(a) As used in title 11, unless the context otherwise requires or unless otherwise specifically noted:
(i) "Board" means the state board of agriculture;
(ii) "Director" means the director of the department of agriculture for the state of Wyoming or his designated representative;
(iii) "Crop" or "agricultural crop," when not otherwise defined by statute, means corn, oats, wheat, barley, flax, sorghums and other grains, potatoes, vegetables, hay, wheatgrasses (agropyron species), needlegrasses (stipa species), bluegrasses (poa species), fescue grasses (festuca species), grama grasses (bouteloua species), sedges and rushes, shrubby or woody forage plants which include salt sages (atriplex species), sagebrushes (artemisia species), winterfat (eurotia lanata), and forage legumes which include astragalus, lupinus and other members of the family leguminosae;
(iv) "Department" means the Wyoming department of agriculture;
(v) "Person" includes an individual, partnership, corporation, joint stock company or any other association or entity, public or private.
Except as otherwise provided by law, all licensing, registration and service fees collected by the department together with such other monies as may accrue by law to the department shall be deposited with the state treasurer and credited to the general fund.
A person who violates any of the following sections commits a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both for the first offense, or by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, a fine of not more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00), or both for second or subsequent offenses: W.S. 11-6-210(a) or (f), 11-18-112, 11-19-101, 11-19-102, 11-19-103, 11-19-111, 11-19-210, 11-19-215, 11-19-304, 11-19-306, 11-19-401, 11-20-114, 11-20-117, 11-20-229, 11-20-230, 11-21-104, 11-22-118, 11-23-106, 11-23-207, 11-24-103, 11-24-106, 11-26-101(b), 11-30-114 and 11-48-102. A person who violates board rules promulgated pursuant to W.S. 11-18-103(a)(v) shall be subject to the penalties specified in this section.
11-1-104. License and regulation by the department of agriculture; fee.
(a) The department shall collect a minimum annual fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for the first license or activity issued or regulated under subsection (b) of this section which shall be deposited in the general fund. An additional annual fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall be collected for each subsequent license issued or activity regulated under subsection
(b) of this section. No person shall be required to pay more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) in any calendar year for each place of business even if the person obtains more than four (4) licenses from the department.
(b) The fee imposed by subsection (a) of this section shall be collected upon the following persons or activities:
(i) Aerial hunting permit under W.S. 11-6-105;
(ii) Apiary registration under W.S. 11-7-212;
(iii) Resident and nonresident nursery stock dealers and salesmen licensed under W.S. 11-9-102;
(iv) Repealed by Laws 1994, ch. 46, § 2.
(v) Seed dealers licensed under W.S. 11-12-103;
(vi) Aircraft registration under W.S. 35-7-373(b);
(vii) Repealed By Laws 2000, Ch. 37, § 4.
(viii) Repealed By Laws 2000, Ch. 37, § 4.
(ix) Repealed By Laws 2000, Ch. 37, § 4.
(x) Repealed By Laws 2000, Ch. 37, § 4.
(xi) Repealed By Laws 2000, Ch. 37, § 4.
(xii) Repealed by Laws 1995, ch. 21, § 2.
(xiii) Repealed by Laws 2009, Ch. 191, § 2.
(a) A state department of agriculture is created under the management and control of the director with the advice of the board of agriculture.
(b) Repealed by Laws 1993, ch. 191, § 4.
(c) The department is authorized to accept, administer and expend agricultural commodity promotion, research and advertising assessments.
11-2-102. Composition; qualifications; appointment and removal of members; quorum.
(a) The board shall consist of thirteen (13) members, including the governor and the dean of the University of Wyoming college of agriculture or his designated representative as ex officio nonvoting members. Eleven (11) voting members shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate and may be removed by the governor as provided in W.S. 9-1-202.
(b) One (1) member shall be appointed from each of the seven (7) appointment districts pursuant to W.S. 9-1-218. Appointments in each appointment district shall be rotated among the several counties comprising the district.
(c) Members appointed in accordance with subsection (b) of this section from appointment districts shall be appointed for a term of six (6) years.
(d) The seven (7) members appointed from the appointment districts:
(i) Shall be selected to represent a cross-section of the agricultural industry;
(ii) Shall be engaged chiefly in agricultural work; and
(iii) Not more than seventy-five percent (75%) shall be members of the same political party.
