BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 996
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 1, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Susan Talamantes Eggman, Chair
AB 996 (Dickinson) - As Amended: April 25, 2013
SUBJECT : Certified Farmers' Markets.
SUMMARY : Recasts and expands Certified Farmers' Market (CFM)
laws, requirements, and fees; and, increases penalties for
violations. Specifically, this bill :
1)Increases the misdemeanor fee, punishable by county jail not
exceeding six (6) months, or a fine not exceeding two thousand
five hundred dollars ($2,500), or both, for any person or
entity that intentionally makes a statement, representation,
or assertion, by any means, that relates the sale or
availability of agricultural products that is false,
deceptive, or misleading regarding the following:
a) Area of production of the agricultural product;
b) Identity of the producer of the agricultural product;
and,
c) Manner and method of production of the agricultural
product.
2)Provides that, in lieu of prosecution, the Secretary of the
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), or a
county agricultural commissioner (CAC) under CDFA's authority,
may levy a penalty against violators amounting to not less
than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than five thousand
dollars ($5,000) per violation, based upon the violation's
scope, seriousness, impact of penalty on violator, and
deterrent effect of future violations. An appeal process is
provided for through CDFA for any penalties, including
applicable civil remedies.
3)Provides that, in lieu of the above actions, CDFA or CAC are
permitted to modify, suspend, revoke, or refuse or condition
the issuance of a license, permit, registration, or
certification issued pursuant to this code, based on the same
criteria previously stated and subject to due process and
civil remedies.
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4)Creates the Direct Agricultural Marketing Penalty Account
(DAMPA) and requires all penalties collected pursuant to this
chapter to be deposited into DAMPA, and requires them to be
used to conduct investigations and enforcement of compliance
with this chapter. Permits DAMPA funds to be used to contract
with CAC for the same purpose, and authorizes DAMPA to be
continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal year.
Directs all penalties collected by CAC to be paid to the
respective county treasurers.
5)Precludes concurrent or subsequent proceedings for the same
violation by a governmental agency under provisions of
Business and Professions Code (BPC), section 17500, dealing
with false advertising, when violation proceeding are brought
using this chapter,.
6)Conforms the misdemeanor language and fines for misuse of the
term California grown, or similar terms, to the provision and
penalties set forth above.
7)Adds a finding to the Direct Marketing statutes that CFMs are
the essential core and foundation for ancillary but contiguous
nonagricultural vending activities.
8)Defines "agricultural product" to mean fresh or processed
product produced in California, including raw vegetative and
animals items; and, other homemade, processed, or manufactured
products are not agricultural products for purposes of this
chapter.
9)Defines "practice of the agricultural arts" to mean the
undertaking of responsibility for the various phases of
producing and harvesting a vegetative or animal agricultural
product.
10)Defines "producer" to mean a person, partnership, corporation
or other legal farm or ranch producing agricultural products
by the practice of the agricultural arts upon the legal
possession of land that can be documented. Declares a person
or entity that possesses property for the period of harvest is
not a producer under provisions of this chapter.
11)Requires CDFA, through regulations, create or recognize any
legal mechanism, relationship or entity that would allow
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producers to jointly, in cooperative, labor-saving, or cost
sharing manner, sell to the public agricultural products
produced by them, exempt form size, standard pack, container,
and labeling requirements.
12)Permits CDFA to contract with any CAC to carry out provisions
of this chapter, including assistance pertaining to direct
marketing producers and outlet; to categorize contract, set
compensation, fees, and rates for contracts; and, require them
to be paid from assessments and fees collect pursuant to this
chapter.
13)Permits a CFM operator to contract with a CAC for
verification inspections of fields or storage sites of a
producer selling at the CFM operator's market, but requires
prior to the inspection there be a reasonable suspicion of a
violation of this chapter.
14)Requires a producer, not otherwise registered or certified
and intending to direct market to the California public, to
register annually with CDFA, providing contact information,
marketing methods, and outlets. Requires a signed statement
that producer is in compliance with any on-farm, food-safety,
good agricultural practices defined by CDFA, thereby making
the products from an approved source in accordance with Health
and Safety Code requirements.
15)Authorizes CDFA to create a registration fee, not to exceed
fifty dollars ($50), by regulation that is reflective of
actual cost of processing; fees are to be deposited into CDFA
fund and be used for administration of this section, as
specified. Requires this annual fee to be waived if a
registrant is registered or certified and pays a fee pursuant
to other sections of this division.
16)Recasts CFM requirements to include requirements for
non-agricultural venders; requirements of posting of signage
stating "we grow what we sell" or similar language;
requirements to meet specified labeling, in accordance with
state and federal law; violations are subject to penalties
previously stated; prohibits the selling of the same products
in adjacent non-agricultural markets as are sold in the CFM;
record keeping and reporting requirements; and, authority for
local rules to be more restrictive than state laws and
regulations.
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17)Deletes existing appeal process for violators.
18)Reduces the CFM Advisory Committee from 17 to 14 members and
alternates, requiring six to be producers or their
representative organization, six to be CFM operators or their
representative organization, one public member and one CAC,
serving two year terms at the pleasure of CDFA. Makes other
conforming changes and with a sunset of January 1, 2015.
