BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1597|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1597
Author: Assembly Agriculture Committee
Amended: 6/3/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/17/14
AYES: Galgiani, Cannella, Berryhill, Lieu, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/30/14
AYES: De León, Walters, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 4/24/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Food and agriculture
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill extends the repeal date for provisions of
the fruit, nut, and vegetable standardization program to January
1, 2020, and conforms state law to a new federal regulation in
regard to required medical documents for horses and other
equines when crossing state borders.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Established the fruit, nut, and vegetable standardization
program in 1915 by producers who sought to protect consumers
CONTINUED
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and the industry from marketing deception and poor quality
products by creating a fresh fruit inspection system. 100
later, the law has expanded to include all fresh fruits, nuts,
and vegetables.
2.Provides an exemption from these requirements for equines
originating in California when traveling to other states and
returning within 14 days. A recent federal regulation was
adopted that requires all equines, with specified exceptions,
to be accompanied by a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection
when crossing state lines. Therefore, California's exemption
is not permissible and must be removed in order to comply with
federal regulations.
This bill:
1.Extends from January 1, 2015, to January 1, 2020, the repeal date
for provisions of the fruit, nut, and vegetable
standardization program.
2.Requires horses and other equines traveling from California to
another state and returning within 14 days to obtain a
certificate of health and a negative test for equine
infectious anemia dated within the previous 12 months.
Background
Fruit, nut, and vegetable standardization program . The
Department of Food and Agriculture (DFA) is responsible for
administering the standardization program to regulate quality,
maturity, variety, grade, size, container and packing
arrangement, as well as packing signs and labels for these
commodities. County agricultural commissioners are responsible
for enforcing the standardization program on the local level.
Commissioners inspect fields, packinghouses, and retail
facilities to ensure that fruits, nuts, and vegetables are in
compliance with minimum standards.
Horses crossing state lines . In order to prevent the spread of
infectious diseases, the state of California requires
verification that animals brought into the state are free from
evidence of any communicable disease. Currently, horses and
other equine animals brought into California must obtain a
Certificate of Veterinary Inspection issued within 30 days of
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entry and must also verify, through tests performed by an
accredited veterinarian within the previous 12 months, that the
animal is free of equine infectious anemia.
Prior Legislation
AB 1388 (Assembly Agriculture Committee, Chapter 116, Statutes
of 2013) amends equine infectious anemia testing requirements,
redefines horse events and sales, and transfers specified equine
drug laws from statute to departmental regulation.
AB 945 (Assembly Agriculture Committee, Chapter 262, Statutes of
2009) extends the repeal date for provisions of the fruit, nut,
and vegetable standardization program to January 1, 2015.
SB 1910 (Assembly Agriculture and Water Resources Committee,
Chapter 146, Statutes of 2004) extended the repeal date for
provisions of the fruit, nut, and vegetable standardization
program to January 1, 2010.
AB 1130 (Ashburn, Chapter 240, Statutes of 1999) extended the
repeal date for provisions of the fruit, nut, and vegetable
standardization program to January 1, 2005.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the DFA
indicates that its costs to administer the standardization
program total roughly $2 million annually, and are funded by
assessments on shipped packages of fruits, nuts and vegetables.
This bill's provisions related to horses also do not impact
DFA's fiscal operations.
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/30/14)
California Citrus Mutual
California Horse Council
Western Growers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, the
continuation of the standardization program will protect
consumers from having inconsistent or damaged California
products in the marketplace that could prematurely rot or spoil.
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This bill seeks to conform state law to a new federal regulation
by deleting an exemption for required medical documents for
horses traveling out of California and back within 14 days.
This bill brings California law into compliance with federal
regulations.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 4/24/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nestande, Olsen, Pan,
Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A.
Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gray, Harkey, Mansoor, Nazarian, Vacancy
JL:k 7/1/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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