(e) One (1) member shall be appointed from each of the four (4) board of agriculture youth leadership quadrants as follows:
(i) The northeast quadrant shall consist of Campbell, Crook, Johnson, Niobrara, Sheridan and Weston counties;
(ii) The northwest quadrant shall consist of Big Horn, Hot Springs, Park, Teton and Washakie counties;
(iii) The southeast quadrant shall consist of Albany, Converse, Goshen, Laramie, Natrona and Platte counties; and
(iv) The southwest quadrant shall consist of Carbon, Fremont, Lincoln, Sublette, Sweetwater and Uinta counties.
(f) The four (4) members appointed from the board of agriculture youth leadership quadrants:
(i) Shall be selected by considering a cross-section of the agricultural industry;
(ii) Shall be engaged chiefly in agricultural work;
(iii) Shall be between eighteen (18) and thirty (30) years of age at the time of submitting the application for board membership; and
(iv) Shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years.
(g) A majority of the appointed members of the board constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.
(h) Appointments and terms shall be in accordance with W.S. 28-12-101 through 28-12-103.
The board shall meet annually on the second Monday of April, and special meetings of the board may be held by a call of the director, the president of the board or a majority of the members of the board.
11-2-104. Salary and expenses; oath; election of president and vice-president.
The board members, except the governor and the dean of the University of Wyoming college of agriculture, shall be paid the salary, for attending and traveling to and from official board business shall be one hundred dollars ($100.00) per day and the mileage and per diem for attending and traveling to and from official board business in the same manner and amount as state employees. The appointed board members, within a reasonable time after their appointment, shall qualify by taking the constitutional oath of office and filing it with the secretary of state. The appointed members shall elect from their members a president and vice-president.
(a) The director of the department of agriculture shall:
(i) Be a college graduate with at least five (5) years experience in agriculture; or
(ii) Have at least twelve (12) years experience in agriculture and otherwise be qualified if not a college or university graduate.
(b) The governor with the approval of the senate, shall appoint the director. The director shall serve at the pleasure of the governor and may be removed by the governor as provided in W.S. 9-1-202. Any vacancy shall be filled by the governor in accordance with W.S. 28-12-101.
11-2-202. Powers and duties of director generally.
(a) The director shall have his office in Cheyenne and shall:
(i) Act as secretary and executive officer of the board;
(ii) Through the appropriate division established by W.S. 11-2-101 and with the advice of the board, enforce and execute all laws of the state and rules and regulations of the board;
(iii) Repealed By Laws 1998, ch. 6, § 5.
(iv) Cooperate with other state institutions and organizations, the agricultural departments of other states and the secretary of agriculture of the United States;
(v) Foster a practicable conservation of state natural resources;
(vi) Publish information of practical value to state agricultural interests for free distribution among the farmers and other interested persons within the state;
(vii) Promulgate necessary rules and regulations to implement W.S. 11-2-202.
(b) Repealed by Laws 1993, ch. 191, § 4.
(c) Repealed by Laws 1993, ch. 191, § 4.
(d) The director in collecting information necessary to perform duties of the department and its divisions, may request information from any agency of the state, a county, city, town or other political subdivision. An agency shall furnish information upon written request of the director. An owner, operator or manager of any manufacturing, mining or other business establishment operating in this state or other person having information necessary to carry out the purposes of this act shall upon request of the director, furnish the information upon forms supplied by the board.
(e) For purposes consistent with duties imposed by law and rule and regulation, the director may accept grants from private or public agencies, organizations or other persons.
(f) The director may allow the permitting, registration, licensing, testing, inspection and reporting requirements of this title to be conducted electronically as provided by the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act, W.S. 40-21-101 through 40-21-119 and any applicable federal electronic requirements.
11-2-203. Deputy director; employment of personnel.
The deputy director shall serve at the pleasure of the director and is responsible to and under the control and supervision of the director. The director may employ professional, technical and other personnel as necessary to perform duties prescribed by law and rule and regulation of the board.
11-2-204. Services of persons in employ of university; reimbursement; applicability of provisions.
(a) In performing duties imposed by law which require technical scientific training, the director may request the services of qualified members of the University of Wyoming faculty, resident or extension. Faculty members shall serve without additional compensation but the department shall reimburse the University of Wyoming for fifty percent (50%) of the salary paid by the university while the faculty member is actually performing services for the director. The use of faculty members and the proportion and distribution of their time shall be determined by agreement between the director and the president of the university and the faculty member shall be employed by the department when performing duties for the director under this section.