19)Recasts CFM operator and CFM producer registration and
certification procedures and requirements; deletes CAC per
hour rate, replacing it with reimbursement to be equal to
actual expenses incurred; adds the requirement of a signed
statement by the producer stating them to be in compliance
with any applicable on-farm, food safety, good agricultural
practices, as defined by CDFA, thereby, making their product
to be from an approved source, as defined in Health and Safety
Code Section 113735; adds requirements for processed
agricultural products; and, adds recordkeeping requirements
for producers.
20)Requires all vendors selling at a CFM or adjacent
non-agricultural operated by the same CFM operator, to pay a
per day per stall fee of fifty cents ($0.50) and extends the
sunset of the fee from January 1, 2014 to January 1, 2016.
21)Creates a new one dollar ($1.00) fee for all venders to be
used to fund investigation and enforcement, except for CFM
operators in counties that, in the previous year issued less
than five CFM certificates or for CFMs that only sell products
produced within their county, then the fee shall be fifty
cents ($0.50). Requires these fees to be used exclusively for
investigations and enforcement of violations of item #1 above.
Provides a sunset of this fee on January 1, 2016.
EXISTING LAW exempts farmers that market direct to consumers
from standard pack and size requirements; establishes
requirements for CFMs and producers to be certified; authorizes
CDFA to adopt regulations to permit the direct selling of
certified agricultural products to consumers; authorizes the
collection of up to sixty cents ($0.60) per farmer per market
day to be used for administration, inspection and enforcement;
provides for an appointed of a 17 member advisory committee;
permits CFMs to establish rules and procedures that are more
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restrictive than the state rules; provides for civil penalties
for violations of rules; and, provides for appeal and decision
process by CDFA. Creates a crime by establishing violation and
provides enforcement provisions that sunset January 1, 2014.
Permits CDFA to appoint ad hoc advisory committees to assist in
the administration of programs under this authority.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. Legislative Counsel has keyed this
bill fiscal.
COMMENTS : Certified farmers' markets have become established in
many California communities, as have other outlets for direct
marketing, such as farm stands and community supported
agriculture. There are roughly 800 farmers' markets in
California, a significant number of which operate year-round.
Direct marketing was commonplace during the 19th century but
decreased in popularity when improved transportation and
refrigeration technologies made it possible to ship fresh food
farther distances. Following the enactment of the Federal
Farmer to Consumer Direct Marketing Act of 1976, CDFA enacted
regulations that exempted farmers from packing, sizing and
labeling requirements for fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables and
enabled them to sell products they grow at farmers' markets,
provided they receive certification from the county agricultural
commissioner. The certification process is to guarantee the
consumer that the product is grown by the seller.
The success of CFMs has created community events around them.
Many CFMs have adjacent non-agricultural markets selling all
types of homemade and commercial products. There has been some
that sell agricultural products in competition with the farmers
within the CFM.
As CFMs have become more popular, the willingness of a few
producers to sell whatever they could became a concern to many
CFM operators. In 1999 they came to the Legislature and enacted
a daily per stall fee of sixty cents, intending it to be used by
CDFA and CAC for inspections and enforcement purposes. Due to
the growth of the program and reductions in general fund to
CDFA, as well as reductions to CACs budgets, the fee has had to
be used to administer the program and not for inspection and
enforcement as it was intended.
A few years ago a Los Angeles television station did an
undercover story exposing a certified producer was not producing
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what he was selling, causing much concern to the publics'
confidence in buying from CFMs. CDFA put a task force together
to attempt to evaluate the program and develop new requirements
for operating and participating in a CFM.
AB 996 uses the task force recommendations to restructure and
expand the requirements for CFMs, producers, and adjacent
non-agricultural markets. It establishes a specific inspection
and enforcement fee, while reducing the daily stall fee by
broadening the pool of payers to include those that participate
in adjacent non-agricultural markets. It prohibits the sale of
agriculture product being sold at the CFM, at the adjacent
market, and it requires the producers to declare that they are
'selling what they grow'; creating a claim that can be pursued
by district attorneys or citizens, being modeled after BPC false
advertising statutes.
With the 2010 passage of the federal Food Safety Modernization
Act, among many of the new food safety requirements, having food
come from an approved source is one. CDFA will need to develop
what are considered to be "on-farm, food safety, good
agricultural practices" for producers to follow, as required by
this bill. This is an important element for food safety.
AB 224 (Gordon) and this bill both amend FAC Section 47000 but
differently. This bill is also in conflict with SB 599 (Evans)
dealing with the sunset extension. The committee may ask the
authors to work out these differences or there will be
chaptering out of one or the other's language.
AB 996 and AB 224 both provide new provisions for direct
marketing producers to register, but with different terms and
code locations. The committee may wish to consider which policy
language to adopt.
RELATED LEGISLATION : AB 224 (Gordon), 2013-14 Session, includes
community-supported agriculture (CSA) to the California Grown
legislative findings and declarations to have the CDFA assist in
their organizing, as specified; creates definitions dealing with
CSAs; and, authorizes a fee be established by regulation for
specified purposes.
SB 599 (Evans) 2013-14 Session, extends the sunset date to
January 1, 2018, for the collection of certified farmers' market
operator fees and enforcement provisions of direct marketing.
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SB 513 (Cannella), Chapter 337, Statutes of 2011, extended the
sunset CFM fees to January 1, 2014.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Federation of Certified Farmers' Markets
Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association
Raw Inspiration
Southern California Certified Farmers' Market managers Working
Group
Urban Village Farmers' Market Association
Ventura County Certified Farmers; Markets
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084