(a) For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Managerial employee” means a person who meets all of the following criteria:
(A) Has management authority with responsibility to oversee the care and well-being of the qualifying livestock producer’s livestock.
(B) Primarily engages in managerial job duties and customarily and regularly exercises discretion and independent judgment in these duties. These duties shall be specified in a written job description issued no later than 90 days before the date of the flood, storm, fire, earthquake, or other disaster.
(C) Earns a monthly salary equivalent to no less than two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment at the time of the flood, storm, fire, earthquake, or other disaster.
(2) “Qualifying livestock producer” means a commercial livestock producer, as determined by the county agency, who has been certified as successfully completing the curriculum developed pursuant to Section 13105.6 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b) (1) Upon the approval of a county board of supervisors, a county agricultural commissioner, or other agency designated by the county board of supervisors, is authorized to establish within that county a livestock pass program for the purpose of issuing identification documents granting any qualifying livestock producer, or a managerial employee of the
qualifying livestock producer, access to the qualifying livestock producer’s ranch property during or following a flood, storm, fire, earthquake, or other disaster.
(2) (A) A managerial employee of a qualifying livestock producer shall not be required by the qualifying livestock producer to obtain a livestock pass. Access to a qualifying livestock producer’s ranch by a managerial employee shall be fully voluntary on the part of the managerial employee.
(B) A person shall not require any employee to obtain or use a livestock pass or to enter or be present on the livestock producer’s ranch property during or following a flood, storm, fire, earthquake, or other disaster. A person shall not in any manner discriminate, retaliate, or take any adverse action against an employee for refusing to obtain or use a livestock pass or to enter or be
present on the livestock producer’s ranch property during or following a flood, storm, fire, earthquake, or other disaster. Any person who believes that they have been discriminated or retaliated against in violation of this section may, in addition to any other available remedy, file a complaint pursuant to Section 98.7 of the Labor Code for remedies available under Section 98.6 of the Labor Code.
(C) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring a managerial employee of a qualifying livestock producer to be present on a ranch property during or following a flood, storm, fire, earthquake, or other disaster.
(c) (1) An applicant for a livestock pass shall provide, or the relevant county agency shall otherwise obtain, documentation sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant is a commercial livestock producer, or a
managerial employee of a commercial livestock producer. The documentation may include, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(A) An operator identification number issued by a county agricultural commissioner.
(B) An Internal Revenue Service Schedule F (Form 1040) attesting to the applicant’s Profit or Loss From Farming.
(C) Assessor’s parcel numbers confirming agricultural zoning for the property or properties upon which access is sought.
(D) Agricultural land lease documentation.
(E) Documentation attesting to the applicant’s enrollment in a Williamson Act contract as authorized pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the
Government Code.
(F) Documentation from the United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency attesting that the applicant is a commercial livestock producer.
(G) Current registration of a livestock brand with the Bureau of Livestock Identification.
(2) An applicant for a livestock pass shall furnish to the relevant county agency a description or map of all lands owned or managed by the applicant for which disaster access is sought.
(d) (1) Access granted pursuant to a livestock pass shall be limited to the purposes of sheltering, moving, transporting, evacuating, feeding, watering, or administering veterinary care to livestock, or providing local expertise to peace officers and emergency personnel. Local expertise shall
only be provided upon the request of peace officers and emergency personnel.
(2) A holder of a livestock pass may have access to the ranch property that is owned by another holder of a livestock pass, with permission from that livestock passholder, for purposes of providing assistance with those activities specified in paragraph (1) during or following a flood, storm, fire, earthquake, or other disaster.
(3) Access under this section to areas closed pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 409.5 of the Penal Code may only be granted by the incident commander, a law enforcement official having jurisdiction, or their designee. When access is granted by emergency response personnel other than the incident commander, the emergency response personnel shall notify incident command that access has been provided to the livestock passholder.
(4) For purposes of this subdivision, “local expertise” may include identifying access roads, water points, and other local knowledge that may assist firefighters or other emergency response personnel.
(e) (1) A livestock pass identification document issued pursuant to subdivision (b) for the purpose of authorizing access during a disaster shall include, at a minimum, all of the following information:
(A) The name of the applicant and cardholder.
(B) The name or names of the ranch to which the cardholder seeks access in the event of a disaster.
(C) The expiration date of the identification document, if an expiration date was established by the county.
(D) The seal or logo of the authorizing agency and the signature of the issuing officer.
(2) A livestock pass identification document authorizing access during a disaster that does not include a photograph of the cardholder shall not be a valid document for purposes of subdivision (b) unless accompanied by a valid photo identification document issued by the state or federal government.
(f) Notwithstanding this section, a livestock pass issued by a county in which a livestock pass or equivalent program was established before January 1, 2022, shall be deemed to be in compliance with this section until the expiration date noted on the livestock pass or until December 31, 2025, whichever date occurs first.
(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 609, Sec. 1. (AB 1103) Effective January 1, 2022.)