(a)  This act may be cited as the "Wyoming Weed and Pest Control Act."

(b)  The purpose of this act is controlling designated and declared weeds and pests.

(a)  As used in this act:

(i)  "Pesticide" means any material used to control or eradicate weeds or pests;

(ii)  "Authorized dealer" means any pesticide dealer licensed in Wyoming who sells, retails, wholesales, distributes, offers or exposes for sale, exchanges, barters or gives away any pesticide within this state;

(iii)  "Board" means the Wyoming board of agriculture established by authority of W.S. 11-2-101 through 11-2-104;

(iv)  "Director" means the director of the department of agriculture for the state of Wyoming or his designated agent;

(v)  "Control" means the process of containing, preventing, identifying and mitigating weed and pest infestations by using multiple integrated management practices, including but not limited to, regulation, prevention, survey, eradication, pesticides, cultivation, competition, grazing and biological control in an adaptive management effort designed to reduce economic and ecological impacts from designated and declared species and to protect uninfested lands;

(vi)  "County commissioners" means the board of county commissioners of a county within which a district is located;

(vii)  "Declared pest" means any animal or insect species which the board and the Wyoming weed and pest council have found, either by virtue of its direct or indirect effect to negatively impact management of agricultural or natural ecosystems, or as a carrier of disease or parasites, to be detrimental to the general welfare of persons residing within a district;

(viii)  "Declared weed" means any plant species which the board and the Wyoming weed and pest council have found, either by virtue of its direct or indirect effect to negatively impact management of agricultural or natural ecosystems, or as a carrier of disease or parasites, to be detrimental to the general welfare of persons residing within a district;

(ix)  "Department" means the state department of agriculture;

(x)  "Designated list" means the list of weeds and pests from time to time designated by joint resolution of the board and the Wyoming weed and pest council or by an emergency declaration of the director;

(xi)  "Designated noxious weed" means plant species having seeds or other plant parts determined to be detrimental to the general health or welfare of the state based upon the following:

(A)  Has demonstrated the ability to aggressively invade native plant communities and agricultural crops;

(B)  Is injurious or poisonous to livestock;

(C)  Is a carrier of disease or parasites;

(D)  Can, by virtue of either direct or indirect effect, negatively impact management of agricultural or natural ecosystems.

(xii)  "Designated pest" means any animal or insect species that is determined to be detrimental to the health or general welfare of the state based upon the following:

(A)  Has demonstrated the ability to aggressively invade native plant communities and agricultural crops;

(B)  Is injurious or poisonous to livestock;

(C)  Is a carrier of disease or parasites;

(D)  Can, by virtue of either its direct or indirect effect, negatively impact management of agricultural or natural ecosystems.

(xiii)  Repealed by Laws 1993, ch. 191, § 4.

(xiv)  "District" means any county weed and pest control district;

(xv)  "District board" means the board of directors of a district having jurisdiction within the boundaries of the district it represents;

(xvi)  "District board member area" means a geographical area within a district from which a member of the board of the district is appointed;

(xvii)  Repealed by Laws 1993, ch. 191, § 4.

(xviii)  "Farm products" means all crops, crop products, nursery stock, plants or portions thereof, but shall not mean livestock;

(xix)  "Infested farm products" means farm products which contain injurious insects, pests, weed seed, poisonous or injurious plants or any injurious portion thereof, or plant diseases;

(xx)  "Landowner" means any person who has actual use, exclusive possession of or exercises control over the land through any lease, easement, right-of-way or estate in the land. Federal landowner means the federal agency having jurisdiction over any lands affected by this act;

(xxi)  "District supervisor" means the person appointed or employed by the district board for the purpose of carrying out this act within a district;

(xxii)  "Wyoming weed and pest council" means the state council composed of one (1) representative of each district as authorized in writing by that board of directors. The director of the department of agriculture or his designated representative shall serve ex officio;

(xxiii)  "Emergency declaration" means the addition of a weed or pest to either the statewide designated list or to a county declared list on an emergency basis to allow for immediate control activities. An emergency declaration shall only last until formal action can be taken by the council and the board to list the species through established rules, and in any case not to exceed one (1) year;

(xxiv)  "This act" means W.S. 11-5-101 through 11-5-120.

