Article 7. Poultry And Livestock Diagnostic Laboratories of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 1. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 7.

"University," as used in this article, means the University of California.

It is the intent of the Legislature that the department contract with the Regents of the University of California to operate poultry and livestock disease laboratories pursuant to this article. The central laboratory should be located next to the facilities of the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of the University of California at Davis, in order to take advantage of the expertise of the veterinary specialists.

When a central diagnostic laboratory constructed on the Davis campus of the university is ready for occupancy, the director shall contract with the Regents of the University of California for its School of Veterinary Medicine to establish and operate the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory. The system shall be headed by a director appointed by the Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine under applicable university hiring rules. The system shall test, examine, and make diagnoses of infectious, nutritional, toxic, metabolic, and other diseases of domestic animals.

The contract executed pursuant to this article shall provide that the university maintain sufficient numbers of laboratories to perform the functions contained in this article. The central diagnostic laboratory shall be established on the Davis campus of the university, and branch laboratories shall be operated as long as these services are best performed at a branch laboratory, considering the cost and quality of services.

(a) A central diagnostic laboratory building to be constructed on the Davis campus of the university adjacent to the facilities of the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, together with the equipment necessary for a modern veterinary diagnostic laboratory, is hereby specifically authorized. The department may include a request for physical facilities planning and working drawings funds in its 1983-84 budget request and for construction funds in the 1984-85 budget request. The funds may be transferred, as appropriate, to the university for planning, working drawings, and construction. Title to the facility shall vest in the Regents of the University of California, and the facility shall be dedicated for use as a veterinary diagnostic laboratory so long as it is needed for that purpose.
  (b) Prior to completion of construction of a central diagnostic laboratory on the Davis campus of the university, the director may continue to provide interim laboratory services and to contract with the university for diagnostic services which can be rendered more effectively by the university. In order to assure the orderly transfer of the veterinary diagnostic program from the department to the university, a Transition Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Administrative Committee is established. The committee shall consist of the director or his or her designee, who will serve as chairman, the Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine or his or her designee who will serve as assistant chairman, and two additional members, one appointed by the director and one by the dean. The committee shall advise the department and the university on the operation of the laboratories during the period prior to the diagnostic laboratory system being fully transferred from the department to the university.

After the contract has been executed pursuant to Section 521, the diagnostic functions of the regional laboratories maintained at Petaluma and Sacramento shall be transferred to other laboratories in the system and those two laboratories shall be closed.

The contract shall provide that the university, in consultation with the department, shall establish a schedule of fees to help defray the cost of operation of the laboratories.

The contract shall provide for all of the following services which, when included in the department's budget, shall be provided without charge:
  (a) Services performed in the course of a department-approved investigation of an animal health problem.
  (b) Department-approved services provided to regulatory agencies.

The contract shall specify the accounting procedures to be used and any reports necessary to assure compliance with state and university requirements.

It is intended that the contractual arrangement between the university and the department be of long-term duration. The department's budget for the laboratories shall be reviewed annually. A Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Board is hereby established, consisting of representatives of the livestock and poultry industries and practicing veterinarians who utilize the laboratory service. It shall be appointed by the director in consultation with the Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine. The Chief of the Bureau of Animal Health of the department, the Assistant Area Veterinarian in Charge for California for the United States Department of Agriculture, and the director of the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory created by this article shall be ex officio members. The board shall advise the university and the department on all aspects of the operation of the laboratories.

A member of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Board is entitled to be paid his or her actual expenses which are incurred while engaged in performing his or her duties that are authorized by this article.

The budget for the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory shall be established as a line item in the budget of the department. The operating budget requests shall be submitted annually, and requests for funding of construction of facilities and special items of laboratory equipment which cost over one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) shall be submitted when required. The director shall transfer funds appropriated for operation of the laboratories, for equipment, and for construction of facilities to the university to be managed according to university rules and regulations, and in accordance with the contract between the department and the university.