BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1891
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1891 (Higher Education Committee)
As Amended June 28, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(May 6, 2010) |SENATE: |33-0 |(August 5, |
| | | | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY : Restores, in statute, the Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education Program (SAREP) operated by the
University of California (UC), which was inadvertently deleted
from statute in 2009, as part of an overall higher education
technical cleanup measure.
The Senate amendments deleted language that restored
authorization of the UC-operated Biologically Integrated Farming
Systems (BIFS) program because the BIFS program sunsets on
December 31, 2010.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar,
although broader, than the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : Negligible fiscal impact, as this bill simply
reenacts in statute a current program operated by UC.
COMMENTS : Last year, AB 1182 (Brownley), Chapter 386, Statutes
of 2009, was signed into law, streamlining higher
education-related reporting requirements. However, late
amendments inadvertently deleted the authorization for SAREP
when it was too late in the legislative process to correct the
error. At the request of UC, the author and Assembly Higher
Education Committee staff agreed to support legislation in 2010
to restore SAREP's statutory authorization.
SAREP did not cease to exist when it was deleted from statute,
since legislation is not necessary to create programs at UC (as
a result of UC's Constitutional autonomy). However, statutory
authorization of SAREP provides assurance to the sustainable
agriculture community that UC is committed to these programs.
SAREP is a statewide program within UC Agriculture and Natural
AB 1891
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Resources. It was created through the grass roots efforts of
organizations and individuals concerned about the environmental
impacts of agriculture, the health of rural communities, and the
profitability of family farming operations in California. At the
request of the California Legislature, UC established SAREP with
three mandates: 1) administer competitive grants for research
on sustainable agricultural practices and systems; 2) develop
and distribute information through publications and on-farm
demonstrations; and, 3) support long-term research and
sustainable farming systems on UC farmlands. SAREP has a
national reputation for developing new practices, disseminating
this information on agricultural sustainability, and conducting
research with growers on public and private land.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960 FN:
0005390