Under existing law, moneys are annually appropriated to the Department of Food and Agriculture for emergency detection, investigation, or eradication of agricultural plant or animal pests or diseases and, at the discretion of the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, authorizes those moneys to be used for planning and research involving detection, investigation, eradication, and methods of quarantine compliance for agricultural plant or animal pests or diseases. Existing law requires the secretary to establish and administer a research program to control vertebrate pests that pose a significant threat to the welfare of the state’s agricultural economy, infrastructure, and the public. Existing law provides for the establishment of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program to support competitive grants for research on the control of pests and diseases of agricultural
importance through alternatives that reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides and petrochemicals and on the production, processing, and distribution of food and fiber in ways that consider the interactions among soil, plants, water, air, animals, tillage, machinery, labor, energy, and transportation to enhance agricultural efficiency, public health, and resource conservation.
This bill would create the Biosecurity and Emerging Infectious Disease Fund, the moneys in which would be continuously appropriated to the department for allocation to the CSU Foundation for distribution to the Jordan Agricultural Research Center at California State University, Fresno, for purposes of supporting research on biosecurity and emerging infectious diseases relating to agriculture and mitigating the effects of emerging infectious diseases on meat, poultry, and other agricultural production. The bill would appropriate $700,000 from the General Fund for that purpose.
The bill would authorize federal, state, local, and private sources to be received by the Biosecurity and Emerging Infectious Disease Fund.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Jordan Agricultural Research Center.