(a)  The county commissioners of each district shall hold a public meeting for appointing a district board of directors for the district. Prior to the meeting the county commissioners shall establish the number of members of the district board and shall establish district board member areas. The county commissioners may seek the advice and counsel of the members of the former district board for the establishment of district board member areas. Each district board member area shall be contiguous. Notice of the meeting shall be advertised at least once in the designated official newspaper of the county and posted on the county's official website in the manner provided in W.S. 18-3-516(f) at least twenty (20) days prior to the date of the meeting. The notice shall solicit nominations for directors by petition signed by at least ten (10) landowners to be submitted at least five (5) days before the date of the meeting.

(b)  From the nominations submitted the county commissioners shall appoint the district board which shall consist of five (5) or seven (7) directors. Directors shall serve for a term of four (4) years or until their successors are appointed and qualified.

(c)  Any qualified elector in the district board member area he is appointed to represent is eligible to hold the office of director.

(d)  All district board members shall be appointed by the county commissioners at their first regular meeting in January of each year from among nominations submitted by petition in the manner set forth in subsection (a) of this section. In districts encompassing cities or towns with a population of five thousand (5,000) or more, one (1) district board member shall be appointed from within the limits of a city or town. A district board member shall assume office at the first regular meeting of the district board following appointment.

(e)  The county commissioners shall remove a director for repeated unexcused failure to attend meetings or for refusal or incapacity to act as a district board member.

(f)  When a vacancy occurs on a district board the county commissioners shall, at the next regular meeting, appoint an individual who possesses the necessary qualifications as a district board member to fill the unexpired term.

(g)  At the first regular meeting in February the district board shall elect from its members a chairman and a vice-chairman, and appoint a secretary and a treasurer. The positions of secretary and treasurer need not be members of the district board. The treasurer shall furnish a surety bond to the district before entering upon the duties of office in an amount to be set by the district board but not less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00).

(h)  The members of the district board shall serve without pay, but are entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses and a mileage allowance at the rate as established for state employees.

(a)  The district board shall:

(i)  Implement and pursue an effective program for the control of designated weeds and pests;

(ii)  Fix the time and place of regular meetings, which shall occur at least once each month and shall be open to the public;

(iii)  Keep minutes of all meetings and a complete record of all official acts, including all warrants issued against monies belonging to the district, which are open for public inspection during regular office hours;

(iv)  Employ certified district supervisors and if certified personnel are not available, employ an acting district supervisor who shall become certified within twenty-four (24) months from the initial date of employment;

(v)  Make at least one (1) annual inspection to determine the progress of weed and pest activities within a district;

(vi)  Obtain competitive bids for any purchase costing more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00);

(vii)  Control and disburse all monies received from any source;

(viii)  Render technical assistance to any city or town with a population of five thousand (5,000) or more which establishes a program as provided in W.S. 11-5-115;

(ix)  Share data with the Wyoming weed and pest council and take other actions to support the coordinated and comprehensive invasive plant species control authorized in W.S. 11-5-120.

(b)  The district board of each district may:

(i)  Sue and be sued;

(ii)  Employ personnel and determine duties and conditions of employment;

(iii)  Coordinate activities with the department and enter into cooperative agreements with other agencies;

(iv)  Secure and maintain bond or liability insurance, when deemed feasible by the district board;

(v)  Submit to the department reports required by the board;

(vi)  Participate in programs for the control of declared weeds and declared pests not included on the designated list;

(vii)  Buy and sell real property, personal property and equipment as needed to carry out district programs.

(c)  The district supervisor shall receive a salary and expenses as approved by the district board.

(a)  The district board may purchase from authorized dealers such quantities of pesticides as are necessary, and hire labor to carry out the provisions of this act. Warrants in payment shall be drawn on the weed and pest control fund.

(b)  The district board may sell pesticides which have been registered with the department for designated or declared noxious weed and pest control.

(c)  In the case of delinquent indebtedness under this section the district board may seek a judgment from the district court for the indebtedness, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. The judgment shall be enforced as provided by law.

(d)  The district board may cost share with the landowner the cost of the pesticides, the cost of the application and the cost of any other integrated management practice for the control of designated or declared noxious weeds and pests.

(a)  The district board may establish rates and engage in the application of pesticides for weed and pest control, subject to subsection (b) of this section. If services provided are not paid for by the landowner for whom rendered as provided in W.S. 11-5-107(d), such indebtedness may be collected as provided by W.S. 11-5-107(c).

(b)  A district board shall not engage in competitive bidding of bare ground application of pesticides for industrial weed control, unless there are no commercially licensed entities operating in the state that are able and willing to perform the service. Nothing in this subsection shall limit the district board's authority to act pursuant to W.S. 11-5-105(a)(i) and 11-5-109.

