4-36-1 - Compact enacted and entered into.
4-36-1. Compact enacted and entered into.
The "Pest Control Compact" is enacted into law and entered into with all otherjurisdictions legally joining therein, in the form substantially as follows:
The party states find that:
(a) In the absence of the higher degree of cooperation among them possible under thiscompact, the annual loss of approximately $10,000,000 from the depredations of pests isvirtually certain to continue, if not to increase.
(b) Because of varying climatic, geographic, and economic factors, each state may beaffected differently by particular species of pests, but all states share the inability to protectthemselves fully against those pests which present serious dangers to them.
(c) The migratory character of pest infestations makes it necessary for states bothadjacent to and distant from one another, to complement each other's activities when faced withconditions of infestation and reinfestation.
(d) While every state is seriously affected by a substantial number of pests, and everystate is susceptible of infestation by many species of pests not now causing damage to its cropsand plant life and products, the fact that relatively few species of pests present equal danger to orare of interest to all states makes the establishment and operation of an insurance fund, fromwhich individual states may obtain financial support for pest control programs of benefit to themin other states and to which they may contribute in accordance with their relative interests, themost equitable means of financing cooperative pest eradication and control programs.
As used in this compact, unless the context clearly requires a different construction:
(a) "state" means a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District ofColumbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
(b) "requesting state" means a state which invokes the procedures of the compact tosecure the undertaking or intensification of measures to control or eradicate one or more pestswithin one or more other states;
(c) "responding state" means a state requested to undertake or intensify the measuresreferred to in subdivision (b) of this Article;
(d) "pest" means an invertebrate animal, pathogen, parasitic plant, or similar or alliedorganism which can cause disease or damage in any crops, trees, shrubs, grasses, or other plantsof substantial value;
(e) "insurance fund" means the pest control insurance fund established pursuant to thiscompact;
(f) "governing board" means the administrators of this compact representing all of theparty states when such administrators are acting as a body in pursuance of authority vested inthem by this compact; and
(g) "executive committee" means the committee established pursuant to Article V (e) ofthis compact.
There is established the "Pest Control Insurance Fund" for the purpose of financing otherthan normal pest control operations which states may be called upon to engage in pursuant to thiscompact. The insurance fund shall contain money appropriated to it by the party states and anydonations and grants accepted by it. All appropriations, except as conditioned by the rights andobligations of party states expressly set forth in this compact, shall be unconditional and may notbe restricted by the appropriating state to use in the control of any specified pest or pests. Donations and grants may be conditional or unconditional, provided that the insurance fund shallnot accept any donation or grant whose terms are inconsistent with any provisions of thiscompact.
(a) The insurance fund shall be administered by a governing board and executivecommittee as hereinafter provided. The actions of the governing board and executive committeepursuant to this compact shall be considered the actions of the insurance fund.
(b) The members of the governing board shall be entitled to one vote each on such board. No action of the governing board shall be binding unless taken at a meeting at which a majorityof the total number of voters on the governing board are cast in favor thereof. Action of thegoverning board shall be only at a meeting at which a majority of the members are present.
(c) The insurance fund shall have a seal which may be employed as an official symboland which may be affixed to documents and otherwise used as the governing board may provide.
(d) The governing board shall elect annually, from among its members, a chairman, avice chairman, a secretary, and a treasurer. The chairman may not succeed himself. Thegoverning board may appoint an executive director and fix his duties and his compensation, ifany. Such executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the governing board. The governingboard shall make provision for the bonding of such of the officers and employees of theinsurance fund as may be appropriate.
(e) Irrespective of the civil service, personnel, or other merit system laws of any partystates, the executive director, or if there is no executive director, the chairman, in accordancewith such procedures as the bylaws may provide, shall appoint, remove, or discharge suchpersonnel as may be necessary for the performance of the functions of the insurance fund andshall fix the duties and compensation of such personnel. The governing board in its bylaws shallprovide for the personnel policies and programs of the Insurance Fund.
(f) The insurance fund may borrow, accept, or contract for the services of personnel fromany state, the United States, or any other governmental agency, or from any person, firm,association, or corporation.
