BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 707
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 29, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
SB 707 (Cannella/Wolk) - As Amended: June 21, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 33-2
SUBJECT : Agricultural Special Assessment: olive trees.
SUMMARY : This bill adds olive trees, except for ornamental
olive trees, to the tree types that a special assessment is paid
on to fund research, provides virus tested and disease free
stock, true-to-type validations, and authorizes contacting for
research. Further, it adds a licensed olive nursery
representative to the program's advisory board, reduces the pome
fruit representation from two to one, and makes technical
conforming changes.
EXISTING LAW authorizes a 1% assessment be leveled on the gross
sales of all deciduous pome and stone fruit trees, nut trees,
and grapevine, including seeds, seedlings, rootstocks, and
topstock, also including specified ornamental varieties,
produced and sold within the state or produced within and
shipped from the state by any licensed nursery dealer, as
specified. Establishes timing of assessment; defines gross
sales for assessment purposes; limits assessment use to solely
support programs described; authorizes the California Department
of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to enter into agreements with any
specified research agency for the development of planting
materials for pome and stone fruit, nut tree and grapevine
productions.
Creates an industry advisory board to assist and advise CDFA on
the implementation of this research and programs. Designates
that CDFA, in consultation with the specified industry, to
appoint a board of 11 representatives, a majority being licensed
producers of pome, stone, nut and grape nursery stock; it is to
also include users and a public member and are to represent all
production areas of specified species in the state. Specifies
length of appointed terms and number of terms permitted.
Requires board to meet at least twice a year and provides for
per diem for attending members. Requires the board to review
and make recommendations to CDFA on program operations, fiscal
expenditures, assessments and proposals regarding planting
AB 707
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materials.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Committee on
Appropriations, there are no new costs, and the special
assessment on olive stock would generate approximately $20,000
per year, going to Special Funds.
COMMENTS : This special assessment and advisory board was
authorized by the Legislature in 1987 to address concerns over
rootstock diseases and the propagation of clean and healthy
plant material. The advisory board is known as the Fruit Tree,
Nut Tree and Grapevine Improvement Advisory Board (IAB). Since
the inception of the IAB, CDFA has developed registration and
certification services for the following: avocado, citrus,
deciduous fruit and nut trees, seed garlic, grapevine, and
strawberry nursery stock and nematode certification for nursery
stock produced for farm planting. Significant research has been
conducted to reduce and eliminate certain diseases and problems
in farm plantings of nursery stock.
The University of California, Davis, is the home of the
Foundation Plant Services (FPS) program. This program produces,
tests, maintains and distributes to California nurseries,
foundation-level plant materials that are disease-free,
virus-tested and certified as true-to-type. CDFA participates
in the cooperative oversight of the FPS program with the United
States Department of Agriculture and the industry. Most of the
assessed funds from this program are used in support of the FPS
program.
Supporters of this bill state that adding olives to the FPS
program provides California nurseries with plant materials that
are disease-free and certified as true-to-type. Over the past
five years, olive oil plantings have increased significantly and
approach the largest in state history. Further, the addition of
olives to the IAB allows the study of diseases such as
verticillium wilt, which has prevented olives from being planted
in large areas of the Central Valley. The inclusion of olive
trees in the IAB will help ensure that nurseries and olive
farmers have certified disease-free trees that are true-to-type,
and that California will have a healthy olive industry.
Further, with the increasing number of varietal specific oils
being produced and marketed, the true-to-type validation has an
increasing importance to farmers and consumers.
AB 707
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Olive Oil Council
Duarte Nursery
Santa Cruz Olive Tree Nursery
Sunridge Nurseries
The Burchell Nursery, Inc.
The University of California
Vintage Nurseries
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084