(a)  Whenever the district board has probable cause to believe that a landowner's property is infested by weeds or pests which are liable to spread and contribute to the injury or detriment of others and the board has provided written notice of probable cause to the landowner, it shall make or have made an inspection of the suspected premises through the use of lawful entry procedures. No entry upon any premises, lands or places shall be permitted under this subsection until the landowner or occupant has been notified by certified mail and, if the landowner has consented to receive notices electronically, by electronic means that provide actual notice to the landowner or occupant that the inspection is pending at least fifteen (15) days prior to the inspection. If possible, inspections shall be scheduled and conducted with the concurrence of the landowner or occupant. If, after receiving notice that an inspection is pending, the landowner or occupant denies access to the district supervisor or the supervisor's designee, the supervisor may seek an administrative inspection warrant issued by a municipal, circuit or district court having jurisdiction over the land. No landowner shall deny access to land when presented with an administrative inspection warrant issued by a court. The court shall issue an administrative inspection warrant upon presentation by the district board, through its agent or employee, of an affidavit stating:

(i)  The information that gives the district board probable cause to believe that any provision of this chapter is being or has been violated;

(ii)  That the landowner or occupant has denied access to the district supervisor or the supervisor's designee or has not responded within fifteen (15) days of receiving notice; and

(iii)  A particularized description of the location of the affected land.

(b)  If the suspected area is found to be infested, the district board, by resolution adopted by two-thirds (2/3) of its members, shall confirm such fact. The resolution may set forth minimum remedial requirements for control of the infested area, provided that:

(i)  The remedial requirements are likely to be effective in controlling an infestation of the species in question at the infested area;

(ii)  The board includes potential estimated costs if available;

(iii)  The benefits, both economic and environmental, exceed the estimated costs of the remedial requirements;

(iv)  The board may assist the landowner in developing an integrated pest management plan for the species in question; and

(v)  The landowner may propose alternate remedial requirements.

(c)  The district board shall deliver, by certified mail, to the address of the landowner appearing on the most recent tax rolls of the district and, if the landowner has consented to receive notices electronically, by electronic means that provide actual notice to the landowner all of the following:

(i)  A copy of the resolution;

(ii)  A statement of the estimated cost to the landowner of fulfilling the requirements and the amount that may be shared with the landowner, as determined by district board policy.

(iii)  Repealed by Laws 2020, ch. 135, § 2.

(d)  At the request of the landowner, the district board shall hold a hearing in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. The landowner may appeal the board's resolution to the district court.

(e)  A landowner who is responsible for an infestation and fails or refuses to perform the remedial requirements for the control of the weed or pest on the infested area within the time designated in the district board's resolution may be fined not more than fifty dollars ($50.00) per day for each day of violation and not more than a total of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) per year as determined by the court. Any person accused under this act is entitled to a trial by jury. The accumulated fines under this section are a lien against the property of the landowner from the day notice is delivered to the landowner by the district board. All fines shall be deposited with the county treasurer and credited to the county school fund.

(a)  An allocation committee composed of the director of the department of agriculture, three (3) members appointed by the Wyoming weed and pest council and one (1) member of the board shall allocate the funds of any legislative appropriation to the district boards pursuant to a formula adopted by the committee. No district board shall receive an amount in excess of one-third (1/3) of its actual expenditures from any appropriation, unless the appropriation provides assistance in control to a district board under subsection (b) of this section.

(b)  If the district board determines a weed or pest is seriously endangering areas of a district or the state, assistance in control may be provided by legislative appropriation for this purpose, and the allocation committee shall allocate the appropriation accordingly, and the allocation committee and each affected district board shall be responsible for insuring that the funds are properly expended.

(a)  The governing body of any city or town with a population of five thousand (5,000) or more may establish and administer a program for the control of weeds and pests within the jurisdictional limits of the city or town. If such a program is not established, the district board shall administer a program for the city or town.

(b)  A district having a city or town with a population of five thousand (5,000) or more which establishes a program shall, within thirty (30) days after receipt of any funds collected pursuant to W.S. 11-5-111, transfer eighty-five percent (85%) of the funds attributed to the property within the corporate limits of the city or town to the governing body of the city or town, retaining fifteen percent (15%) of the funds for administration of the district and for technical assistance rendered to the city or town by the district board.

(c)  Monies received by the cities from the district shall be used to control noxious weeds and pests as determined by the governing body of the city or town. The city or town shall provide an annual report to the district board on designated and declared weed and pest work completed within the jurisdictional limits of the city or town.

