(a) The secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with private entities, and with boards, bureaus, commissions, or departments of this state or of the United States, for the purpose of administering compensation, conservation, disaster assistance, economic assistance, education, environmental enhancement, indemnification, market promotion, research, and similar programs that promote and enhance agriculture.
(b) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the secretary may receive and expend federal funds and any nonstate matching funds made available to the department for the purposes specified above via grant, interagency agreement, or otherwise, and these funds shall be administered in accordance with Section 221.
(c) (1) Grant awards shall be made by the department on a competitive basis established by the department wherever possible.
(2) Any grant awarded on an alternative basis that is not competitive shall comply with all applicable state requirements, orders, and guidelines.
(3) Decisions of the secretary relating to the award of grants shall be final.
(d) Procedures, forms, and guidelines established for these grant programs, including the application process, are exempt from Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(e) If the secretary expends funds or awards grants for the study of protocols for crops to meet standards for transport out of a quarantine area, the following shall apply:
(1) Primary consideration shall be given to crops that are most at risk from the imposition of a quarantine and for which protocols do not currently exist, as long as the application otherwise meets reasonable scientific standards.
(2) The department may consult with individuals or representatives of the agriculture industry, and academic or scientific individuals, or organizations to establish criteria and assist in the recommendation of any expenditure of funds or the award of grants.
(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 414, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2004.)