Any person who by any means, without a permit issued by the department, digs up, cuts down, destroys, prunes, trims, or otherwise injures any tree or shrub on any state highway, rights-of-way, or property shall be liable for a penalty in the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each tree so damaged and one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each shrub so damaged; and the department, in the name of the people of the State of California, may recover the penalty in an action at law, in a court of competent jurisdiction, together with the costs and expenses, including attorney and expert fees, incurred in the action and the actual costs incurred because of the damage to any tree or shrub on state property.

(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 664, Sec. 210. Effective January 1, 2003.)

Terms Used In California Streets and Highways Code 730.5

  • Department: means the Department of Transportation of this state. See California Streets and Highways Code 20
  • Highway: includes all, or any part, of the entire width of the right-of-way of a state highway, whether or not the entire area is actually used for highway purposes. See California Streets and Highways Code 660
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: means any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, organization, limited liability company, or business trust. See California Streets and Highways Code 19
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