(d)  The governing body of a city or town which establishes a control program may petition the district board for special assistance and funding authorized by W.S. 11-5-113 and 11-5-114.

(a)  Whenever the director, the district board or their agents find any section of the state to be infested with insects, pests, poisonous or injurious plants or plant diseases, and it is established that farm products from that section are liable to spread the insects, pests, poisonous or injurious plants or plant diseases into other sections to the injury of others, the director shall without unnecessary delay, declare a quarantine against such section to prevent the transfer of farm products from the quarantined area. When it is ascertained that insects, pests, weed seed, poisonous or injurious plants or plant diseases are likely to be introduced into Wyoming by the importation of farm products, domestic animals or other objects, the director shall declare a quarantine against the importation of such farm products.

(b)  A district may initiate a district-wide quarantine by one (1) of the following procedures:

(i)  A district may request in writing that the director declare a district-wide quarantine. Upon receipt of the request, the director shall instruct the district to circulate a petition for ninety (90) days within the district to obtain signatures of at least two-thirds (2/3) of all resident landowners owning at least fifty-one percent (51%) of all resident-owned land. Upon receipt of the properly executed petition, the director shall declare a district-wide quarantine;

(ii)  A district board may hold a hearing in compliance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. The director shall declare a district-wide quarantine when the district has provided the director with proper documentation that a hearing has been held and the district has found a need for a district-wide quarantine;

(iii)  The district board may hold a district-wide referendum. The director shall declare a district-wide quarantine upon receipt of a certified document indicating that the referendum was accepted by a majority of the electors who voted in the election.

(c)  The director shall declare an individual quarantine when requested by resolution adopted by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the board.

(d)  The district board in compliance with W.S. 11-5-101 through 11-5-119 may request a quarantine against the entry of infested farm products that may be injurious and detrimental to the state and enter into agreements with the law enforcing agencies to carry out the quarantine provision:

(i)  Farm products and equipment shall be certified free of designated noxious weed seeds or infested farm products prior to entry into the state, with the exception of any processed feed or grain to be reprocessed and fed to livestock;

(ii)  Farm products and equipment are to be certified in the state of origin by the proper officials;

(iii)  Interstate shipment of farm products through the state need not be certified if covered in a prescribed manner as not to allow the dissemination of infested farm products.

(a)  Any person violating any provision of this act is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be fined not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) in addition to fines provided for in W.S. 11-5-109(e).

(b)  In any proceeding to impose any fine or penalty for any failure to perform a remedial requirement ordered by a district board for control of a weed or pest in any infested area, the district board shall have the burden of proving:

(i)  That the proposed remedial action would control the target weed or pest;

(ii)  That the remedial action would be a cost effective action and would be more cost effective than any alternative action proposed or adopted by the landowner; and

(iii)  That the weed or pest to be controlled was at risk of spreading to the land of others in the area.

(a)  In addition to other duties prescribed by law, the Wyoming weed and pest council shall aid county weed and pest control districts in creating, managing and enhancing coordinated and comprehensive invasive plant species control programs by:

(i)  Developing and implementing data systems to support each district in making invasive plant species management decisions informed by accurate, timely data, local experts, cultural practices and best available science;

(ii)  Coordinating with the University of Wyoming and community colleges to assess, to the extent practicable, the impacts that invasive plant species can have on socio-ecological systems. As used in this paragraph, "socio-ecological system" means a dynamic system encompassing interactions between people and nature within a defined geographical area;

(iii)  Coordinating with the University of Wyoming, community colleges and government agencies to support and expand outreach and provide applied research on the best use of existing tools to control invasive plant species and the development of new invasive plant species management methods;

(iv)  Working with federal partners to reduce barriers to timely, effective invasive plant species management on federal lands and adjoining nonfederal lands;

(v)  On a biennial basis, reporting to the joint agriculture, state and public lands and water resources interim committee on the status of current funding models, existing or new funding challenges and opportunities to improve funding for designated or declared invasive plant species;

(vi)  Encouraging and incentivizing cooperative, landscape-scale projects to control invasive plant species that include multi-jurisdictional partnerships with clear, long-term strategies;

(vii)  Coordinating with other state and federal agencies to increase public awareness of the challenges presented by invasive plant species and to encourage prevention and mitigation practices.

(b)  The Wyoming weed and pest council may, with the approval of the majority of the board, adopt and publish rules in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, W.S. 16-3-101 et seq. to carry out the purposes of this act.