(b) This section applies to horticulture, apiculture, poultry, dairying, food, oils, seeds, marketing farm crops and any other duties imposed upon the department which the director and the board determine to be more efficiently and economically administered by use of university faculty members. This section does not apply to any branch of agriculture otherwise specifically provided for by law.
(a) The rangeland health assessment program is hereby created. The director shall provide for the cooperation and participation with the University of Wyoming, state agencies, county governments, federal agencies and private landowners in the assessment of the condition of the health of Wyoming grazing lands. The rangeland health program shall include, but not be limited to:
(i) The necessity for a rangeland health assessment for a particular area of Wyoming grazing lands, including the impact on state, federal, local and private property;
(ii) The rangeland health assessment shall be done only with the voluntary cooperation and participation of all participants, including the private landowner, the state grazing lessee and the federal grazing permittee or lessee;
(iii) The rangeland health assessment shall be conducted on federal or state managed lands only under a memorandum of agreement with the federal or state land management agency and with the participation of that federal or state land management agency;
(iv) The rangeland health assessment shall include, as necessary, establishment of rangeland monitoring, compliance with federal agency standards and guidelines and participation in the incorporation of assessment outcomes into any federal or state decision affecting livestock grazing;
(v) The rangeland health assessment shall include any protections necessary for the management of soil erosion and vegetation loss.
(b) The director is authorized to contract with the University of Wyoming, institutions of higher education and other qualified state and local governmental agencies to:
(i) Conduct rangeland health assessments as provided pursuant to subsection (a) of this section;
(ii) Conduct rangeland health assessments on previously established exclosures which exclude livestock grazing to determine what effect the elimination of grazing has had on the quality of the rangeland. These assessments may include an assessment of nearby grazed rangeland as provided in paragraph (i) of this subsection to assist in the evaluation of the effect of excluding grazing.
(c) The director shall establish matching funds for any contract entered into pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
(d) The director may accept additional matching funds to augment the planned rangeland health assessment to:
(i) Vetoed by Governor;
(ii) Identify tools and strategies for resource use that best promote rangeland health;
(iii) Facilitate the efficacy of the rangeland study.
(e) The director shall establish priorities for the distribution of available funding, including consideration of:
(i) Applications that include multiple resource partners;
(ii) Amount and variety of funding sources;
(iii) Timing and urgency of the project.
(f) The director is authorized to adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement this section.
(a) The director shall, through rule and regulation, establish a process to solicit applications from the agricultural industry in the state for applied agricultural research projects.
(b) The director, with approval from the board, may solicit applications for applied research under this section and shall contract with any appropriate educational institution or other qualified entity to conduct the research as provided in the application.
(c) In soliciting and reviewing applications under this section, the director and the board shall:
(i) Consult with producers and nonprofit organizations representing Wyoming agricultural producers;
(ii) Consider the potential impacts of the research in strengthening Wyoming's agricultural industry and agricultural production;
(iii) Consider the time for anticipated completion of the research;
(iv) Consider the educational institution or other qualified entity which will conduct the research, giving preference to educational institutions located within the state;
(v) Ensure that the research results will be widely disseminated to the appropriate sectors of Wyoming agriculture;
(vi) Establish requirements for matching contributions from the educational institution or entity involved in the research and give preference to those projects which include additional private and institutional funding in support of the projects.
At the time of making annual assessment of property, each county assessor shall collect statistics in relation to farm products and agricultural resources from each farm and ranch owner, operator or renter as called for by the director. Necessary forms shall be furnished by the director, but shall not duplicate questions in assessor's schedules.
The original forms upon which statistics are gathered by the county assessor shall be returned to the director immediately upon completion of the assessment work, and not later than June 1 each year.
The reports made to the director are confidential. The records of individuals, firms or corporations supplying information called for by law shall not be used to disclose personal or corporate affairs.
11-3-104. Service to be performed under general assessment law.
The service performed by the several assessors in the state shall be performed in connection with their service under the general assessment law of the state and as one of the regular duties devolving upon the county assessor's office. No extra compensation shall be allowed.
(a) This act may be cited as the "Wyoming Weed and Pest Control Act."
(b) The purpose of this act is controlling designated and declared weeds and pests.
