BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1990
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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 1990 (Gordon)
          As Amended  May 15, 2014
          Majority vote 

           AGRICULTURE         6-0         APPROPRIATIONS      17-0        
           
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          |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  








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               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  








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          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  








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          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  








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          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 


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