2005 California Food and Agricultural Code Sections 5850-5852 Article 7.5. Quality Certification Services

5850.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) Enhancing global business and trade is in the economic
interest of the state.
   (b) Domestic and foreign country quarantine and product quality
requirements must be met to allow for the trade of many agricultural
products.
   (c) Currently, to be acceptable to other states and foreign
governments, phytosanitary and product quality certification and
supporting analyses, diagnostics, and other testing of that type must
be performed by an impartial, third-party governmental agency.
   (d) As a result of its regulatory responsibilities, the department
has the technical capacity and expertise to meet current domestic
and foreign government requirements for impartial, third-party
governmental analytical, certification, diagnostic, inspection,
quality assurance, and testing services and, as accreditation becomes
acceptable to states and foreign governments, to accredit private
entities to perform these kinds of services.
   (e) Nonregulatory activities are services for which the entities
that receive the benefits should pay the costs.  However, the
department is not authorized or funded to establish a program to
perform nonregulatory accreditation, analytical, certification,
diagnostic, inspection, quality assurance, or testing work, nor is it
authorized to establish a schedule of charges to recover its costs
for those services.
5851.  It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this
article, to enhance the state's business and trade opportunities by
authorizing the department to do all of the following:
   (a) Perform nonregulatory services such as export market
phytosanitary and product quality analyses, certification,
diagnostics, inspections, quality assurance, and testing relating to
nursery stock, plants, seed, or plant pests and diseases.
   (b) Accredit and monitor or audit private entities as necessary.
   (c) Establish charges sufficient to recover its costs for
nonregulatory services such as export market phytosanitary and
product quality activities.
5852.  (a) The department may provide, upon request, nonregulatory
accreditation, analytical, certification, diagnostic, inspection,
quality assurance, testing, and other nonregulatory services relating
to nursery stock, plants, seed, or other plant pests and diseases on
a charge-for-service basis or may accredit private persons or
business entities to perform those services.
   (b) To ensure that the activities performed by private persons or
business entities are valid and reliable, the department shall adopt
regulations to establish accreditation criteria to govern its
accreditation, monitoring or auditing, and revocation of
accreditation activities.  Any regulations adopted by the department
pursuant to this subdivision shall be consistent with applicable
federal law.  The department may adopt by reference any pertinent
federal laws or regulations pertaining to the accreditation of
persons or business entities for the performance of work required to
certify compliance with the quarantine, quality, and other import
requirements established by other states or foreign countries.  No
private, nongovernmental entities that perform diagnostic or field
inspections for the issuance of federal phytosanitary certificates
shall be accredited until federal rules are adopted that permit and
regulate those activities.
   (c) To retain accreditation, those persons or business entities
providing services described in subdivision (a) shall agree to be
monitored or assessed and evaluated on a periodic basis by means of
proficiency testing or sample checking.
   (d) It is unlawful for any person or business entity that is not
accredited by the department to make any representation regarding
accreditation by the department.  Any person or business entity that
makes that representation, without valid departmental accreditation,
may be enjoined from doing so by any court of competent jurisdiction
upon suit by the department.
   (e) Each governmental agency within the state that governs and
conducts activities related to plant quarantine or conducts a program
to control the pests or diseases of nursery stock, plants, or seed
shall accept the test results of any laboratory accredited under this
section as being valid, unless the agency establishes specific
criteria and standards for rejecting the results prior to the
rejection and provides written justification to the state accrediting
entity and laboratory stating the reasons the laboratory results do
not meet the quarantine or disease or pest control program
requirements under its jurisdiction.  Any agency under this
subdivision wishing to reject the accreditation of any laboratory or
the test results of any laboratory accredited under this section must
first obtain written approval from the secretary.
   (f) To assure validity and reliability, the department may
specify, by order, the location or locations where the services
described in subdivision (a) will be provided.
   (g) The department may establish, by regulation, a schedule of
charges to cover the department's costs for specific services it
provides.  Charges for the accreditation and monitoring of
laboratories located outside the state shall include the expenses for
all required travel and per diem and may include application, basic,
initial, renewal, and other charges that the department deems
necessary to cover its costs for accreditation and monitoring or
auditing for compliance.  Funds collected through cost-recovery
charges are dedicated to, and may only be used for, carrying out the
activities and functions specified in this article.
   (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code regarding the
provision of the services described in subdivision (a), orders
issued by the department and regulations establishing charges adopted
by the secretary pursuant to this section shall not be subject to
review, approval, or disapproval by the Office of Administrative Law.
   (i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to interfere with
or supersede any existing inspection, quality assurance, or
certification program conducted by an agricultural trade or commodity
organization, and this section shall not be construed to require
those programs to be certified or accredited by the department.