The department shall conduct a soil and economic survey of all lands in the state.

     The soil and economic survey provided for in this part shall be conducted by counties; and the order in which the soil and economic survey is conducted shall be determined by the department. The purpose of the work is to procure and make available for public use information and data as to the character of the lands surveyed; their adaptability to agricultural purposes or similar uses; the various crops, if any, that may be profitably raised on those lands; and such other matters as are considered desirable and advantageous. The details of the work shall be under the direction and control of the department, which shall employ assistants as the department considers necessary. The compensation of these persons shall be established by the department, and paid as provided in this part. The employees of the department may be reimbursed only for money actually and necessarily expended in the performance of their duties under this part, such reimbursement to be made out of the fund created by this part.

     Upon completion of the soil and economic survey in any county, the department shall cause a full and detailed report of the soil and economic survey to be made. The department shall cause as many copies of the report to be printed as the department determines are necessary. The expense of the printing shall be paid out of the general fund in the same way that other state printing is, by law, required to be paid for.

     The report required under section 60303 to be made upon the soil and economic survey in each county, subject to this part, shall set forth such information and data as will fulfill the general purpose defined in section 60302. However, the report shall not state or represent the money value of land surveyed. Insofar as is possible and expedient, the land surveyed shall be classified as to its agricultural adaptability and general character and as to the uses to which it may be put. Maps shall be prepared and incorporated in the report as may be considered necessary for public information and convenience. A copy of the report shall be sent to every public library in the state, and the remainder of the copies shall be kept for distribution, subject to the rules and regulations pertaining to the report that the department may, from time to time, adopt.

     Payments shall be made out of the fund created by this part only on the warrant of the state treasurer. However, payments shall not be made until the department has approved the claim or account and has certified the correctness of the claim or account. At the request of the department, the state treasurer shall furnish a statement at any time as to the amount of money remaining in the fund to be expended for the purposes of this part.

     In implementing the work contemplated in this part, the department may cooperate with the various counties of the state, with development bureaus, with any department, officer, bureau, or institution established and maintained by the United States government, and with any other institution, board, society, or association, either within or outside of this state. An agreement for cooperation shall not change or modify, in any way, the purpose of this part, as defined in section 60302.

     For the purposes of performing their respective duties under this part and carrying on the work of the soil and economic survey, the department and its employees may enter onto and be on private property. That property shall, however, not be injured or damaged in any way.

     Any portion of the annual appropriation provided for in this part that remains unexpended at the close of any fiscal year shall be carried forward into the next fiscal year, to the credit of the department, for the purposes provided under this part, and is subject to expenditure accordingly, it being the intention to make the entire amount appropriated available for the purposes of this part. Any sum remaining in the appropriation on the completion of the soil and economic survey provided for in this part, and after the making of the final report required in this part, is and shall remain a part of the general fund of the state and subject to the incidents pertaining to the general fund. However, if the federal government or any department of the federal government renders aid to this state for the general purposes covered by this part, the appropriation made pursuant to this part shall be reduced by the same amount, which amount shall revert to the general fund of this state.

     The department shall prepare and submit to each legislature a report covering the work of the preceding 2 years. The report shall indicate specifically the lands that have been surveyed, the general progress and condition of the work, the expenditures that have been made, and the cooperative agreements, if any, that have been entered into. On the completion of the work, a detailed financial report shall be made to the legislature, together with the recommendations and suggestions that the department considers necessary.