§ 9-1709. General powers and duties of the department.

1. The department, in cooperation with the department of agriculture
and markets, shall restrict the sale, purchase, possession, propagation,
introduction, importation, transport and disposal of invasive species
pursuant to this section. The department and the department of
agriculture and markets in consultation with the council, shall, after
public hearing, promulgate joint regulations to develop:

(a) a permit for prohibited species disposal, control, research and
education;

(b) a list of prohibited species, which shall be unlawful to knowingly
possess with the intent to sell, import, purchase, transport or
introduce;

(c) a list of prohibited species which shall be unlawful to import,
sell, purchase, propagate, transport, or introduce except under a permit
for disposal, control, research, or education; and

(d) a list of regulated species which shall be legal to possess, sell,
buy, propagate and transport but may not be knowingly introduced into a
free-living state or introduced by a means that one knew or should have
known would lead to the introduction into a free-living state.

As part of the regulatory process, the departments and the council
shall consider establishing grace periods for prohibited and regulated
species so businesses can plan the management of existing stock.

2. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this title, the
department in cooperation with the department of agriculture and markets
shall have the authority, within funds available, to:

(a) establish, operate and maintain state-wide databases and
clearinghouses for all taxa of invasive species that incorporate
existing data from agencies and organizations in the state, as well as
from nearby states, provinces, Canada, and the federal government. Such
databases and clearinghouses may provide the aggregate data on-line in a
GIS;

(b) coordinate state agency and public authority actions to do the
following:

(i) phasing out uses of invasive species;

(ii) expanding use of native species;

(iii) promoting private and local government use of native species as
alternatives to invasive species; and

(iv) wherever practical and where consistent with watershed and/or
regional invasive species management plans, prohibiting and actively
eliminating invasive species at project sites funded or regulated by the
state; and

(c) in collaboration with the council, aid in the review and reform of
relevant regulatory processes to remove unnecessary impediments to the
restoration of invaded ecosystems.