12999.6.
(a) The director may initiate and maintain enforcement actions for violations as described in subdivision (b) and levy the civil penalty described in subdivision (b), or may refer any of those violations to the proper enforcement agency, including the district attorney of the county in which the violations occurred or the Attorney General.(b) If the director determines that violations of the statutes and implementing regulations set forth in Section 12999.5 have been committed in multiple jurisdictions, are not appropriate matters to be enforced by a commissioner, or involve a priority
investigation involving human or environmental health effects, as defined in the 2005 Cooperative Agreement, or subsequent modifications to that agreement, among the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, or are not appropriate to be enforced by a commissioner because the county lacks resources to pursue the violation, county enforcement would raise a conflict of interest, the violator is located outside of the county, or the county has determined that the violation is not appropriate to be enforced by the county, the director may take the appropriate action as authorized by subdivision (a). The director may levy a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each violation. The
department may adopt regulations to enforce this section.
(c) Before a civil penalty is levied, the person charged with the violation shall be given a written notice of the proposed action, including the nature of the violation and the amount of the proposed penalty, and shall have the right to request a hearing within 20 days after receiving notice of the proposed action. A notice of the proposed action that is sent by certified mail to the last known address of the person charged shall be considered received even if delivery is refused or the notice is not accepted at that address. If a hearing is requested, notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given at least 10 days before the date set for the hearing. Before the hearing, the person shall be given an opportunity to review the director’s evidence. At the hearing, the
person shall be given the opportunity to present evidence on his or her own behalf. If a hearing is not timely requested, the director may take the action proposed without a hearing.
(d) If the person against whom the director levied a civil penalty requested and appeared at a hearing, the person may seek judicial review of the director’s decision within 30 days of the date of the decision pursuant to Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(e) After exhaustion of the review procedure provided in this section, the director, or his or her representative, may file a certified copy of a final decision of the director that directs the payment of a civil penalty and, if applicable, any order that denies a petition for writ of administrative mandamus, with the clerk of the
superior court of any county. Judgment shall be entered immediately by the clerk in conformity with the decision or order. No fees shall be charged by the clerk of the superior court for the performance of any official service required in connection with the entry of judgment pursuant to this section.
Pursuant to Section 6103 of the Government Code, the clerk of the superior court shall not charge a fee for the performance of any official service required in connection with the entry of judgment pursuant to this section.
(f) Any money recovered under this section shall be paid to the investigating commissioner to reimburse the cost of the investigation with the remainder going into the Department of Pesticide Regulation Fund for use by the department, upon appropriation, in administering this division and Division 6 (commencing with Section 11401).
(g) This section shall apply only to violations that occur on or after January 1, 2019.