(a) The Legislature finds and declares that the plant killing bacterium, Xyella Fastidiosa, and the resulting pathogen, Pierce’s disease, and its vectors present a clear and present danger to California’s sixty-billion-dollar grape industry, as well as to many other commodities and plant life.
(b) There exists an ongoing need for at least fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) annually in research and programs to combat Pierce’s disease and its vectors in California.