(a) The commissioner or the sheriff of a county subject to this division shall issue, in accordance with this division, permits, wood receipts, tags, and seals for a fee as prescribed by the board of supervisors of the county where the native plants are located.

(b) The fee shall not be less than one dollar ($1) per plant for all native plants, except as follows:

(1) For Yucca brevifolia (Joshua tree), not less than two dollars ($2) per plant.

(2) For trees, live or dead, mesquite, palo verde, or ironwood species of trees, cut or removed for wood, as provided in Section 80103, not less than one dollar ($1) per cord.

(3) For Yucca Schidigera used for commercial harvesting, not less than three dollars ($3) per ton.

(c) The fees shall cover the cost of issuing a permit and may cover other related costs, including, but not limited to, administration, enforcement, and research costs. The permit shall specify, among other things, the species of native plants which may be harvested, the area from which plants may be harvested, and the manner in which plants may be harvested.

(d) No person, except as provided in this division, shall harvest, transport, offer for sale, or have in his or her possession any native plant, unless, at the time of harvesting, he or she has a valid permit or valid wood receipt therefor on his or her person, attaches the required tags and seals to the native plants, and exhibits the permit, wood receipt, and tags and seals upon request for inspection by any duly authorized agent of the commissioner or any peace officer as provided in this division. No wood receipt or tag and seal is valid unless it is issued with a valid permit and the permit bears the tag number or wood receipt number on its face.

(e) Native plants which have been tagged and sealed, as provided in this section, may be transported under a California nursery stock certificate or a shipping permit.

(Added by renumbering Section 70650 by Stats. 1984, Ch. 144, Sec. 68.)