(a) As used in this act:
(i) "Pesticide" means any material used to control or eradicate weeds or pests;
(ii) "Authorized dealer" means any pesticide dealer licensed in Wyoming who sells, retails, wholesales, distributes, offers or exposes for sale, exchanges, barters or gives away any pesticide within this state;
(iii) "Board" means the Wyoming board of agriculture established by authority of W.S. 11-2-101 through 11-2-104;
(iv) "Director" means the director of the department of agriculture for the state of Wyoming or his designated agent;
(v) "Control" means the process of containing, preventing, identifying and mitigating weed and pest infestations by using multiple integrated management practices, including but not limited to, regulation, prevention, survey, eradication, pesticides, cultivation, competition, grazing and biological control in an adaptive management effort designed to reduce economic and ecological impacts from designated and declared species and to protect uninfested lands;
(vi) "County commissioners" means the board of county commissioners of a county within which a district is located;
(vii) "Declared pest" means any animal or insect species which the board and the Wyoming weed and pest council have found, either by virtue of its direct or indirect effect to negatively impact management of agricultural or natural ecosystems, or as a carrier of disease or parasites, to be detrimental to the general welfare of persons residing within a district;
(viii) "Declared weed" means any plant species which the board and the Wyoming weed and pest council have found, either by virtue of its direct or indirect effect to negatively impact management of agricultural or natural ecosystems, or as a carrier of disease or parasites, to be detrimental to the general welfare of persons residing within a district;
(ix) "Department" means the state department of agriculture;
(x) "Designated list" means the list of weeds and pests from time to time designated by joint resolution of the board and the Wyoming weed and pest council or by an emergency declaration of the director;
(xi) "Designated noxious weed" means plant species having seeds or other plant parts determined to be detrimental to the general health or welfare of the state based upon the following:
(A) Has demonstrated the ability to aggressively invade native plant communities and agricultural crops;
(B) Is injurious or poisonous to livestock;
(C) Is a carrier of disease or parasites;
(D) Can, by virtue of either direct or indirect effect, negatively impact management of agricultural or natural ecosystems.
(xii) "Designated pest" means any animal or insect species that is determined to be detrimental to the health or general welfare of the state based upon the following:
(A) Has demonstrated the ability to aggressively invade native plant communities and agricultural crops;
(B) Is injurious or poisonous to livestock;
(C) Is a carrier of disease or parasites;
(D) Can, by virtue of either its direct or indirect effect, negatively impact management of agricultural or natural ecosystems.
(xiii) Repealed by Laws 1993, ch. 191, § 4.
(xiv) "District" means any county weed and pest control district;
(xv) "District board" means the board of directors of a district having jurisdiction within the boundaries of the district it represents;
(xvi) "District board member area" means a geographical area within a district from which a member of the board of the district is appointed;
(xvii) Repealed by Laws 1993, ch. 191, § 4.
(xviii) "Farm products" means all crops, crop products, nursery stock, plants or portions thereof, but shall not mean livestock;
(xix) "Infested farm products" means farm products which contain injurious insects, pests, weed seed, poisonous or injurious plants or any injurious portion thereof, or plant diseases;
(xx) "Landowner" means any person who has actual use, exclusive possession of or exercises control over the land through any lease, easement, right-of-way or estate in the land. Federal landowner means the federal agency having jurisdiction over any lands affected by this act;
(xxi) "District supervisor" means the person appointed or employed by the district board for the purpose of carrying out this act within a district;
(xxii) "Wyoming weed and pest council" means the state council composed of one (1) representative of each district as authorized in writing by that board of directors. The director of the department of agriculture or his designated representative shall serve ex officio;
(xxiii) "Emergency declaration" means the addition of a weed or pest to either the statewide designated list or to a county declared list on an emergency basis to allow for immediate control activities. An emergency declaration shall only last until formal action can be taken by the council and the board to list the species through established rules, and in any case not to exceed one (1) year;
(xxiv) "This act" means W.S. 11-5-101 through 11-5-120.
All land within the boundaries of Wyoming including all federal, state, private and municipally owned lands, is hereby included in weed and pest control districts within the county in which the land is located, with the boundaries of the district being the same as the boundaries of the county. Each district shall be known as the ".... County Weed and Pest Control District, State of Wyoming."
11-5-104. District board of directors; appointment; terms; vacancies; compensation and expenses.
