Chapter 46 - Pest Control Compact
CHAPTER 46 - PEST CONTROL COMPACT
11-46-101. Compact enacted and entered into.
The "Pest Control Compact" isenacted into law and entered into with all other jurisdictions legally joiningtherein, in the form substantially as follows:
PEST CONTROL COMPACT
Article I
Findings
The party states find that:
(a) In the absence of the higher degreeof cooperation among them possible under this compact, the annual loss ofapproximately one hundred thirty seven billion dollars ($137,000,000,000.00)from the depredations of pests is virtually certain to continue, if not toincrease.
(b) Because of varying climatic,geographic and economic factors, each state may be affected differently byparticular 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 pestinfestations makes it necessary for states both adjacent to and distant fromone another, to complement each other's activities when faced with conditionsof infestation and reinfestation.
(d) While every state is seriouslyaffected by a substantial number of pests, and every state is susceptible ofinfestation by many species of pests not now causing damage to its crop andplant life and products, the fact that relatively few species of pests presentequal danger to or are of interest to all states makes the establishment andoperation of an insurance fund, from which individual states may obtainfinancial support for pest control programs of benefit to them in other statesand to which they may contribute in accordance with their relative interests,the most equitable means of financing cooperative pest eradication and controlprograms.
Article II
Definitions
(a) As used in this compact, unless thecontext clearly requires a different construction:
(i) "State" means a state,territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia and thecommonwealth of Puerto Rico;
(ii) "Requesting state" means astate which invokes the procedures of the compact to secure the undertaking orintensification of measures to control or eradicate one or more pests withinone or more other states;
(iii) "Responding state" meansa state requested to undertake or intensify the measures referred to inparagraph (ii) of this article;
(iv) "Pest" means anyinvertebrate animal, pathogen, parasitic plant or similar or allied organismwhich can cause disease or damage in any crops, trees, shrubs, grasses or otherplants of substantial value;
(v) "Insurance fund" means thepest control insurance fund established pursuant to this compact;
(vi) "Governing board" meansthe administrators of this compact representing all of the party states whensuch administrators are acting as a body in pursuance of authority vested inthem by this compact; and
(vii) "Executive committee"means the committee established pursuant to article V(e) of this compact.
Article III
The Insurance Fund
There is hereby established the "pestcontrol insurance fund" for the purpose of financing other than normalpest control operations which states may be called upon to engage in pursuantto this compact. The insurance fund shall contain monies appropriated to it bythe party states and any donations and grants accepted by it. Allappropriations, except as conditioned by the rights and obligations of partystates expressly set forth in this compact, shall be unconditional and may notbe restricted by the appropriating state to use in the control of any specifiedpest or pests. Donations and grants may be conditional or unconditional,provided that the insurance fund shall not accept any donation or grant whoseterms are inconsistent with any provisions of this compact.
Article IV
The Insurance Fund, Internal Operationsand Management
(a) The insurance fund shall beadministered by a governing board and executive committee as hereinafterprovided. The actions of the governing board and executive committee pursuantto this compact shall be deemed the actions of the insurance fund.
(b) The members of the governing boardshall be entitled to one (1) vote each on such board. No action of thegoverning board shall be binding unless taken at a meeting at which a majorityof the total number of votes on the governing board are cast in favor thereof. Action of the governing board shall be only at a meeting at which a majority ofthe members are present.
(c) The insurance fund shall have a sealwhich may be employed as an official symbol and which may be affixed todocuments and otherwise used as the governing board may provide.
(d) The governing board shall elect annually,from among its members, a chairman, a vice chairman, a secretary and atreasurer. The chairman may not serve successive terms. The governing boardmay appoint an executive director and fix his duties and his compensation, ifany. Such executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the governingboard. The governing board shall make provision for the bonding of such of theofficers and employees of the insurance fund as may be appropriate.
(e) Irrespective of the civil service,personnel or other merit system laws of any of the party states, the executivedirector, or if there is not an executive director, the chairman, in accordancewith such procedures as the bylaws may provide, shall appoint, remove ordischarge such personnel as may be necessary for the performance of thefunctions of the insurance fund and shall fix the duties and compensation ofsuch personnel. The governing board in its bylaws shall provide for thepersonnel policies and programs of the insurance fund.
(f) The insurance fund may borrow, acceptor contract for the services of personnel from any state, the United States, orany other governmental agency, or from any person, firm, association,corporation or limited liability company.
