including, but not limited to, open-space surveys, roadside surveys, aerial surveys, monitoring technique workshops, development of baseline information on the distribution, condition, and mortality rates of oaks in California, and maintaining an up-to-date geographic information system database.

(B) (i) Except as provided in clause (ii), of the amount to be expended pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall expend not less than 35 percent on sudden oak death management activities pursuant to contracts with counties, which may include, but need not be limited to, hazard tree assessment, contracts with counties for hazard tree removal pursuant to the process established by clause (iii), biomass utilization, assessment and management of restoration and mitigation options, establishment and operation of demonstration projects, including green waste treatment facilities, and grants to counties for oak tree restoration pursuant to the process established by clause (iv). The department shall first endeavor to contract directly with the affected county. If the county declines to enter into a contract, or if the county has not commenced the process established by clause (iii) within 60 days of notification by the department of the need for a contract with the affected county, the department may enter into one or more contracts with one or more other appropriate entities at the local level.

(ii) Of the amount of funds appropriated in the Budget Act of 2002 that is expended under this subdivision, the department shall expend not less than seven hundred thousand dollars ($700,000) pursuant to clause (i).

(iii) The department shall utilize a portion of the funds to be expended pursuant to this subparagraph to contract with affected counties for the removal of trees that have died or are dying as a result of sudden oak death. An affected county may apply to the department for a contract, and shall provide the department with an action plan for the removal and disposition of affected trees within its jurisdiction. The department shall approve or deny an affected county’s action plan in a timely manner. If the department approves the action plan of an affected county, the department may enter into a contract with that county. The department shall consider the recommendation of the task force prior to approving or denying a county action plan and prior to entering into a contract under this clause. An action plan approved by the board prior to January 1, 2003, is deemed sufficient to comply with this section.

(iv) The department shall utilize a portion of the funds to be expended pursuant to this subparagraph to contract with affected counties for activities designed to restore oak trees in areas that have been affected by sudden oak death. An affected county may apply to the department for these funds, and provide the department with an action plan for the restoration of affected trees within its jurisdiction. The department shall approve or deny an affected county’s action plan in a timely manner. If the department approves the action plan of an affected county, the department may enter into a contract with that county. The department shall consider the recommendations of the task force prior to approving or denying a county action plan and prior to entering into a contract under this clause. The department may reallocate to other sudden oak death management activities authorized under this section any amount allocated under this subdivision and not expended within one year after the date it was originally allocated.

(C) Of the amount to be expended pursuant to this subdivision, the department may expend the amount of funds it deems necessary on research activities, including, but not limited to, research on forest pathology and Phytophthora ecology, forest insects associated with oak decline, urban forestry and arboriculture, forest ecology, fire management and silviculture, genetic resistance, ecosystem impacts, and landscape ecology, epidemiology, and monitoring techniques.

(D) Of the amount to be expended pursuant to this subdivision, the department may expend the amount of funds it deems necessary on education activities, including, but not limited to, support for two regional education project coordinators, one public information officer, Internet Web site design and maintenance training, and development and distribution of educational materials on sudden oak death for homeowners, arborists, urban foresters, park managers, public works personnel, utility crews, recreationists, nursery workers, landscapers, naturalists, and firefighting personnel.

(E) Of the amount to be expended pursuant to this subdivision, the department may expend the amount of funds it deems necessary on fire protection and prevention activities, including, but not limited to, assessing fire risk in heavily impacted areas, inspecting property to encourage increased clearing of vegetation in heavily infested areas and to mitigate the fire risk, producing and distributing safety information for firefighters working in areas affected by sudden oak death, and treating vegetation to prevent fire.

(F) Of the amount to be expended pursuant to this subdivision, the department may expend the amount of funds it deems necessary to fund administrative activities necessary to oversee the activities listed in subparagraphs (A) to (E), inclusive, including, but not limited to, an overall statewide task force coordinator, miscellaneous expenses associated with the operation of the task force, and staff of the department to carry out contract preparation, administration, and fiscal audits of contract expenditures.

(b) Of the amount to be expended under this section, the department may allocate funds to the Department of Food and Agriculture for regulatory activities, including, but not limited to, nursery surveys and other regulatory enforcement activities performed by agricultural commissioners, diagnostic services, and public agency coordination efforts. Of the amount allocated to be expended under this subdivision, the department may expend the amount of funds it deems necessary to fund administrative activities necessary to oversee the activities listed in this subdivision.

(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 224, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2005.)