(a) The county commissioners of each district shall hold a public meeting for appointing a district board of directors for the district. Prior to the meeting the county commissioners shall establish the number of members of the district board and shall establish district board member areas. The county commissioners may seek the advice and counsel of the members of the former district board for the establishment of district board member areas. Each district board member area shall be contiguous. Notice of the meeting shall be advertised at least once in the designated official newspaper of the county and posted on the county's official website in the manner provided in W.S. 18-3-516(f) at least twenty (20) days prior to the date of the meeting. The notice shall solicit nominations for directors by petition signed by at least ten (10) landowners to be submitted at least five (5) days before the date of the meeting.
(b) From the nominations submitted the county commissioners shall appoint the district board which shall consist of five (5) or seven (7) directors. Directors shall serve for a term of four (4) years or until their successors are appointed and qualified.
(c) Any qualified elector in the district board member area he is appointed to represent is eligible to hold the office of director.
(d) All district board members shall be appointed by the county commissioners at their first regular meeting in January of each year from among nominations submitted by petition in the manner set forth in subsection (a) of this section. In districts encompassing cities or towns with a population of five thousand (5,000) or more, one (1) district board member shall be appointed from within the limits of a city or town. A district board member shall assume office at the first regular meeting of the district board following appointment.
(e) The county commissioners shall remove a director for repeated unexcused failure to attend meetings or for refusal or incapacity to act as a district board member.
(f) When a vacancy occurs on a district board the county commissioners shall, at the next regular meeting, appoint an individual who possesses the necessary qualifications as a district board member to fill the unexpired term.
(g) At the first regular meeting in February the district board shall elect from its members a chairman and a vice-chairman, and appoint a secretary and a treasurer. The positions of secretary and treasurer need not be members of the district board. The treasurer shall furnish a surety bond to the district before entering upon the duties of office in an amount to be set by the district board but not less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00).
(h) The members of the district board shall serve without pay, but are entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses and a mileage allowance at the rate as established for state employees.
(a) The district board shall:
(i) Implement and pursue an effective program for the control of designated weeds and pests;
(ii) Fix the time and place of regular meetings, which shall occur at least once each month and shall be open to the public;
(iii) Keep minutes of all meetings and a complete record of all official acts, including all warrants issued against monies belonging to the district, which are open for public inspection during regular office hours;
(iv) Employ certified district supervisors and if certified personnel are not available, employ an acting district supervisor who shall become certified within twenty-four (24) months from the initial date of employment;
(v) Make at least one (1) annual inspection to determine the progress of weed and pest activities within a district;
(vi) Obtain competitive bids for any purchase costing more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00);
(vii) Control and disburse all monies received from any source;
(viii) Render technical assistance to any city or town with a population of five thousand (5,000) or more which establishes a program as provided in W.S. 11-5-115;
(ix) Share data with the Wyoming weed and pest council and take other actions to support the coordinated and comprehensive invasive plant species control authorized in W.S. 11-5-120.
(b) The district board of each district may:
(i) Sue and be sued;
(ii) Employ personnel and determine duties and conditions of employment;
(iii) Coordinate activities with the department and enter into cooperative agreements with other agencies;
(iv) Secure and maintain bond or liability insurance, when deemed feasible by the district board;
(v) Submit to the department reports required by the board;
(vi) Participate in programs for the control of declared weeds and declared pests not included on the designated list;
(vii) Buy and sell real property, personal property and equipment as needed to carry out district programs.
(c) The district supervisor shall receive a salary and expenses as approved by the district board.
A board of certification is established consisting of the director or his designee, a University of Wyoming weed or pest specialist appointed by the dean of the college of agriculture, two (2) certified district supervisors and a district board member appointed by the Wyoming weed and pest council. The board of certification shall promulgate rules and requirements for certification of district supervisors and shall certify all personnel meeting the established requirements.
11-5-107. Purchase and sale of pesticides; cost share with landowner.
(a) The district board may purchase from authorized dealers such quantities of pesticides as are necessary, and hire labor to carry out the provisions of this act. Warrants in payment shall be drawn on the weed and pest control fund.
(b) The district board may sell pesticides which have been registered with the department for designated or declared noxious weed and pest control.
(c) In the case of delinquent indebtedness under this section the district board may seek a judgment from the district court for the indebtedness, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. The judgment shall be enforced as provided by law.
(d) The district board may cost share with the landowner the cost of the pesticides, the cost of the application and the cost of any other integrated management practice for the control of designated or declared noxious weeds and pests.