(g) The insurance fund may accept for any of its purposes and functions under thiscompact any and all donations, and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials, andservices, conditional or otherwise, from any state, the United States, or any other governmentalagency, or from any person, firm, association, or corporation, and may receive, utilize, anddispose of the same. Any donation, gift, or grants accepted by the governing board pursuant tothis paragraph or services borrowed pursuant to paragraph (f) of this Article shall be reported inthe annual report of the insurance fund. Such report shall include the nature, amount, and
conditions, if any, of the donation, gift, grant, or services borrowed and the identity of the donoror lender.
(h) The governing board shall adopt bylaws for the conduct of the business of theinsurance fund and shall have the power to amend and rescind these bylaws. The insurance fundshall publish its bylaws in convenient form and shall file a copy thereof and a copy of anyamendment thereto with the appropriate agency or officer in each of the party states.
(i) The insurance fund annually shall make to the Governor and legislature of each partystate a report covering its activities for the preceding year. The insurance fund may make suchadditional reports as it may consider desirable.
(j) In addition to the powers and duties specifically authorized and imposed, theinsurance fund may do such other things as are necessary and incidental to the conduct of itsaffairs pursuant to this compact.
(a) In each party state there shall be a compact administrator, who shall be selected andserve in such manner as the laws of his state may provide, and who shall:
1. Assist in the coordination of activities pursuant to the compact in his state; and
2. Represent his state on the governing board of the insurance fund.
(b) If the laws of the United States specifically so provide, or if administrative provisionsare made therefore within the Federal Government, the United States may be represented on thegoverning board of the insurance fund by not to exceed three representatives. Any suchrepresentative or representatives of the United States shall be appointed and serve in such manneras may be provided by or pursuant to federal law, but no such representative shall have a vote onthe governing board or on the executive committee thereof.
(c) The governing board shall meet at least once each year for the purpose of determiningpolicies and procedures in the administration of the insurance fund and, consistent with theprovisions of the compact, supervising and giving direction to the expenditure of money from theinsurance fund. Additional meetings of the governing board shall be held on call of thechairman, the executive committee, or a majority of the membership of the governing board.
(d) At such times as it may be meeting, the governing board shall pass upon applicationsfor assistance from the insurance fund and authorize disbursements therefrom. When thegoverning board is not in session, the executive committee thereof shall act as agent of thegoverning board, with full authority to act for it in passing upon such applications.
(e) The executive committee shall be composed of the chairman of the governing boardand four additional members of the governing board chosen by it so that there shall be onemember representing each of four geographic groupings of party states. The governing boardshall make such geographic groupings. If there is representation of the United States on thegoverning board, one such representative may meet with the executive committee. The chairmanof the governing board shall be chairman of the executive committee. No action of the executivecommittee shall be binding unless taken at a meeting at which at least four members of suchcommittee are present and vote in favor thereof. Necessary expenses of each of the five membersof the executive committee incurred in attending meetings of such committee, when not held atthe same time and place as a meeting of the governing board, shall be charges against theinsurance fund.
(a) Each party state pledges to each other party state that it will employ its best efforts toeradicate, or control within the strictest practicable limits, any and all pests. It is recognized thatperformance of this responsibility involves:
1. The maintenance of pest control and eradication activities of interstate significance bya party state at a level that would be reasonable for its own protection in the absence of thiscompact.
2. The meeting of emergency outbreaks or infestations of interstate significance to noless an extent than would have been done in the absence of this compact.
(b) Whenever a party state is threatened by a pest not present within it borders butpresent within another party state, or whenever a party state is undertaking or engaged inactivities for the control or eradication of a pest or pests, and finds that such activities are orwould be impracticable or substantially more difficult of success by reason of failure of anotherparty state to cope with infestation or threatened infestation, that state may require the governingboard to authorize expenditures from the insurance fund for eradication or control measures to betaken by one or more of such other party states at a level sufficient to prevent, or to reduce to thegreatest practicable extent, infestation or reinfestation of the requesting state. Upon suchauthorization the responding state or states shall take or increase such eradication or controlmeasures as may be warranted. A responding state shall use money made available from theinsurance fund expeditiously and efficiently to assist in affording the protection requested.
