BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1990 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 1990 (Gordon) As Amended May 15, 2014 Majority vote AGRICULTURE 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Eggman, Skinner, Dahle, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, | | |Pan, Quirk, Yamada | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian | | | | |Calderon, Campos, | | | | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, | | | | |Holden, Jones, Linder, | | | | |Pan, Quirk, | | | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, | | | | |Weber | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Creates definitions for "community food producer" (CFP), as specified, in order to establish a CFP as an "approved [food] source" to sell or provide specified food products directly to the public and other specified users; and, provides for enforcement and due process procedures. Specifically, this bill : 1)Defines a CFP as a producer of agricultural products on land that is compliant with local land use, as specified, that is not land zoned for agricultural use. 2)Adds CFP to the list of entities not considered a food facility under the cottage food law. 3)Defines "gleaner" as a person that legally gathers or harvests an agricultural crop, as specified, made available by that agricultural crop's owner. 4)Permits a CFP, unless a local ordinance prohibits such activity, to sell or provide whole uncut fruits, vegetable, or unrefrigerated eggs, directly to the public, a permitted restaurant, or a cottage food operator, if they meet all the following criteria: a) Requires agricultural products be grown or produced in AB 1990 Page 2 compliance with the Health and Safety Code defining an "approved source" which includes meeting food safety guidelines issued by a regulatory agency; b) Requires agricultural products to be labeled with the name and address of the CFP; and, c) Requires "conspicuous signage" be provided in lieu of product labeling if the CFP is selling at the site of production. The signage is to include, but not be limited to, the name and address of the CFP. 5)Permits a local city or county health enforcement office to require a CFP to register with them, and to include, but not be limited to, providing the name, address, and telephone number of the CFP. 6)Permits a public health enforcement officer (PHEO) to enter and inspect a CFP's operation in response to a food recall or food safety compliant. Allows the PHEO to recover reasonable costs from the CFP for the inspection. 7)Permits a PHEO to issue to a CFP, a cease and desist order for violations of this chapter, prohibiting further sales until the CFP and its operations have been cleared by the PHEO's agency. 8)Permits a CFP, upon receiving a cease and desist order, 15 days to request a hearing before a hearing officer; failure to request such a hearing, as specified, is deemed a waiver to the CFP's right to a hearing. 9)Establishes that violations of this chapter are a misdemeanor; each offense shall be punished by a fine of not less than $25 or more than $1,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding six months, or by both fine and imprisonment. EXISTING LAW establishes the California Retail Food Code (CRFC), with uniform health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities and provides for the enforcement of those standards by local health agencies and by the State Department of Public Health, as specified; requires farm stands, as defined, to comply with specified requirements governing food safety and AB 1990 Page 3 sanitation; and, makes a violation of the code a crime. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill has negligible fiscal impact to the California Department of Public Health and has potentially minor enforcement costs to local public health agencies, partially recoverable through inspection fees, with any remainder likely reimbursable. COMMENTS : The movement of reducing greenhouse gas, but reducing transportation of products, especially food stuffs, has placed the focus on supplying more food items locally. Additionally, the belief that fresher foods provide more flavors and are healthier has fueled the desire for local foods. "Growing Cities" is a recent documentary film released in 2013 at film festivals, which examines the role of urban farming in America and asks how much power it has to revitalize our cities and change the way we eat. This bill tries to address this issue at the most local level. According to the author, this bill attempts to resolve the uncertainty by local agencies regarding the direct sale of food products from various types of garden properties, without the expressed authorization of their local health enforcement agency, and to provide statewide guidance for oversight for the wide range and scope of such operations. This bill does provide definitions to identify CFPs and their properties as an approved source of food, and authorizes the sale of their products to the public. It also provides for PHEOs to act upon an occurrence of a food safety incident. This bill would provide a statewide approach in providing oversight of CFPs, while reducing the demands on local governments to adopt individual ordinances. There are some local jurisdictions that have adopted local ordinances in order to establish requirements over the selling of CFPs. The selling of CFPs is a practice that apparently is currently occurring and increasing within the state. There may be a need for a statewide approach to CFPs activities. Conventional and organic farms have many requirements on them in order to produce food for the public. They are restricted in how they use pesticides and fertilizers, and have reporting requirements. They cannot use products except in accordance AB 1990 Page 4 with label instructions, some of which have re-entry restrictions or waiting periods before harvest. The only oversight CFP would have is in response to a food safety recall or complaint. The urban use of pesticides and fertilizers has been identified in water runoff due to overuse, or due to use not in accordance with label instructions. This bill creates a new standard for public food requirements than what currently exists. Tracking food borne illnesses is a difficult task for PHEO, especially if food products do not carry a label containing their origins. This bill provides that in lieu of a label, if the product is sold at the site of production, "conspicuous signage" is required, and would include, but not be limited to, the name and address of the seller. Related Legislation: AB 1252 (Health Committee), Chapter 556, Statutes of 2013, made various technical, clarifying, and conforming changes to CRFC, the state's principal law governing food safety and sanitation in retail food facilities, and made changes necessary to implement California's cottage food operations law. AB 551 (Ting), Chapter 406, Statutes of 2013, authorized a city or county, after a public hearing, to establish by ordinance, a zone within its boundaries for the purpose of entering into voluntary enforceable contracts with landowners, for the use of vacant, unimproved, or blighted lands, for small-scale production of agriculture crops and animal husbandry. AB 224 (Gordon), Chapter 404, Statutes of 2013, defined community-supported agriculture (CSA) within the direct marketing program regulated by CDFA; established regulatory parameters and required CSA registration fees to fund administration and related programmatic costs, as specified; and, required CDFA to file an order to adopt, amend, or repeal regulations relating to the fee. AB 1616 (Gatto), Chapter 415, Statutes of 2012, defined the production and sale of certain non-potentially hazardous foods prepared in a home kitchens as a cottage food operation (CFO); required CFOs to be registered or permitted; exempted CFOs from CRFC; excluded CFOs from specified food processing establishments and Sherman Law requirements; required CFOs to AB 1990 Page 5 meet specified requirements relating to training, sanitation, preparation, labeling, and permissible types of sales, and be subject to inspections under specified circumstances; and, made related requirements. AB 2168 (Jones), Chapter 447, Statutes of 2008, expanded the definition of direct marketing to include farm stands, field retail stands, and other forms of direct marketing, revised related definitions, and authorized CDFA to adopt regulations to regulate direct marketing, as specified. Analysis Prepared by : Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084 FN: 0003599