(g) The insurance fund may accept for anyof its purposes and functions under this compact any and all donations, andgrants of money, equipment, supplies, materials and services, conditional orotherwise, from any state, the United States, or any other governmental agency,or from any person, firm, association, corporation or limited liabilitycompany, and may receive, utilize and dispose of the same. Any donation, giftor grant accepted by the governing board pursuant to this subsection orservices borrowed pursuant to subsection (f) of this article shall be reportedin the annual report of the insurance fund. Such report shall include thenature, amount and conditions, if any, of the donation, gift, grant or servicesborrowed and identity of the donor or lender.
(h) The governing board shall adoptbylaws for the conduct of the business of the insurance fund and shall have thepower to amend and rescind these bylaws. The insurance fund shall publish itsbylaws 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 partystates.
(j) The insurance fund annually shallmake to the governor and legislature of each party state a report covering itsactivities for the preceding year. The insurance fund may make such additionalreports as it may deem desirable.
(k) In addition to the powers and dutiesspecifically authorized and imposed, the insurance fund may do such otherthings as are necessary and incidental to the conduct of its affairs pursuantto this compact.
Article V
Compact and Insurance Fund Administration
(a) In each party state there shall be acompact administrator, who shall be selected and serve in such manner as thelaws of his state may provide, and who shall:
(i) Assist in the coordination ofactivities pursuant to the compact in his state; and
(ii) Represent his state on the governingboard of the insurance fund.
(b) If the laws of the United Statesspecifically so provide, or if administrative provision is made thereforewithin the federal government, the United States may be represented on thegoverning board of the insurance fund by not to exceed three (3)representatives. Any such representative or representatives of the UnitedStates shall be appointed and serve in such manner as may be provided by orpursuant to federal law, but no such representative shall have a vote on thegoverning board or on the executive committee thereof.
(c) The governing board shall meet atleast once each year for the purpose of determining policies and procedures inthe administration of the insurance fund and, consistent with the provisions ofthe compact, supervising and giving direction to the expenditure of monies fromthe insurance fund. Additional meetings of the governing board shall be held oncall of the chairman, the executive committee or a majority of the membershipof the governing board.
(d) At such times as it may be meeting,the governing board shall pass upon applications for assistance from theinsurance fund and authorize disbursements therefrom. When the governing boardis not in session, the executive committee thereof shall act as agent of thegoverning board, with full authority to act for it in passing upon suchapplications.
(e) The executive committee shall becomposed of the chairman of the governing board and four (4) additional membersof the governing board chosen by it so that there shall be one (1) memberrepresenting each of four (4) geographic groupings of party states. Thegoverning board shall make such geographic groupings. If there isrepresentation of the United States on the governing board, one (1) suchrepresentative may meet with the executive committee. The chairman of thegoverning board shall be chairman of the executive committee. No action of theexecutive committee shall be binding unless taken at a meeting at which atleast four (4) members of such committee are present and vote in favorthereof. Necessary expenses of each of the five (5) members of the executivecommittee incurred in attending meetings of such committee, when not held atthe same time and place as a meeting of the governing board, shall be chargesagainst the insurance fund.
Article VI
Assistance and Reimbursement
(a) Each party state pledges to eachother party state that it will employ its best efforts to eradicate, or controlwithin the strictest practicable limits, any and all pests. It is recognizedthat performance of this responsibility involves:
(i) The maintenance of pest control anderadication activities of interstate significance by a party state at a levelthat would be reasonable for its own protection in the absence of this compact;
(ii) The meeting of emergency outbreaksor infestations of interstate significance to no less an extent than would havebeen done in the absence of this compact.
(b) Whenever a party state is threatenedby a pest not present within its borders but present within another partystate, or whenever a party state is undertaking or engaged in activities forthe control or eradication of a pest or pests, and finds that such activitiesare or would be impracticable or substantially more difficult of success byreason of failure of another party state to cope with infestation or threatenedinfestation, that state may request the governing board to authorizeexpenditures from the insurance fund for eradication or control measures to betaken by one (1) or more of such other party states at a level sufficient toprevent, or to reduce to the greatest practicable extent, infestation or reinfestationof the requesting state. Upon such authorization the responding state orstates shall take or increase such eradication or control measures as may bewarranted. A responding state shall use monies made available from theinsurance fund expeditiously and efficiently to assist in affording theprotection requested.
