A. Cotton producers within a pink bollworm control district shall establish and elect a local pink bollworm control committee composed of not less than three or more than seven members. The committee members shall not receive per diem or compensation for their services.

B. A pink bollworm control committee may:

(1) adopt regulations to set the method for determining the assessment amount due;

(2) conduct programs to suppress or eradicate pink bollworms within a pink bollworm control district;

(3) cooperate with and enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with state, federal or local agencies;

(4) publish information and conduct seminars on the distribution and control of the pink bollworm;

(5) levy and collect a special assessment, based on cotton acreage or cotton yield per acre, within the pink bollworm control districts; or

(6) borrow money or accept grants, donations or contributions for any purpose consistent with the powers and duties of the pink bollworm control committee.

C. A pink bollworm control committee shall:

(1) prescribe control measures for any cotton planted within a pink bollworm control district. When prescribing control measures, the committee shall make every effort to adhere to integrated pest management practices, to allow organic cotton producers to choose organic pest management practices that will allow them to maintain their organic certification and to adhere to the management goals of individual cotton producers consistent with the goal of complete eradication of the pink bollworm;

(2) provide a complete accounting of the funds collected through the special assessment to all participating cotton producers in the pink bollworm control district;

(3) send notice of the establishment of a pink bollworm control district and its defined boundaries to the organic commodity commission [New Mexico department of agriculture] within fourteen days of its establishment; and

(4) select an organic cotton producer operating within the district to serve on the pink bollworm control committee if the pink bollworm control district includes certified organic cotton acreage.

History: Laws 2001, ch. 13, § 8.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.

Laws 2011, ch. 29, § 6 provided that all references to the organic commodity commission be deemed references to the New Mexico department of agriculture.

Effective dates. — Laws 2001, ch. 13 contained no effective date provision, but, pursuant to N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23, was effective June 15, 2001, 90 days after adjournment of the legislature.