BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 2
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 1, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                     SB 2 (Wiggins) - As Amended:  May 20, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              AgricultureVote:7  
          - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill extends the sunset date for the Pierce's Disease  
          Control Program from March 2011 to March 2016 and expands the  
          program.  Specifically, this bill: 

          1)Expands the advisory board's authority to expend funding on  
            any other disease or pest that they find threatens  
            California's grape crop. 

          2)Provides the required findings necessary for the advisory  
            board to expand the prevention program.

          3)Prohibits the use of state General Fund after March 1, 2011,  
            on any new research and outreach programs relating to other  
            designated pests or diseases beyond the glassy winged  
            sharpshooter and Pierce's Disease. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Substantial costs, about $19 million ($4.1 million GF)  
            annually from FY 2011-12 through FY 2015-16, to the CDFA to  
            continue to administer the PDCP. (GF, Pierce's Disease  
            Management Account, industry assessments, and federal funds.) 

          2)Moderate costs, perhaps $250,000 annually from FY 2011-12  
            through FY 2015-16, to the CDFA to continue to support the  
            board's activities. These costs are covered by grape industry  
            assessments. (Agriculture Fund.) 

           COMMENTS  









                                                                  SB 2
                                                                  Page  2

           1)Purpose  . According to the author's office, the Pierce's  
            Disease Control Program has proven to be a successful effort  
            to control the spread of Pierce's Disease and the  
            Glassy-winged Sharpshooter.  While the program is due to  
            sunset in 2011, the disease and the threat of its spread still  
            remain.   

          2)Background  . In the late 1990s, Pierce's Disease, which has  
            been present in California for more than 100 years, threatened  
            to cause sizable damage to grapes due to the arrival of the  
            Glassy-winged Sharpshooter.  The Glassy-winged Sharpshooter  
            carries the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which causes  
            Pierce's Disease in grapes, almonds, oleander, and citrus  
            fruits.  The insect feeds on a plant's water producing  
            elements.  When a plant develops Pierce's Disease, its ability  
            to draw in moisture is hindered and the plant will either die  
            or become unproductive.

            In response to this threat to the grape industry, the  
            Legislature enacted a legislative package that eventually  
            resulted in the creation of an advisory task force on the  
            Pierce's Disease issue in 1999.  In 2000, the Pierce's Disease  
            Control Program was created: a partnership between Department  
            of Food and Agriculture (DFA), County Agriculture  
            Commissioners, United States Department of Agriculture,  
            University of California, local agencies, industry, and  
            agriculture organizations to combat the spread and find  
            solutions for Pierce's Disease and the Glassy-winged  
            Sharpshooter.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081