BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1642
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Date of Hearing: April 9, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 1642 (Chesbro) - As Amended: February 11, 2014
Policy Committee:
AgricultureVote:6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill extends the sunset date from March 1, 2016 to March 1,
2021 for programs administered by the California Department of
Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the grape industry that are
designed to control Pierce's Disease and its vectors in
California.
Specifically, this bill extends, upon a positive industry
referendum vote:
1)the Pierce's Disease Control Program and the Pierce's Disease
Management Account in the Food and Agriculture Fund; and
2)the Pierce's Disease and glassy-winged sharpshooter Board
(Board).
The bill requires the Secretary of the CDFA to establish a
referendum among stakeholders, no later than April 15, 2015, and
makes other conforming and technical changes.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Annual costs of the program and Board activities to CDFA of
approximately $21 million, fully funded with federal funds and
industry assessments.
2)One-time costs of approximately $50,000 in FY 2014-15 to the
CDFA to conduct the board extension referendum. These costs
are covered by grape industry assessments.
COMMENTS
AB 1642
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1) Purpose: This bill would extend state programs designed to
control the spread and severity of Pierce's Disease, a fatal
bacterial disease of grapevines that is spread by certain
types of insects, in particular the glassy-winged
sharpshooter. According to the author, the program has been
successful in its effort to control the spread of Pierce's
Disease and the glassy-winged sharpshooter, yet Pierce's
Disease remains a threat. With a positive referendum vote by
grape growers, the program would continue to fight the spread
of Pierce's Disease and the glassy-winged sharpshooter.
2) Program Successes . The Pierce's Disease Control Program has
achieved success since established in 2001, though a cure for
Pierce's Disease has not yet been found. Specifically, the
program has:
a) achieved 17 urban eradications of the glassy-winged
sharpshooter;
b) developed and implemented specific protocols for
shipping nursery stock from glassy-winged sharpshooter
infested areas, effectively eliminating glassy-wing
sharpshooter infestations from those shipments;
c) contained the glassy-winged sharpshooter in bulk loads
of citrus, eliminating 99.97% of infestations from citrus
shipments from infested areas;
d) continued to conduct field trial research in
anticipation of finding long-term sustainable solutions to
Pierce's Disease; and
e) served as a model for intergovernmental and
industry-coordinated pest control programs.
3) History . Although Pierce's Disease has been present in
California grapevines since the 1880s, the arrival in the late
1980s of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, an aggressive insect
vector, dramatically increased the spread and reach of the
disease. The University of California estimated that Pierce's
Disease destroyed over one thousand acres of grapevines in
Northern California between 1994 and 2000, causing
AB 1642
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approximately $30 million in damages.
Analysis Prepared by : Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916) 319-2081