(c) In order to apply for expendituresfrom the insurance fund, a requesting state shall submit the following inwriting:
(i) A detailed statement of thecircumstances which occasion the request for the invoking of the compact;
(ii) Evidence that the pest on account ofwhose eradication or control assistance is requested constitutes a danger to anagricultural or forest crop, product, tree, shrub, grass or other plant havinga substantial value to the requesting state;
(iii) A statement of the extent of thepresent and projected program of the requesting state and its subdivisions,including full information as to the legal authority for the conduct of suchprogram or programs and the expenditures being made or budgeted therefore, inconnection with the eradication, control or prevention of introduction of thepest concerned;
(iv) Proof that the expenditures beingmade or budgeted as detailed in paragraph (iii) of this subsection do notconstitute a reduction of the effort for the control or eradication of the pestconcerned or, if there is a reduction, the reasons why the level of programdetailed in paragraph (iii) of this subsection constitutes a normal level ofpest control activity;
(v) A declaration as to whether, to thebest of its knowledge and belief, the conditions which in its view occasion theinvoking of the compact in the particular instance can be abated by a programundertaken with the aid of monies from the insurance fund in one (1) year orless, or whether the request is for an installment in a program which is likelyto continue for a longer period of time;
(vi) Such other information as thegoverning board may require consistent with the provisions of this compact.
(d) The governing board or executivecommittee shall give due notice of any meeting at which an application forassistance from the insurance fund is to be considered. Such notice shall begiven to the compact administrator of each party state and to such otherofficers and agencies as may be designated by the laws of the party states. The requesting state and any other party state shall be entitled to berepresented and present evidence and argument at such meeting.
(e) Upon the submission as required bysubsection (c) of this article and such other information as it may have oracquire, and upon determining that an expenditure of funds is within thepurposes of this compact and justified thereby, the governing board orexecutive committee shall authorize support of the program. The governingboard or the executive committee may meet at any time or place for the purposeof receiving and considering an application. Any and all determinations of thegoverning board or executive committee, with respect to an application,together with the reasons therefore shall be recorded and subscribed in suchmanner as to show and preserve the votes of the individual members thereof.
(f) A requesting state which isdissatisfied with a determination of the executive committee shall upon noticein writing given within twenty (20) days of the determination with which it isdissatisfied, be entitled to receive a review thereof at the next meeting ofthe governing board. Determinations of the executive committee shall bereviewable only by the governing board at one (1) of its regular meetings, orat a special meeting held in such manner as the governing board may authorize.
(g) Responding states required toundertake or increase measures pursuant to this compact may receive monies fromthe insurance fund, either at the time or times when such state incursexpenditures on account of such measures, or as reimbursement for expensesincurred and chargeable to the insurance fund. The governing board shall adoptand, from time to time, may amend or revise procedures for submission of claimsupon it and payment thereof.
(h) Before authorizing the expenditure ofmonies from the insurance fund pursuant to an application of a requestingstate, the insurance fund shall ascertain the extent and nature of any timelyassistance or participation which may be available from the federal governmentand shall request the appropriate agency or agencies of the federal governmentfor such assistance and participation.
(j) The insurance fund may negotiate andexecute a memorandum of understanding or other appropriate instrument definingthe extent and degree of assistance or participation between and among theinsurance fund, cooperating federal agencies, states and any other entitiesconcerned.
Article VII
Advisory and Technical Committees
The governing board may establish advisoryand technical committees composed of state, local and federal officials, andprivate persons to advise it with respect to any one (1) or more of its functions. Any such advisory or technical committee, or any member or members thereof maymeet with and participate in its deliberations upon request of the governingboard or executive committee. An advisory or technical committee may furnishinformation and recommendations with respect to any application for assistancefrom the insurance fund being considered by such board or committee and theboard or committee may receive and consider the same; provided that anyparticipant in a meeting of the governing board or executive committee heldpursuant to article VI(d) of the compact shall be entitled to know thesubstance of any such information and recommendations, at the time of themeeting if made prior thereto or as a part thereof or, if made thereafter, nolater than the time at which the governing board or executive committee makesits disposition of the application.
Article VIII
Relations with Nonparty Jurisdictions
(a) A party state may make applicationfor assistance from the insurance fund in respect of a pest in a nonpartystate. Such application shall be considered and disposed of by the governingboard or executive committee in the same manner as an application with respectto a pest within a party state except as provided in this article.
(b) At or in connection with any meetingof the governing board or executive committee held pursuant to article VI(d) ofthis compact a nonparty state shall be entitled to appear, participate andreceive information only to such extent as the governing board or executivecommittee may provide. A nonparty state shall not be entitled to review of anydetermination made by the executive committee.
(c) The governing board or executivecommittee shall authorize expenditures from the insurance fund to be made in anonparty state only after determining that the conditions in such state and thevalue of such expenditures to the party states as a whole justify them. Thegoverning board or executive committee may set any conditions which it deemsappropriate with respect to the expenditure of monies from the insurance fundin a nonparty state and may enter into such agreement or agreements withnonparty states and other jurisdictions or entities as it may deem necessary orappropriate to protect the interests of the insurance fund with respect toexpenditures and activities outside of party states.