(c) In order to apply for expenditures from the insurance fund, a requesting state shallsubmit the following in writing:
1. A detailed statement of the circumstances which occasion the request for the invokingof the compact.
2. Evidence that the pest on account of whose eradication or control assistance isrequested constitutes a danger to an agricultural or forest crop, product, tree, shrub, grass, orother plant having a substantial value to the requesting state.
3. A statement of the extent of the present and projected program of the requesting stateand its subdivision, including full information as to the legal authority for the conduct of suchprogram or programs and the expenditures being made or budgeted therefore, in connection withthe eradication, control, or prevention of introduction of the pest concerned.
4. Proof that the expenditures being made or budgeted as detailed in Item 3 do notconstitute a reduction of the effort for the control or eradication of the pest concerned or, if thereis a reduction, the reasons why the level of program detailed in Item 3 constitutes a normal levelof pest control activity.
5. A declaration as to whether, to the best of its knowledge and belief, the conditionswhich in its view occasion the invoking of the compact in the particular instance can be abatedby a program undertaken with the aid of money from the insurance fund in one year or less, orwhether the request is for an installment in a program which is likely to continue for a longerperiod of time.
6. Such other information as the governing board may require consistent with theprovisions of this compact.
(d) The governing board or executive committee shall give due notice of any meeting atwhich an application for assistance from the insurance fund is to be considered. Such notice
shall be given to the compact administrator of each party state and to such other officers andagencies as may be designated by the laws of the party states. The requesting state and any otherparty state shall be entitled to be represented and present evidence and argument at such meeting.
(e) Upon the submission as required by paragraph (c) of this Article and such otherinformation as it may have or acquire, and upon determining that an expenditure of funds iswithin the purposes of this compact and justified thereby, the governing board or executivecommittee shall authorize support of the program. The governing board or the executivecommittee may meet at any time or place for the purpose of receiving and considering anapplication. Any and all determinations of the governing board or executive committee, withrespect to an application, together with the reasons therefor shall be recorded and subscribed insuch manner as to show and preserve the votes of the individual members thereof.
(f) A requesting state which is dissatisfied with a determination of the executivecommittee shall upon notice in writing given within 20 days of the determination with which it isdissatisfied, be entitled to receive a review thereof at the next meeting of the governing board.Determinations of the executive committee shall be reviewable only by the governing board atone of its regular meetings, or at a special meeting held in such manner as the governing boardmay authorize.
(g) Responding states required to undertake or increase measures pursuant to thiscompact may receive money from the insurance fund, either at the time or times when such stateincurs expenditures on account of such measures, or as reimbursement for expenses incurred andchargeable to the insurance fund. The governing board shall adopt and, from time to time, mayamend or revise procedures for submission of claims upon it and for payment thereof.
(h) Before authorizing the expenditure of money from the insurance fund pursuant to anapplication of a requesting state, the insurance fund shall ascertain the extent and nature of anytimely assistance or participation which may be available from the federal government and shallrequest the appropriate agency or agencies of the federal government for such assistance andparticipation.
(i) The insurance fund may negotiate and execute a memorandum of understanding orother appropriate instrument defining the extent and degree of assistance or participation betweenand among the insurance fund, cooperating federal agencies, states, and any other entitiesconcerned.
The governing board may establish advisory and technical committees composed of state,local, and federal officials, and private persons to advise it with respect to any one or more of itsfunctions. Any such advisory or technical committee, or any member or members thereof, maymeet with and participate in its deliberations. Upon request of the governing board or executivecommittee an advisory or technical committee may furnish information and recommendationswith respect to any application for assistance from the insurance fund being considered by suchboard or committee and the board or committee may receive and consider the same; providedthat any participant in a meeting of the governing board or executive committee, held pursuant toArticle VI (d) of the compact shall be entitled to know the substance of any such information andrecommendations, at the time of the meeting, if made prior thereto or as a part thereof or, if madethereafter, no later than the time at which the governing board or executive committee makes its
disposition of the application.
(a) A party state may make application for assistance from the insurance fund in respectof a pest in a nonparty state. Such application shall be considered and disposed of by thegoverning board or executive committee in the same manner as an application with respect to apest within a party state except as provided in this Article.
