The department may enter into a cooperative agreement with a county agricultural commissioner or other state or local agency to assist the department in implementing the provisions of this division related to administration, investigation, inspection, fee collection, document management, education and outreach, distribution of individual licenses approved by the department, and technical assistance pertaining to the cultivation of cannabis. The department shall pay compensation under a cooperative agreement from fees collected and deposited pursuant to this division and shall provide reimbursement to a county agricultural commissioner, state, or local agency for associated costs. The department shall not delegate through a cooperative agreement, or otherwise, its authority to issue cultivation licenses to a county agricultural commissioner, local agency, or another state agency. The department shall provide notice of any cooperative agreement entered into pursuant to this section to other relevant state agencies involved in the regulation of cannabis cultivation. No cooperative agreement under this section shall relieve the department of its obligations under subdivision (a) of Section 26012 to administer the provisions of this division related to, and associated with, the cultivation of cannabis.

(Added by renumbering Section 26069.1 by Stats. 2021, Ch. 70, Sec. 54. (AB 141) Effective July 12, 2021.)