Article IX
Finance
(a) The insurance fund shall submit tothe executive head or designated officer or officers of each party state abudget for the insurance fund for such period as may be required by the laws ofthat party state for presentation to the legislature thereof.
(b) Each of the budgets shall containspecific recommendations of the amount or amounts to be appropriated by each ofthe party states. The requests for appropriation shall be apportioned amongthe party states as follows: one tenth (1/10) of the total budget in equalshares and the remainder in proportion to the value of agricultural and forestcrops and products, excluding animals and animal products, produced in eachparty state. In determining the value of such crops and products the insurancefund may employ such source or sources of information as in its judgmentpresent the most equitable and accurate comparisons among the party states. Each of the budgets and requests for appropriations shall indicate the sourceor sources used in obtaining information concerning value of products.
(c) The financial assets of the insurancefund shall be maintained in two (2) accounts to be designated respectively asthe "operating account" and the "claims account". Theoperating account shall consist only of those assets necessary for theadministration of the insurance fund during the next ensuing two (2) yearperiod. The claims account shall contain all monies not included in theoperating account and shall not exceed the amount reasonably estimated to besufficient to pay all legitimate claims on the insurance fund for a period ofthree (3) years. At any time when the claims account has reached its maximumlimit or would reach its maximum limit by the addition of monies requested forappropriation by the party states, the governing board shall reduce its budgetrequest on a pro rata basis in such manner as to keep the claims account withinsuch maximum limit. Any monies in the claims account by virtue of conditionaldonations, grants or gifts shall be included in calculations made pursuant tothis subsection only to the extent that such monies are available to meetdemands arising out of claims.
(d) The insurance fund shall not pledgethe credit of any party state. The insurance fund may meet any of itsobligations in whole or in part with monies available to it under article IV(g)of this compact, provided that the governing board takes specific actionsetting aside such monies prior to incurring any obligation to be met in wholeor in part in such manner. Except where the insurance fund makes use of moniesavailable to it under article IV(g) hereof, the insurance fund shall not incurany obligation prior to the allotment of monies by the party states adequate tomeet the same.
(e) The insurance fund shall keepaccurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements. The receipts anddisbursements of the insurance fund shall be subject to the audit and accountingprocedures established under its bylaws. However, all receipts anddisbursements of funds handled by the insurance fund shall be audited yearly bya certified or licensed public accountant and a report of the audit shall beincluded in and become part of the annual report of the insurance fund.
(f) The accounts of the insurance fundshall be open at any reasonable time for inspection by duly authorized officersof the party states and by any persons authorized by the insurance fund.
Article X
Entry into Force and Withdrawal
(a) This compact shall enter into forcewhen enacted into law by any five (5) or more states. Thereafter, this compactshall become effective as to any other state upon its enactment thereof.
(b) Any party state may withdraw fromthis compact by enacting a statute repealing the same, but no such withdrawalshall take effect until two (2) years after the executive head of thewithdrawing state has given notice in writing of the withdrawal to theexecutive heads of all other party states. No withdrawal shall affect anyliability already incurred by or chargeable to a party state prior to the timeof such withdrawal.
Article XI
Construction and Severability
This compact shall be liberally construedso as to effectuate the purposes thereof. The provisions of this compact shallbe severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this compactis declared to be contrary to the constitution of any state or of the UnitedStates or the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person orcircumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this compact andthe applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or circumstanceshall not be affected thereby. If this compact shall be held contrary to theconstitution of any state participating herein, the compact shall remain infull force and effect as to the remaining party states and in full force andeffect as to the state affected as to all severable matters.
11-46-102. Cooperation with pest control insurance fund.
Consistent with law and within availableappropriations, the departments, agencies and officers of Wyoming may cooperatewith the insurance fund established by the Pest Control Compact.
11-46-103. Filing of compact.
Pursuant to article IV(h) of the compact,copies of bylaws and amendments thereto shall be filed with the Wyomingdepartment of agriculture.
11-46-104. Compact administrator.
The compact administrator for Wyomingshall be the director of the Wyoming department of agriculture.
11-46-105. Applications for assistance.
Within the meaning of article VI(b) orVIII(a) of the compact, a request or application for assistance from theinsurance fund may be made by the compact administrator for Wyoming, wheneverin his judgment the conditions qualifying Wyoming for such assistance exist andit would be in the best interest of Wyoming to make such request.
11-46-106. Disposition of money from compact insurance fund.
Funds received by the department, agencyor officer to defray costs or as reimbursement under the compact shall be paidto the state treasurer for deposit to the state account from which it wasexpended or, if expenditure from a specific account cannot be determined,deposited to the general fund.
11-46-107. "Executive head" defined.
As used in the Pest Control Compact, withreference to Wyoming, "executive head" means the governor.