Chapter 4. Enforcement Powers And Administrative Responsibilities of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 23. >> Chapter 4.

(a) The commissioner or the sheriff of a county subject to this division shall issue, in accordance with this division, permits, wood receipts, tags, and seals for a fee as prescribed by the board of supervisors of the county where the native plants are located.
  (b) The fee shall not be less than one dollar ($1) per plant for all native plants, except as follows:
  (1) For Yucca brevifolia (Joshua tree), not less than two dollars ($2) per plant.
  (2) For trees, live or dead, mesquite, palo verde, or ironwood species of trees, cut or removed for wood, as provided in Section 80103, not less than one dollar ($1) per cord.
  (3) For Yucca Schidigera used for commercial harvesting, not less than three dollars ($3) per ton.
  (c) The fees shall cover the cost of issuing a permit and may cover other related costs, including, but not limited to, administration, enforcement, and research costs. The permit shall specify, among other things, the species of native plants which may be harvested, the area from which plants may be harvested, and the manner in which plants may be harvested.
  (d) No person, except as provided in this division, shall harvest, transport, offer for sale, or have in his or her possession any native plant, unless, at the time of harvesting, he or she has a valid permit or valid wood receipt therefor on his or her person, attaches the required tags and seals to the native plants, and exhibits the permit, wood receipt, and tags and seals upon request for inspection by any duly authorized agent of the commissioner or any peace officer as provided in this division. No wood receipt or tag and seal is valid unless it is issued with a valid permit and the permit bears the tag number or wood receipt number on its face.
  (e) Native plants which have been tagged and sealed, as provided in this section, may be transported under a California nursery stock certificate or a shipping permit.

(a) Each permit authorizing the harvesting, transporting, or possessing of native plants, except trees cut or removed for wood as provided in Section 80103, shall be accompanied by a sufficient number of tags and seals. The permittee or his or her agent shall attach the tags and seals to the native plants at the time of harvesting and before transporting in such manner as prescribed by the commissioner of the county in which the native plants are located. After any native plant has been legally harvested and tagged or sealed as provided in this division, it is unlawful to remove the tag or seal until the plant has been transplanted into its ultimate site for landscaping or decoration. The tag or seal may be removed from the plant only by the commissioner or the ultimate owner of the plant, who shall retain the tag or seal as proof of ownership.
  (b) No permit or tag or seal is transferable by the permittee or his or her agent, nor shall it be used by anyone except that person to whom the permit or tag or seal was issued, and no refunds shall be made for the purchase thereof.
  (c) Every permittee is responsible for the acts of any other person or persons acting under any authority, express or implied, of the permittee.

(a) Each permit authorizing the harvesting, transporting, or possessing of live or dead mesquite, palo verde, or ironwood species of trees which are harvested for wood, shall be accompanied by a wood receipt. Any required wood receipt shall be in the possession of the person harvesting, transporting, or possessing the wood.
  (b) No permit or wood receipt is transferable by the permittee or his or her agent, nor shall it be used by anyone other than the person to whom the permit or wood receipt was issued or his or her agent or employee, except that the wood receipt shall be transferred by the permittee or his or her agent or employee to the purchaser of the wood covered by the receipt as proof of ownership.

Any person in possession of a valid permit for the removal of dead plants or wood issued by the United States Forest Service, the National Park Service, or the Bureau of Land Management, or any person in compliance with appropriate federal regulations and policies allowing the removal of dead plants or wood from lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, is not required to obtain a permit pursuant to this division for the removal or possession of those dead plants or wood.

The director may adopt necessary rules and regulations not in conflict with this division for the enforcement of its provisions.

The director or any of his or her duly authorized agents, any commissioner, or any peace officer is authorized and directed to enter in or upon any premises or other place, train, vehicle, or other means of transportation within or entering the state, which is suspected of containing or having present therein or thereon native plants in violation of this division, in order to examine permits and wood receipts and observe tags and seals.

When any power or authority is given by any provision of this division to any person, it may be exercised by any deputy, inspector, or agent duly authorized by that person. Any person in whom the enforcement of any provision of this division is vested has the power of a peace officer as to that enforcement, which shall include state or federal agencies with which cooperative agreements have been made by the department to enforce any provision of this division.

Any county may adopt ordinances not in conflict with this division for the preservation of native plants specified in Sections 80072 and 80073.