11-5-108. Rates and application of pesticides; payment by landowner; bidding restriction.
(a) The district board may establish rates and engage in the application of pesticides for weed and pest control, subject to subsection (b) of this section. If services provided are not paid for by the landowner for whom rendered as provided in W.S. 11-5-107(d), such indebtedness may be collected as provided by W.S. 11-5-107(c).
(b) A district board shall not engage in competitive bidding of bare ground application of pesticides for industrial weed control, unless there are no commercially licensed entities operating in the state that are able and willing to perform the service. Nothing in this subsection shall limit the district board's authority to act pursuant to W.S. 11-5-105(a)(i) and 11-5-109.
11-5-109. Inspection of land; remedial requirements; cost to landowner.
(a) Whenever the district board has probable cause to believe that a landowner's property is infested by weeds or pests which are liable to spread and contribute to the injury or detriment of others and the board has provided written notice of probable cause to the landowner, it shall make or have made an inspection of the suspected premises through the use of lawful entry procedures. No entry upon any premises, lands or places shall be permitted under this subsection until the landowner or occupant has been notified by certified mail and, if the landowner has consented to receive notices electronically, by electronic means that provide actual notice to the landowner or occupant that the inspection is pending at least fifteen (15) days prior to the inspection. If possible, inspections shall be scheduled and conducted with the concurrence of the landowner or occupant. If, after receiving notice that an inspection is pending, the landowner or occupant denies access to the district supervisor or the supervisor's designee, the supervisor may seek an administrative inspection warrant issued by a municipal, circuit or district court having jurisdiction over the land. No landowner shall deny access to land when presented with an administrative inspection warrant issued by a court. The court shall issue an administrative inspection warrant upon presentation by the district board, through its agent or employee, of an affidavit stating:
(i) The information that gives the district board probable cause to believe that any provision of this chapter is being or has been violated;
(ii) That the landowner or occupant has denied access to the district supervisor or the supervisor's designee or has not responded within fifteen (15) days of receiving notice; and
(iii) A particularized description of the location of the affected land.
(b) If the suspected area is found to be infested, the district board, by resolution adopted by two-thirds (2/3) of its members, shall confirm such fact. The resolution may set forth minimum remedial requirements for control of the infested area, provided that:
(i) The remedial requirements are likely to be effective in controlling an infestation of the species in question at the infested area;
(ii) The board includes potential estimated costs if available;
(iii) The benefits, both economic and environmental, exceed the estimated costs of the remedial requirements;
(iv) The board may assist the landowner in developing an integrated pest management plan for the species in question; and
(v) The landowner may propose alternate remedial requirements.
(c) The district board shall deliver, by certified mail, to the address of the landowner appearing on the most recent tax rolls of the district and, if the landowner has consented to receive notices electronically, by electronic means that provide actual notice to the landowner all of the following:
(i) A copy of the resolution;
(ii) A statement of the estimated cost to the landowner of fulfilling the requirements and the amount that may be shared with the landowner, as determined by district board policy.
(iii) Repealed by Laws 2020, ch. 135, § 2.
(d) At the request of the landowner, the district board shall hold a hearing in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. The landowner may appeal the board's resolution to the district court.
(e) A landowner who is responsible for an infestation and fails or refuses to perform the remedial requirements for the control of the weed or pest on the infested area within the time designated in the district board's resolution may be fined not more than fifty dollars ($50.00) per day for each day of violation and not more than a total of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) per year as determined by the court. Any person accused under this act is entitled to a trial by jury. The accumulated fines under this section are a lien against the property of the landowner from the day notice is delivered to the landowner by the district board. All fines shall be deposited with the county treasurer and credited to the county school fund.
11-5-110. Appraisal of damage to landowner; hearing.
When the district board determines by resolution that the landowner's property has been damaged as a result of carrying out its requirements, the district board shall by resolution appoint three (3) disinterested freeholders within the district to appraise the amount of damage, upon which the district shall forthwith compensate the landowner. The landowner may file a claim for damages and is entitled to a hearing relative to the amount of damages pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.
11-5-111. Tax levied on property in district; maximum amount; weed and pest control fund.
