BILL ANALYSIS SENATE FOOD and AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE Senator Dean Florez, Chairman BILL NO: AB 2612 HEARING: 6/15/10 AUTHOR: Assembly Agriculture CommitteeFISCAL: Yes VERSION: 6/7/10 CONSULTANT: John Chandler Slaughtered animals: pet food: organic products: registration: food safety fee. BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW Current law specifies that the first person to sell production agriculture or structural-use pesticide products must develop a recycling program or participate in a recycling program for plastic pesticide containers. Overseen by the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), the recycling program records are subject to audit by DPR for three years, comply with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and American Society of Agriculture and Biological Engineers Standards, and must be certified by an ANSI accredited third party organization for compliance. California requires that every person engaged in collecting, hauling, and processing meat not fit for human consumption be licensed each year by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Each license includes the name and address of the applicant, all the vehicles registered for hauling, and other information required by CDFA. The California Organic Program is responsible for enforcement of the federal Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and the California Organic Products Act of 2003. These statutes protect consumers, producers, handlers, processors, and retailers by establishment of standards under which fresh agricultural products/foods may be labeled and/or sold as "organic". Enforcement activities are coordinated with the California Organic Products Advisory Committee, the USDA, and California county agricultural commissioners. Activities include program administration, county biologist training, initiation of complaint investigation, registration of private certification organizations, and acting as an information resource on the California Organic Products Act and California's organic industry. The California Organic Program requires that every person engaged in the production or handling of products sold as organic certified under the National Organic Program must AB 2612 - Page 2 register annually with the county agricultural commissioner. Registration fees range from $25 to $3,000 and are determined by the producer's yearly gross sales. Processors of organic products are required to register with CDFA. The National Organic Program exempts from certification producers of $5,000 or less annual organic sales. California law requires a person engaged in the manufacture, packing, or holding of processed food in the state to pay a food safety fee of $100 to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) for a food safety fund. The funds are used to assist in developing and implementing education and training programs related to food safety, known as the Food Industry Education and Training Program. PROPOSED LAW AB 2612 is an agriculture omnibus bill which would do the following: Eliminate the third-party certification for compliance for plastic pesticide container recycling programs. Change responsibility for establishing a plastic pesticide container recycling program from the first seller to the registrant of any production agricultural use or structural-use pesticide product sold in California. Pertaining to slaughter animals not fit for human consumption used in pet food and rendering: o Expand the definition of a "collection center" to include a "pet food processor." o Change the license expiration date from a year after issuance to December 31 of each year. o Exempt a "collection center" from registration as a transporter of kitchen grease if they are licensed as a collection center in accordance with this chapter. Pertaining to the California Organic Program Act of 2003 (COPA): o Clarify that alternates to the advisory board are representatives of the same category as the board AB 2612 - Page 3 member. o Update reference to "State Public Health Officer" from "State Director of Health Services." o Add definitions for an "exempt handler" as being a handler that sells organic agricultural products but whose gross income from such sales is $5,000 or less annually; and for an "exempt producer" as being a producer that sells organic agricultural products, but whose gross income from such sales is $5,000 or less annually. Makes other conforming changes. o Permit the required reporting by any producer, handler, processor or organic registrant of exact gross sales over $25,000,001 or more. o Permit the required reporting by any producer, handler, processor or organic registrant of gross sales by commodity and acreage. o Permit the adoption of regulations, to the extent reasonably necessary, that supersede these statutory registration requirements in order to provide an online registration system. o Make technical and non-substantive changes. Extend the sunset date from January 1, 2011, to January 1, 2016, for the $100 food safety fee paid by persons engaged in manufacture, packing, or holding of processed food in California. COMMENTS 1.AB 2612 is an omnibus bill dealing with a number of changes to code addressing agricultural issues submitted by the respective industry representatives. In 2008, the legislature passed SB 1723 (Maldonado) requiring a recycling program for plastic pesticide containers in line with a proposed federal pesticide container recycling program. The law included a requirement for ANSI-accredited third-party certification of a seller's recycling program compliance. However, it became evident that the overall pesticide container recycling program was being delayed due to AB 2612 - Page 4 a lack of ANSI-accredited third parties to certify compliance. Supporters feel that the program audit and recordkeeping is sufficient to ensure compliance with any recycling program. The inclusion of the term "collection center" in California law regarding rendering licensing and registration would help the law reflect current practice. Collection centers serve as drop-off points for haulers so material can be aggregated into larger loads for efficient transport for processing at rendering plants or licensed pet food processors. Further, technical changes will help CDFA administer the program. Proponents state that AB 2612 would help make the organic registration process as streamlined as possible by clarifying inconsistencies between the State Organic Program and the National Organic Program. Further AB 2612 allows changes in the organic program to help CDFA meet the current and future needs of California's organic industry. The Food Industry Education and Training Program funding mechanism used for food safety training and education is due to sunset in 2011. Extending the sunset for five years will allow this program to continue to provide California's food industry with low-cost food safety training. 2.AB 2612 requires exempt organic producers of $5,000 or less in sales to provide a map describing the boundaries of their organic production area to the county agriculture commissioner. However, nonexempt organic producers over of $5,000 in sales do not have to provide the agriculture commissioner with their facility location. The committee may wish to consider if a precise physical description of the facility or farm location for nonexempt organic producers should be submitted to county agriculture commissioners. PRIOR ACTIONS Assembly Floor 74-0 Assembly Appropriations15-0 Assembly Agriculture 8-0 SUPPORT California Farm Bureau Federation California League of Food Processors Western Plant Health Association AB 2612 - Page 5 OPPOSITION None received