Any cotton pests abatement district organized pursuant to this chapter may do all of the following:

(a) Have perpetual succession.

(b) Sue and be sued for all actions and proceedings in all courts and tribunals of competent jurisdiction.

(c) Adopt a seal and alter it at pleasure.

(d) Take by grant, purchase, gift, devise, lease or otherwise, and to hold, use, and enjoy, and to lease, or otherwise dispose of, real and personal property of every kind and description within or without the district necessary to the full and convenient exercise of its powers.

(e) Prohibit the planting, growing, or maintenance of cotton plants within the boundaries of the district if it determines that such a prohibition is necessary for cotton pest control.

(f) Charge fees for permits to plant cotton. The fees shall be used for the purpose of paying any obligation of the district and to accomplish the purposes of the district in the manner herein provided.

(g) Make contracts, and to employ, except as otherwise provided herein, all persons, firms, and corporations necessary to carry out the purposes and the powers of the district, at such salary, wage, or other compensation as the board of directors shall determine.

(h) Eradicate, remove, or prevent the spread of any disease, insect, or other pest injurious to cotton.

(i) Eradicate, eliminate, remove, or destroy any cotton plants except those cotton plants which are growing under the conditions established by a valid permit.

(j) Enter into or upon any land included in the district for the purpose of inspecting cotton growing thereon.

(k) Commence and prosecute appropriate actions to have it adjudged that any cotton plant growing within the district infested with disease, insects, or pests injurious to cotton; or any cotton plant growing within the district without a valid permit; is a public nuisance, and have it decreed that the nuisance be abated.

(Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 191, Sec. 2. Effective May 3, 1982.)