(a) (1) To provide funds for enforcement of this chapter, the event manager of every event shall charge and collect the applicable fee for each horse entered or exhibited in the event, and each horse consigned for public sale. The secretary may, by regulation, set the applicable fee, in consultation with the advisory committee appointed pursuant to Section 24013.5, at an amount necessary to carry out this chapter. An event manager shall be notified of the applicable fee at the time of registration of an event. The event manager of the registered event shall remit the fee established pursuant to this section, in addition to the completed assessment report for the registered event, as prescribed by the secretary, to the department within 15 days after completion of the event. The event manager shall maintain event records for a period of two years after the completion of the event. Upon request by the department, the event records shall be made available to the department for inspection and photocopying to enable verification of appropriate fee collection and remittance.

(2) Notwithstanding Section 24001, a show event held over multiple consecutive days, with a different judge on each day, that is registered and managed by the same event manager on the same premises, shall be considered one event for the purpose of the assessment of the fee.

(b) An event manager who does not pay to the department the full amount that is due pursuant to this section shall pay a civil penalty of 10 percent of the amount due plus interest at the rate of 1¹/₂ percent per month of the unpaid balance computed from the date of the event. The event manager is personally liable for fees and penalties owed the department pursuant to this section.

(c) Fees and penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund. Funds received by the department from fees and penalties pursuant to this section shall be used exclusively to carry out the intent and purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, pharmacological studies, drug testing, and drug research, inspection for drugs, prosecution of alleged offenders, administrative costs, attorney’s and expert witness fees, and any other costs necessary to carry out this chapter.

(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 71, Sec. 60. (SB 1304) Effective January 1, 2015.)