29044. (a) Each beekeeper, apiary owner, apiary operator, broker, or person in possession of any apiary, shall pay, in addition to any other fees imposed under this chapter, an annual registration fee not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250) to the secretary on January 1 of each year, to cover the cost of apiary registration. The secretary shall by regulation adopt and periodically update a schedule of the registration fees that shall include late fees for anyone who fails to register an apiary under Sections 29041 and 29042. The board of supervisors of any county, with the approval of the secretary, may waive the registration fee for any beekeeper, apiary owner, apiary operator, or person, who is a hobbyist not in the business of beekeeping and who possesses nine or fewer colonies.
(b) The secretary may enter into contracts with counties to reimburse the counties for costs incurred by the commissioner in the administration and enforcement of this chapter. The source for reimbursement shall be the funds received from the registration fees described in subdivision (a). The reimbursement shall be apportioned to the commissioner in relation to each county’s expenditure. The secretary shall make the payments to each county only if the commissioner acts in compliance with the contract entered into pursuant to this subdivision.
(c) The secretary, after consulting with the board, shall establish standards of performance for administration and enforcement.
(d) For purposes of this section, “broker” means a person or entity that receives a monetary profit from the managing of beehives, hive equipment, or honeybees that they do not own, but have control of, through a private or public agreement between one or more parties.
(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 60, Sec. 22. (AB 203) Effective June 30, 2022.)