Senate BillNo. 348


Introduced by Senator Galgiani

February 20, 2013


An act to amend Sections 52322, 52323, 52324, and 52325 of the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to agriculture, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 348, as introduced, Galgiani. Agricultural seed: county seed enforcement subventions.

Existing law, the California Seed Law, provides for an optional subvention program under which a county may enter into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to receive an annual apportionment of funds from the secretary for maintaining a statewide compliance level on all seed within the county. Under those provisions, a county with no registered seed labelers may annually receive $100, at the discretion of the secretary, and a county with registered seed labeler operations may annually receive a subvention based on enforcement activity generated by the registered seed labeler operations within the county and upon the performance of enforcement activities necessary to carry out the provisions of the California Seed Law. Existing law makes those provisions inoperative on July 1, 2014, and repeals those provisions on January 1, 2015.

This bill would extend the operation of these provisions until July 1, 2019, and would repeal the provisions on January 1, 2020.

Under existing law, the fees collected pursuant to the California Seed Law are continuously appropriated to the Department of Food and Agriculture to carry out its provisions.

By extending the operation of these subvention provisions, this bill would make an appropriation.

The bill would make other technical changes.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 52322 of the Food and Agricultural Code
2 is amended to read:

3

52322.  

Thebegin delete directorend deletebegin insert secretaryend insert shall prepare an annual statement
4of the operating expenditures and income related to this chapter
5begin delete whichend deletebegin insert thatend insert shall be presented to the board for review as soon as
6possible following the termination of any fiscal year. A copy of
7this statement shall be made available to any interested person
8upon request.

9

SEC. 2.  

Section 52323 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
10amended to read:

11

52323.  

begin insert(a)end insertbegin insertend insertThe department’s cost of carrying out this chapter
12shall be funded from money that is received by the secretary
13pursuant to this chapter. The secretary shall also pay annually, in
14arrears, one hundred twenty thousand dollars ($120,000), to
15counties as an annual subvention for costs incurred in the
16enforcement of this chapter. The department’s costs of
17administering this chapter shall be paid before allocating funds to
18the counties under this section.

begin delete

19This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2014, and as
20of January 1, 2015, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, which
21becomes effective on or before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends
22the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

end delete
begin insert

23(b) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2019, and,
24as of January 1, 2020, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
25that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2020, deletes or
26extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

end insert
27

SEC. 3.  

Section 52324 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
28amended to read:

29

52324.  

begin insert(a)end insertbegin insertend insertThe subvention program under Section 52323 is
30an optional program available to counties. The subvention to
31counties under Section 52323 shall be annually apportioned as
32follows:

begin delete

33(a)

end delete

P3    1begin insert(1)end insert At the discretion of the secretary and upon recommendation
2of the Seed Advisory Board, counties with no registered seed
3labelers may annually receive one hundred dollars ($100).

begin delete

4(b)

end delete

5begin insert(2)end insert Counties with registered seed labeler operations shall receive
6subventions based upon units of enforcement activity generated
7by the registered seed labeler operations within the county and
8upon the performance of enforcement activities necessary to carry
9out this chapter. The units of activity shall be determined by the
10secretary, taking into consideration the number of lots and kinds
11of seed labeled by each registered seed labeler operation within
12the county. The rate per unit of activity shall be established by
13dividing the total statewide units of activity into the annual funds
14available to the counties under Section 52323 after deducting the
15amount required for subventions inbegin delete subdivision (a)end deletebegin insert paragraph (1)end insert.
16Apportionment to individual counties shall be based upon the
17county’s total units of activity performed times the established
18rate.

begin delete

19 This

end delete

20begin insert(b)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertThisend insert section shall remain in effect only until January 1,begin delete 2015end delete
21begin insert 2020end insert, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
22that is enacted before January 1,begin delete 2015end deletebegin insert 2020end insert, deletes or extends
23that date.

24

SEC. 4.  

Section 52325 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
25amended to read:

26

52325.  

(a) Commissioners of counties that choose to participate
27in the subvention program shall enter into a cooperative agreement
28with the secretary, whereby the commissioner agrees to maintain
29a statewide compliance level, determined by the secretary, on all
30seed within the county. The cooperative agreement shall be in
31effect for a five-year period. The units of activity and
32apportionment calculated underbegin insert paragraph (2) ofend insert subdivisionbegin delete (b)end delete
33begin insert (a)end insert of Section 52324 to each individual participating county shall
34be established annually in a memorandum of understanding
35between the commissioner and the secretary.

36(b) The secretary, upon recommendation of the board or upon
37the secretary’s own initiative, may withhold a portion of the funds
38designated to a county pursuant tobegin delete subdivision (b)end deletebegin insert paragraph (2)
39of subdivision (a)end insert
of Section 52324 if that county fails to meet the
P4    1performance standards established by the secretary and set forth
2in the cooperative agreement with that county.

3(c) The secretary shall provide a written justification to the board
4for any action taken by the secretary that does not fully implement
5a recommendation made by the board pursuant to subdivision (b).

begin delete

6(d) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2014, and
7as of January 1, 2015, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
8which becomes effective on or before January 1, 2015, deletes or
9extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

end delete
begin insert

10(d) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2019, and,
11as of January 1, 2020, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
12that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2020, deletes or
13extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

end insert


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