BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2185|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2185
Author: Eggman (D), et al.
Amended: 8/19/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/17/14
AYES: Galgiani, Cannella, Berryhill, Lieu, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/14/14
AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/27/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Bees: apiculture: state-owned lands
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Fish and
Wildlife (DFW) to encourage apiculture (beekeeping) on
DFW-managed wildlife areas.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Provides for the protection and promotion of beekeeping in
California. The Department of Food and Agriculture (DFA) is
responsible for administering this program and county
agricultural commissioners are responsible for enforcing
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apiary (beehive) laws and regulations on the local level.
2.Prohibits any person from maintaining a beehive on public land
without the expressed oral or written approval of the entity
that is responsible for the land. Any beehive located or
maintained on public land without lawful consent is a public
nuisance and may be seized by DFA or the county agricultural
commissioner.
3.Authorizes DFW to lease DFW-managed lands for agricultural
activities, such as grazing, where such activities are
consistent with the purpose of the acquired land and
compatible with the approved management plan for the area.
DFW may enter into contracts for the management of the land by
specified nonprofit conservation groups, and management plans
are subject to public review and comment. DFW may collect
fees and issue permits for specific uses of DFW-managed lands.
Fees shall be appropriated for the management and operation
of such lands.
This bill:
1.Requires DFW to consider permitting beekeeping on DFW-managed
wildlife areas, where deemed appropriate by DFW.
2.Requires the DFW to determine, when developing or amending its
land management plans, the following:
A. If the DFW-managed wildlife areas, or any portion of
those areas, are suitable for beekeeping and whether
beekeeping is consistent with the management goals and
objectives for those areas on a temporary, seasonal, or
long-term basis.
B. If the administration of beekeeping on DFW-managed
wildlife areas, where deemed appropriate by the DFW, is
meeting the management goals and objectives for those
areas.
C. The appropriate use or permit fee to be assessed for
conducting beekeeping on DFW-managed wildlife areas.
1.Provides that DFW may consult with beekeeping experts,
including, but not limited to, DFA, the University of
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California, other academic or professional experts, and
interested stakeholders, for permitting beekeeping on
DFW-managed wildlife areas consistent with the respective
management goals and objectives for those areas.
2.States that monies collected for conducting beekeeping on
DFW-managed wildlife areas shall be deposited by DFW into the
Wildlife Restoration Fund and, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, be used to support the management, maintenance,
restoration, and operation of DFW-managed wildlife areas.
Background
The U.S. honey bee industry is critical for the pollination of
agricultural crops across the nation. In California, honey bees
are necessary to pollinate fruit and nut trees as well as a
variety of row crops and native plants. These bees also produce
honey where in 2012, California producers, marketed 12 million
pounds of honey worth $23 million. Total beehive products,
including honey, beeswax and rental of bees for pollination,
were valued at $56.9 million (United States Department of
Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service).
In 2006, honey bee colony collapse disorder (CCD) was identified
as a new threat to the health and welfare of honey bees and
their hives, as over 30% of beehives nationwide died off over
the winter. CCD is characterized by a sudden disappearance
and/or abandonment of adult honey bees from their beehives for
reasons not fully understood. In response to this problem, the
CCD Steering Committee and Working Team was created to help
coordinate efforts to better understand the occurrence of CCD
and determine what measures could be taken to improve bee health
and prevent CCD. Led by the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), participants include government, industry,
and academic experts who collaborate to conduct research,
develop beekeeping best management practices, and identify the
cause(s) of CCD and declining bee health in general.
In May 2013, the USDA and the United States Environmental
Protection Agency issued a report on honey bee health as a
result of an October 2012 conference organized by individuals on
the CCD Steering Committee. Per the conference report,
"Consensus is building that a complex set of stressors and
pathogens is associated with CCD, and researchers are
increasingly using multi-factorial approaches to studying causes
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of colony losses."
Interim hearing . The Assembly Committee on Agriculture and the
Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials
held a joint informational hearing on October 16, 2013, on the
issue of bee health and colony collapse disorder. Expert
witnesses testified that a variety of stressors are responsible
for the decline in honey bee health, such as nutrition,
parasitic mites, pesticides, viruses, and bee management
practices. According to the author, the "areas of greatest
concerns were with nutrition and the need for adequate and
dynamic foraging opportunities for bees; education of farmers
regarding cultural practices when bees are present; and,
addressing the parasitic mites that weaken the bees, their
larvae and the overall health of the hive."
Nutrition . Several factors contributing to CCD and poor bee
health have been identified by experts, as previously stated.
It can be argued from a physiological viewpoint that by
addressing nutritional requirements, bees will have the
fundamental tools needed to support a healthy immune system to
fight parasites and pathogens as well as a variety of other
environmental stressors. Meeting these nutritional requirements
has been challenging where, in some instances, bees are not
provided adequate and diverse foraging.
Bees and agriculture . There may be concern as to the impact of
this bill on certain agricultural crops, specifically seedless
citrus varieties. In 2007, the Seedless Mandarin and Honeybee
Coexistence Working Group was created to address concerns of
citrus cross-pollination of seedless mandarins that could lead
to seeds forming within these fruits, causing them to no longer
be seedless and thus losing value in the marketplace. Similar
concerns exist with this bill should honey bees be placed on
state lands adjacent to sensitive agricultural crops.
Prior Legislation
AB 1912 (Evans, Chapter 585, Statutes of 2010) creates the
California Apiary Research Commission in state government to
conduct research and education programs regarding the health and
welfare of honey bees and the beekeeping industry.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
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Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Minor and absorbable costs from the Wildlife Restoration Fund
(special) to DFW to consider and potentially permit beekeeping
use on wildlife areas.
Unknown, but likely minor, revenue increases to the Wildlife
Restoration Fund (special) for private use of a public lands.
Unknown liability costs to the state.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/20/14)
California Farm Bureau Federation
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/20/14)
California Citrus Mutual
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "The intent of
this bill is to provide more diverse foraging opportunities from
public lands for bees, in an effort to strengthen bee health
while improving the pollination of our natural environment."
The California Farm Bureau Federation (Farm Bureau) supports
this bill stating it will help California's beekeepers and all
of the farmers who depend on their pollination services. The
Farm Bureau states that California's beekeepers have been
significantly impacted by CCD, and while there is no one cause,
poor bee nutrition appears to contribute to it. The Farm Bureau
maintains that California beekeepers are in need of increased
food sources for their bees to ensure hive health and
productivity and allowing access to state-owned lands will
provide much needed forage for California's honeybees.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Citrus Mutual (Citrus
Mutual) remains opposed to this bill due to impacts on private
property owners adjacent to public lands. The Citrus Mutual
states that it is a recognized fact that bees will fly six miles
for suitable food sources and hives located on borders of public
lands can therefore have hives transiting to locations other
than what it is intended. The Citrus Mutual states that for the
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citrus industry, cross pollination is an issue, for producers in
total crop protection, activities could become a problem, and
for the homeowner, recognized problems would exist.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/27/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, 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, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, John A. Pérez, V.
Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski,
Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Patterson, Quirk-Silva, Vacancy
JL:e 8/20/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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