The county commissioners shall annually levy a tax to carry out this act. The tax shall be levied upon all property in the district and shall not exceed one (1) mill on each one dollar ($1.00) of assessed valuation. The tax is not part of the general county or city mill levies. All taxes levied and collected shall be remitted to the district for a separate fund to be known as the weed and pest control fund, which shall be used only to carry out this act.
11-5-113. Allocation of funds; formula; special funding.
(a) An allocation committee composed of the director of the department of agriculture, three (3) members appointed by the Wyoming weed and pest council and one (1) member of the board shall allocate the funds of any legislative appropriation to the district boards pursuant to a formula adopted by the committee. No district board shall receive an amount in excess of one-third (1/3) of its actual expenditures from any appropriation, unless the appropriation provides assistance in control to a district board under subsection (b) of this section.
(b) If the district board determines a weed or pest is seriously endangering areas of a district or the state, assistance in control may be provided by legislative appropriation for this purpose, and the allocation committee shall allocate the appropriation accordingly, and the allocation committee and each affected district board shall be responsible for insuring that the funds are properly expended.
A request for allocated funds pursuant to W.S. 11-5-113 shall be initiated by the district board by submitting a voucher and documentation. Upon the approval of the voucher by the allocation committee, payment shall be made by the state auditor out of funds provided for control of weeds and pests.
11-5-115. Program in cities and towns authorized; funding; use of monies.
(a) The governing body of any city or town with a population of five thousand (5,000) or more may establish and administer a program for the control of weeds and pests within the jurisdictional limits of the city or town. If such a program is not established, the district board shall administer a program for the city or town.
(b) A district having a city or town with a population of five thousand (5,000) or more which establishes a program shall, within thirty (30) days after receipt of any funds collected pursuant to W.S. 11-5-111, transfer eighty-five percent (85%) of the funds attributed to the property within the corporate limits of the city or town to the governing body of the city or town, retaining fifteen percent (15%) of the funds for administration of the district and for technical assistance rendered to the city or town by the district board.
(c) Monies received by the cities from the district shall be used to control noxious weeds and pests as determined by the governing body of the city or town. The city or town shall provide an annual report to the district board on designated and declared weed and pest work completed within the jurisdictional limits of the city or town.
(d) The governing body of a city or town which establishes a control program may petition the district board for special assistance and funding authorized by W.S. 11-5-113 and 11-5-114.
11-5-116. Quarantine by director; request by district.
(a) Whenever the director, the district board or their agents find any section of the state to be infested with insects, pests, poisonous or injurious plants or plant diseases, and it is established that farm products from that section are liable to spread the insects, pests, poisonous or injurious plants or plant diseases into other sections to the injury of others, the director shall without unnecessary delay, declare a quarantine against such section to prevent the transfer of farm products from the quarantined area. When it is ascertained that insects, pests, weed seed, poisonous or injurious plants or plant diseases are likely to be introduced into Wyoming by the importation of farm products, domestic animals or other objects, the director shall declare a quarantine against the importation of such farm products.
(b) A district may initiate a district-wide quarantine by one (1) of the following procedures:
(i) A district may request in writing that the director declare a district-wide quarantine. Upon receipt of the request, the director shall instruct the district to circulate a petition for ninety (90) days within the district to obtain signatures of at least two-thirds (2/3) of all resident landowners owning at least fifty-one percent (51%) of all resident-owned land. Upon receipt of the properly executed petition, the director shall declare a district-wide quarantine;
(ii) A district board may hold a hearing in compliance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. The director shall declare a district-wide quarantine when the district has provided the director with proper documentation that a hearing has been held and the district has found a need for a district-wide quarantine;
(iii) The district board may hold a district-wide referendum. The director shall declare a district-wide quarantine upon receipt of a certified document indicating that the referendum was accepted by a majority of the electors who voted in the election.
(c) The director shall declare an individual quarantine when requested by resolution adopted by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the board.
(d) The district board in compliance with W.S. 11-5-101 through 11-5-119 may request a quarantine against the entry of infested farm products that may be injurious and detrimental to the state and enter into agreements with the law enforcing agencies to carry out the quarantine provision:
(i) Farm products and equipment shall be certified free of designated noxious weed seeds or infested farm products prior to entry into the state, with the exception of any processed feed or grain to be reprocessed and fed to livestock;
(ii) Farm products and equipment are to be certified in the state of origin by the proper officials;
(iii) Interstate shipment of farm products through the state need not be certified if covered in a prescribed manner as not to allow the dissemination of infested farm products.