0001| AN ACT | 0002| RELATING TO AGRICULTURE; AMENDING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE COTTON | 0003| BOLL WEEVIL CONTROL ACT TO PROVIDE FOR BOLL WEEVIL CONTROL BY ORGANIC | 0004| COTTON PRODUCERS. | 0005| | 0006| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: | 0007| Section 1. Section 76-6A-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1996, Chapter | 0008| 77, Section 1) is amended to read: | 0009| "76-6A-1. SHORT TITLE.--Chapter 76, Article 6A NMSA 1978 may be | 0010| cited as the "Cotton Boll Weevil Control Act"." | 0011| Section 2. Section 76-6A-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1996, Chapter | 0012| 77, Section 3) is amended to read: | 0013| "76-6A-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Cotton Boll Weevil | 0014| Control Act: | 0015| A. "board" means the board of regents of New Mexico state | 0016| university; | 0017| B. "cotton boll weevil" means any life stage of the cotton | 0018| insect Anthonomus grandis Boheman; | 0019| C. "cotton boll weevil control committee" means the | 0020| persons, not less than three nor more than seven, elected by a | 0021| majority of the cotton producers in a designated cotton boll weevil | 0022| control district; | 0023| D. "cotton boll weevil control district" means a designated | 0024| area duly established under the Cotton Boll Weevil Control Act wherein | 0025| a program to suppress or eradicate the cotton boll weevil is | 0001| administered; | 0002| E. "cotton producer" means any person growing five or more | 0003| acres of cotton plants. For the purposes of the Cotton Boll Weevil | 0004| Control Act, only one person from any farm, sole proprietorship, | 0005| corporation, partnership or any other legal business arrangement shall | 0006| be eligible to vote to establish or dissolve a cotton boll weevil | 0007| control district; | 0008| F. "department" means the New Mexico department of | 0009| agriculture; | 0010| G. "director" means the director of the New Mexico | 0011| department of agriculture; and | 0012| H. "organic cotton producer" means any person growing | 0013| cotton who is certified by the organic commodity commission as a | 0014| producer of organic or transitional cotton." | 0015| Section 3. Section 76-6A-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1996, Chapter | 0016| 77, Section 5) is amended to read: | 0017| "76-6A-5. COTTON BOLL WEEVIL CONTROL COMMITTEE--DUTIES AND | 0018| POWERS.-- | 0019| A. A cotton boll weevil control committee shall prescribe | 0020| control measures for any cotton planted within a cotton boll weevil | 0021| control district. When prescribing control measures, the cotton boll | 0022| weevil control committee shall make every effort to adhere to | 0023| integrated pest management practices, to allow organic cotton | 0024| producers to choose organic pest management practices that will allow | 0025| them to maintain their organic certification and to adhere to the | 0001| management goals of individual cotton producers consistent with the | 0002| goal of complete eradication of the cotton boll weevil. | 0003| B. A cotton boll weevil control committee may adopt | 0004| regulations to set the method for determining the yield per acre of | 0005| cotton lands under the control of a cotton producer for purposes of | 0006| calculating the assessment amount due." | 0007| Section 4. Section 76-6A-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1996, Chapter | 0008| 77, Section 8) is amended to read: | 0009| "76-6A-8. HEARINGS.--Within sixty days after a petition has been | 0010| filed with the director and upon payment of the cost estimate, the | 0011| director shall cause notices to be given of the proposed hearings in | 0012| areas of the state where the cotton boll weevil is of economic | 0013| importance. The notices of hearing shall be published in a newspaper | 0014| of general circulation in the proposed cotton boll weevil control | 0015| district, and shall be sent directly to the organic commodity | 0016| commission, at least fourteen days prior to the date of the hearing." | 0017| Section 5. Section 76-6A-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1996, Chapter | 0018| 77, Section 11) is amended to read: | 0019| "76-6A-11. COTTON BOLL WEEVIL CONTROL COMMITTEES--ADDITIONAL | 0020| DUTIES AND POWERS.-- | 0021| A. Cotton boll weevil control committees may: | 0022| (1) conduct programs to suppress or eradicate cotton | 0023| boll weevils within their cotton boll weevil control districts; | 0024| (2) cooperate in the administration of the Cotton | 0025| Boll Weevil Control Act through the use of state or federal personnel | 0001| and facilities or both; | 0002| (3) enter into contracts or cooperative agreements | 0003| with state, federal or local agencies; | 0004| (4) publish information and conduct seminars on the | 0005| distribution and control of the cotton boll weevil; and | 0006| (5) levy and collect a special assessment, based on | 0007| cotton acreage or cotton yield per acre within the cotton boll weevil | 0008| control districts. | 0009| B. Cotton boll weevil control committees shall provide a | 0010| complete accounting of the funds collected through the special | 0011| assessment to all participating cotton producers in the cotton boll | 0012| weevil control districts. | 0013| C. The cotton boll weevil control committee shall send | 0014| notice of the establishment of a cotton boll weevil control district | 0015| and its defined boundaries to the organic commodity commission within | 0016| fourteen days of its establishment. | 0017| D. If the cotton boll weevil control district includes | 0018| certified organic acreage, the cotton boll weevil control committee | 0019| shall select an organic farmer operating within the district, who | 0020| shall have all the powers of a committee member, to serve on the | 0021| cotton boll weevil control committee." | 0022| Section 6. A new section of the Cotton Boll Weevil Control Act | 0023| is enacted to read: | 0024| "ORGANIC COTTON REGULATIONS.-- | 0025| A. Each organic cotton producer within an established | 0001| cotton boll weevil control district shall notify the cotton boll | 0002| weevil control committee in writing of the number of acres on which | 0003| the organic cotton producer intends to plant organic cotton at least | 0004| thirty days prior to planting. | 0005| B. The cotton boll weevil committee shall require all | 0006| organic producers to pay the assessment established for the cotton | 0007| boll weevil control district in the same manner as producers of | 0008| conventionally grown cotton in the cotton boll weevil control | 0009| district. | 0010| C. After crop planting, the cotton boll weevil control | 0011| committee shall notify an organic cotton producer as to the boll | 0012| weevil status of his cotton acres, as well as the boll weevil status | 0013| of surrounding acres, as documented by the committee's normal boll | 0014| weevil trapping program. | 0015| D. The cotton boll weevil control committee shall | 0016| confer with the organic cotton producer to determine measures that | 0017| might be taken to attempt to keep all or a portion of the organic | 0018| cotton producer's cotton acreage below trigger levels for required | 0019| treatment. If the organic cotton producer chooses to use a | 0020| nonconventional method, the cotton boll weevil control committee | 0021| shall pay the costs of the nonconventional method used by the | 0022| organic cotton producer, provided the costs do not exceed the | 0023| equivalent costs of conventional control methods. If boll weevil | 0024| trigger levels are reached on the organic cotton producer's acres | 0025| and boll weevil migration from outside these acres has been | 0001| eliminated as a cause of these levels, then the organic cotton | 0002| producer shall be allowed to harvest these acres, but shall not be | 0003| allowed to grow cotton on the acreage for one year. If the | 0004| organic cotton producer chooses to use conventional methods of | 0005| treatment, the cotton boll weevil committee shall proceed | 0006| accordingly." |