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 Page 2 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 Page 3 Support California Seed Association (Sponsor) Rural County Representatives of California Opposition None on file. Analysis Prepared by : Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084