BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1175 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 27, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE Susan Talamantes Eggman, Chair AB 1175 (Bocanegra) - As Amended: August 18, 2014 SUBJECT : Food and agriculture: cooperative agreements: agricultural inspector associates. SUMMARY : This bill prohibits the Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) from entering into cooperative agreements with Los Angeles (LA) County for agricultural inspection services unless not less than 75% of agricultural inspector associates are afforded protections as permanent employees. EXISTING LAW : 1)Authorizes the secretary of CDFA to enter into cooperative agreements to carry out and enforce programs that promote and enhance agriculture, combat invasive pests and diseases, inspect poultry and meat, or other activities to administer and enforce these provisions. Specifically, the secretary enters into cooperative agreements with county agricultural commissioners (CAC) to administer and enforce programs and inspections on the local level. 2)Defines "counties of the first class" to be counties whose populations exceed four million residents. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, would not have a direct fiscal impact to CDFA. The bill could result in potential cost pressures to CDFA in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. COMMENTS : Current law authorizes CDFA to enter into cooperative agreements with counties to carry out and enforce programs that, among other things, combat invasive pests and diseases. CDFA specifically contracts with CACs to administer and enforce local programs and inspections. CDFA's Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services Division is responsible for the prevention and control of plant pests, working cooperatively with CACs to accomplish these goals. Depending on the specific requirements for pest monitoring, trapping, and inspections, work is typically performed by the AB 1175 Page 2 local CAC's staff, which includes aids, associates, and inspectors. In 2003-04, legislation was enacted which prohibited CDFA from entering into cooperative agreements for agricultural inspections with Los Angeles County (County) unless a minimum of 66% of all agricultural inspector aids were granted permanent civil service status as a county employee. Prior to that legislation, these employees were hired on a temporary basis to work on year-long contracts with CDFA. The legislation increased labor costs for the County, and state funds were provided to aid this transition and reduce fiscal impact to the County. According to the author, this bill would ensure that agricultural inspector aids would not lose their permanent status when attempting to receive a promotion by going through a year-long, temporary associate position. Furthermore, "Last year, the County realized that agricultural inspector associates are not eligible for the [promotional] exam because they are not technically permanent employees. There is currently no process for associates to be promoted, except at the discretion of the Agricultural Commissioner. This has created a totally arbitrary process for evaluating which employees should be promoted." Those in opposition are concerned that this bill "would eliminate the entry-level class in the Agricultural/Weights & Measures Inspector series, and would preclude incumbents from: 1) gaining the necessary on-the-job-training; 2) meeting all educational requirements; and 3) competing for permanent inspector positions." Furthermore, this bill does not provide the funding needed to mandate staffing with permanent employees, and the increased staffing costs could preclude the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner from entering into agreements to perform inspections for CDFA in the future. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support AFSCME, District Council 36 Opposition County of Los Angeles AB 1175 Page 3 Analysis Prepared by : Victor Francovich / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084