(b) At or in connection with any meeting of the governing board or executive committeeheld pursuant to Article VI (d) of this compact a nonparty state shall be entitled to appear,participate, and receive information only to such extent as the governing board or executivecommittee may provide. A nonparty state shall not be entitled to review of any determinationmade by the executive committee.
(c) The governing board or executive committee shall authorize expenditures from theinsurance fund to be made in a nonparty state only after determining that the conditions in thestate and the value of the expenditures to the party states as a whole justify them. The governingboard or executive committee may set any conditions which it considers appropriate with respectto the expenditure of money from the insurance fund in a nonparty state and may enter into suchagreement or agreements with nonparty states and other jurisdictions or entities as it mayconsider necessary or appropriate to protect the interests of the insurance fund with respect toexpenditures and activities outside of party states.
(a) The insurance fund shall submit to the executive head or designated officer or officersof each party state a budget for the insurance fund for such period as may be required by the lawsof that party state for presentation to the legislature thereof.
(b) Each of the budgets shall contain specific recommendations of the amount oramounts to be appropriated by each of the party states. The requests for appropriation shall beapportioned among the party states as follows: one-tenth of the total budget in equal shares andthe remainder in proportion to the value of agricultural and forest crops and products, excludinganimals and animal products, produced in each party state. In determining the value of suchcrops and products the insurance fund may employ such source or sources of information as in itsjudgment present the most equitable and accurate comparisons among the party states. Each ofthe budgets and requests for appropriations shall indicate the source or sources used in obtaininginformation concerning value of products.
(c) The financial assets of the insurance fund shall be maintained in two accounts to bedesignated respectively as the "operating account" and the "claims account." The operatingaccount shall consist only of those assets necessary for the administration of the insurance fundduring the next ensuing two-year period. The claims account shall contain all money notincluded in the operating account and shall not exceed the amount reasonably estimated to besufficient to pay all legitimate claims on the insurance fund for a period of three years. At anytime when the claims account has reached its maximum limit or would reach its maximum limitby the addition of money requested for appropriation by the party states, the governing boardshall reduce its budget request on a pro rata basis in such manner as to keep the claims account
within the maximum limit. Any money in the claims account by virtue of conditional donations,grants, or gifts shall be included in calculations made pursuant to this paragraph only to theextent that money are available to meet demands arising out of claims.
(d) The insurance fund shall not pledge the credit of any party state. The insurance fundmay meet any of its obligations in whole or in part with money available to it under Article IV(g) of this compact, provided that the governing board takes specific action setting aside moneyprior to incurring any obligation to be met in whole or in part in such manner. Except where theinsurance fund makes use of money available to it under Article IV (g) hereof, the insurance fundshall not incur any obligation prior to the allotment of money by the party states adequate to meetthe same.
(e) The insurance fund shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements. The receipts and disbursements of the insurance fund shall be subject to the audit and accountingprocedures established under its bylaws. However, all receipts and disbursements of fundshandled by the insurance fund shall be audited yearly by a certified or licensed public accountantand a report of the audit shall be included in and become part of the annual report of theinsurance fund.
(f) The accounts of the insurance fund shall be open at any reasonable time for inspectionby duly authorized officers of the party states and by any persons authorized by the insurancefund.
(a) This compact shall enter into force when enacted into law by any five or more states. Thereafter, this compact shall become effective as to any other state upon its enactment thereof.
(b) Any party state may withdraw from this compact by enacting a statute repealing thesame, but no such withdrawal shall take effect until two years after the executive head of thewithdrawing state has given notice in writing of the withdrawal to the executive heads of allother party states. No withdrawal shall affect any liability already incurred by or chargeable to aparty state prior to the time of withdrawal.
This compact shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate the purposes thereof. Theprovisions of this compact shall be severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision ofthis compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any state or of the United States orthe applicability thereof to any government, agency, person, or circumstance is held invalid, thevalidity of the remainder of this compact and the applicability thereof to any government, agency,person, or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. If this compact shall be held contrary tothe constitution of any state participating herein, the compact shall remain in full force and effectas to the remaining party states and in full force and effect as to the state affected as to allseverable matters.
Enacted by Chapter 191, 1985 General Session