Section 9574.

(a) Any person who negligently or intentionally violates any state or federal law or regulation, including any quarantine regulation, by importing any animal or other article, which by virtue of being pest infested or disease infected, causes an infestation or infection of a pest, animal, or disease, or causes an existing infestation to spread beyond any quarantine boundaries is liable civilly in a sum not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each act that constitutes a violation of the law or regulation.

(b) The Attorney General, upon request of the State Veterinarian, shall petition the superior court to impose, assess, and recover the sum imposed pursuant to subdivision (a). In determining the amount to be imposed, the court shall take into consideration all relevant circumstances, including, but not limited to, the extent of harm caused by the violation and the nature and persistence of the violation.

(c) The remedy under this section is in addition to, and does not supersede or limit, any and all other remedies, civil or criminal, that are otherwise available to the state.

(d) Any funds recovered pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund for emergency pest or disease exclusion, detection, eradication, and research of agricultural plant or animal pests or diseases. These funds may be allocated to cover costs related to the enforcement of this division. These funds are in addition to any funds appropriated for those purposes pursuant to Section 224.

(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 503, Sec. 13. Effective January 1, 2002.)