BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2612
          Author:   Assembly Agriculture Committee
          Amended:  6/16/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE  :  5-0, 6/15/10
          AYES:  Florez, Emmerson, Hancock, Hollingsworth, Wolk

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  74-0, 5/6/10 (Consent) - See last page for  
            vote


           SUBJECT  :    Food and agriculture:  omnibus bill

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill makes clarifying changes and updates  
          provisions of existing law governing animal rendering and  
          the State Organic Program.

           ANALYSIS  :    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  
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          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 Department of Food  
          and Agriculture (DFA).  Each license includes the name and  
          address of the applicant, all the vehicles registered for  
          hauling, and other information required by DFA.  

          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 United States Department of  
          Agriculture, 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  
          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 DFA.  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 Department of  
          Public Health 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.  

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          This bill:

          1. Eliminates the third-party certification for compliance  
             for plastic pesticide container recycling programs.

          2. Changes 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.

          3. As it pertains to slaughter animals not fit for human  
             consumption used in pet food and rendering:

             A.    Expands the definition of a "collection center" to  
                include a "pet food processor."

             B.    Changes the license expiration date from a year  
                after issuance to December 31 of each year.

             C.    Exempts a "collection center" from registration as  
                a transporter of kitchen grease if they are licensed  
                as a collection center in accordance with this  
                chapter.

          4. As it pertains to the California Organic Program Act of  
             2003:

             A.    Clarifies that alternates to the advisory board  
                are representatives of the same category as the board  
                member.

             B.    Updates reference to "State Public Health Officer"  
                from "State Director of Health Services."

             C.    Adds 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.


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             D.    Permits the required reporting by any producer,  
                handler, processor or organic registrant of exact  
                gross sales over $25,000,001 or more.

             E.    Permits the required reporting by any producer,  
                handler, processor or organic registrant of gross  
                sales by commodity and acreage.

             F.    Permits the adoption of regulations, to the extent  
                reasonably necessary, that supersede these statutory  
                registration requirements in order to provide an  
                online registration system.

             G.    Makes technical and non-substantive changes.  

          5. Extends 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  

          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 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 DFA  
          administer the program.

          Proponents state that this bill will help make the organic  

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          registration process as streamlined as possible by  
          clarifying inconsistencies between the State Organic  
          Program and the National Organic Program.  Further, this  
          bill allows changes in the organic program to help DFA 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.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/28/10)

          California Farm Bureau Federation
          California League of Food Processors
          Western Plant Health Association


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill  
            Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield,  
            Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles  
            Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De  
            Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,  
            Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,  
            Garrick, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,  
            Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue,  
            Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,  
            Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,  
            Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,  
            Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,  
            Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Bass, Block, De La Torre, Gilmore,  
            Mendoza, Vacancy


          TSM:mw  8/4/10   Senate Floor Analyses 


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                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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