BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1138
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 4, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1138 (Cedillo) - As Amended: June 22, 2010
Policy Committee: AgricultureVote:8
- 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill creates the Rendering Industry Advisory Board within
the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
Specifically, this bill:
1)Creates the Rendering Industry Advisory Board within CDFA
consisting of nine people appointed by the CDFA secretary.
2)Specifies expertise requirements and background for the nine
board members.
3)States that the board members are not entitled to a salary but
will be reimbursed by CDFA for any expenses.
4)Establishes a three-year term for the members.
5)Authorizes the board to make recommendations concerning
employment procedures, state regulations, licensing fees, and
any other matter pertaining to rendering.
6)Requires the board to keep books and records of their
activities, which are to be subject to an annual audit by an
auditing firm approved by the CDFA secretary.
7)Requires the board to produce an annual report that includes
the audit.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Costs of up to $25,000 for an annual audit of the board's
books and records. [Food and Agriculture Fund]
SB 1138
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2)The Department indicates travel costs and other expenses
should be minor. In addition, there may be some minor costs to
adopt regulations to implement the bill. The current rendering
enforcement program has annual revenues of approximately
$390,000 and employs three full time staff members.
Therefore, any workload or costs should be absorbable within
the existing resources.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The intent of this bill is to create an advisory
body for the CDFA secretary who will provide expertise on
animal rendering. The author hopes a rendering board will help
CDFA develop rules and regulations concerning inedible kitchen
grease, which can be used for bio-diesel. The author notes
that increased uses for kitchen grease have caused an increase
in theft of the grease. This theft results in lost revenue,
time and expense to renderers.
Under this legislation, the board would have the power of
oversight over the industry and would be able to make
recommendations to the secretary on issues such as increased
enforcement, staffing, and methods of paying for these
activities.
2)Key Issue . Traditionally, bills creating new agricultural
commissions and boards contain language authorizing an
industry referendum vote and assessment that will cover all of
the operating costs of the board. This bill does not contain
that language; therefore, the costs for the board would need
to be borne by the current revenue in the Rendering
Enforcement Program fund or from other funds in the Food and
Agriculture Fund.
3)Animal Rendering . Animal rendering plants separate the fat,
bone and protein of dead animals and process the materials for
reuse. Bone and protein from the animals is reduced into a
powder that can be used for pet food and other feedstock. Fat
from the animals is turned into tallow which can then be used
for such products as candles, soap and lubricants. Rendering
plants take in a wide variety of materials such as parts of
slaughtered animals that are not suitable for human
consumption, dead pets from veterinarians, dead livestock,
animals found dead on the sides of roads, spoiled meat from
SB 1138
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supermarkets and used cooking oils from restaurants.
4)Related Legislation . AB 1249 (Galgiani; Chapter 280, Statutes
of 2009) created an exception, upon the declaration of a state
of emergency or a local emergency, to the rules governing the
transportation of dead animals by licensed dead animal
haulers, and extended the sunset date to January 1, 2016, for
the CDFA administration fee for the Inedible Kitchen Grease
Program.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081