BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 348
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 14, 2013

                          ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
                           Susan Talamantes Eggman, Chair
                   SB 348 (Galgiani) - As Amended:  August 7, 2013

           SENATE VOTE  :  38-0
           
          SUBJECT  :  Agricultural seed: county seed enforcement  
          subventions.

           SUMMARY  :  Extends the provisions and repeal dates of the  
          California Seed Law (CSL) and county subventions, until July 1,  
          2016 and January 1, 2017, respectfully.  

           EXISTING LAW  permits the California Department of Food and  
          Agriculture (CDFA) to pay counties annually for the costs  
          incurred in the enforcement of CSL by the county commissioners.   
          These payments are made to the counties at the discretion of  
          CDFA and upon the recommendation of the Seed Advisory Board, and  
          those counties without activities may receive $100.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to Senate Appropriations Committee,  
          CDFA sends $120,000 per year (special funds) to California's  
          counties in order to fund the enforcement of the CSL provisions.

           COMMENTS  :  The CSL was enacted in 1967 to ensure that  
          agricultural seed is properly and accurately identified on the  
          product label.  Seed is analyzed through the Seed Services  
          program, administered by CDFA.  The CSL is locally enforced by  
          county agricultural commissioners who enter into cooperative  
          agreements with CDFA and agree to maintain a statewide  
          compliance level on all seed sold in the county.  In return,  
          county agricultural commissioners receive annual subvention  
          payments for expenses incurred in association with approved  
          enforcement work plans.

          Funding for this program is through industry seed assessments  
          and registration fees, and is administered by CDFA.  Every  
          labeler of agricultural seed offered for sale in California, or  
          any person who sells that seed in this state, must annually  
          register as a seed labeler and pay an annual fee of $40.  In  
          addition, those who are registered seed labelers must also pay  
          an assessment capped at 40 cents per $100 gross annual dollar  
          volume sales.  CDFA determines the rate of assessment, not to  








                                                                  SB 348
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          exceed the department's cost of carrying out these provisions.

          CDFA allocates $120,000 for subvention payments among all  
          counties for costs incurred by enforcement of the CSL.  At the  
          discretion of CDFA and upon recommendation of the Seed Advisory  
          Board (SAB), counties with no registered seed labelers may  
          annually receive $100, while counties with registered seed  
          labelers receive subventions based upon the volume of work  
          performed.

          Currently, there are 13 counties that do not have registered  
          seed labelers and receive subvention funds:  Alpine, Amador,  
          Calaveras, Del Norte, El Dorado, Inyo, Lake, Mariposa, Mono,  
          Plumas, Sierra, Trinity, and Tuolumne.  In addition, there are  
          three counties with registered seed labelers that received  
          subvention funds but did not complete approved work plans:   
          Contra Costa, Marin, and Napa.
          The SAB and commissioners, along with CDFA, are in discussions  
          as to how to rework the funding structure to better reflect the  
          current needs of everyone.  For instance, it may not make sense  
          to continue to provide some counties funds when no work is being  
          performed, while it may be better to provide funds for  
          commissioner training; and, better accounting for workloads  
          could help ensure counties' costs for servicing the program are  
          covered.  Due to these concerns, the sunset is being extended  
          for two years rather than the typical five years.  This will  
          give the parties a chance to work out a resolution.  

          Previous Legislation:   AB 1255 (Tom Berryhill), Chapter 281,  
          Statutes of 2009, extends to January 1, 2015, the operation of  
          provisions of the CSL, including a subvention program.

          AB 856 (Galgiani), Chapter 425, Statutes of 2008, extends to  
          January 1, 2010, the operation of provisions of the CSL,  
          including a subvention program; provides that the minimum $100  
          subvention may not be allocated to counties without registered  
          seed labelers.

          AB 315 (Salinas), Chapter 394, Statutes of 2003, requires the  
          Secretary to pay a total annual subvention to counties of  
          $120,000; extends to July 1, 2009, the operation of provisions  
          in the CSL.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :









                                                                  SB 348
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           Support 
           
          California Seed Association (Sponsor)
          Rural County Representatives of California
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file.


           Analysis Prepared by :    Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084