BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE on AGRICULTURE
Senator Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
BILL NO: SB 504 HEARING: 04/02/13
AUTHOR: Berryhill FISCAL: Yes
VERSION: 04/01/13 CONSULTANT: Anne Megaro
Fruit, nut, and vegetable standards: civil penalties
SUMMARY :
This bill would authorize county agricultural commissioners,
after exhaustion of the appeal and review process, to obtain
judgments from a superior court to expedite recovery of civil
penalties levied on violators of the Fruit, Nut, and Vegetable
Standards Law.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW :
Existing law establishes minimum standards for fruits, nuts, and
vegetables to ensure that these products are of consistent,
acceptable quality in the marketplace. Administered by the
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the
"Standardization Program" regulates quality, maturity, grade,
size, container and packing arrangement, as well as packing
signs and labels. CDFA and local county agricultural
commissioners are responsible for enforcing these provisions.
This program is currently funded by industry container mill
assessment fees.
Pursuant to the Food and Agriculture Code § 43003, the secretary
or county agricultural commissioners may levy civil penalties
for violations of these provisions not to exceed $500 for the
first violation and $1,000 for the second violation, with few
exceptions.
For violations such as refusing inspection, adulterating any
official documents or materials used for inspections, removing
or disposing of any warning tag or label and/or the accompanying
fruits, nuts, vegetables, or their containers, and violating
certification provisions relating to avocadoes, the secretary or
county agricultural commissioners may levy civil penalties not
to exceed $3,000. In some cases where the violation involves
avocadoes exceeding $500 in value, the penalty may not exceed
$5,000.
SB 504 - Page 2
Persons charged with such violations are given the opportunity
to appeal to the secretary, who may sustain, reduce, or remove
the fine after reviewing any presented evidence, testimony and
arguments. The secretary's decision may then be reviewed, if
desired by the parties involved.
PROPOSED LAW :
This bill: Authorizes a county agricultural commissioner, or
his or her representative, to file a certified copy of a final
decision of the commissioner that directs the payment of a civil
penalty and, if applicable, a copy of any decision of the
secretary, or his or her representative, rendered on an appeal
from the commissioner's decision, and a copy of any order that
denies a petition for a writ of administrative mandamus, with
the clerk of the superior court of any county.
COMMENTS :
Need for this bill: According to the author, "the provisions of
the Fruit, Nuts and Vegetable Standards Law contain no provision
specifically enabling the Commissioner to enforce the decision
by entering a judgment in superior court should the respondent
fail to pay the penalty as ordered. Without this authority, the
County Agricultural Commissioners must seek assistance either
from their local District Attorneys, in the form of criminal
prosecution, or their County Counsels, in seeking an injunction
against the violator. This adds a unnecessary, inconvenient and
costly additional step to the process of collecting the fine."
According to the author, this bill "will provide consistency in
the statutory language governing the infrequent instances where
a violator refuses to pay a fine. It is both fair and fiscally
responsible for County Agricultural Commissioners to be able to
obtain judgments against those businesses without having to go
through another elaborate procedure in court. In addition,
conforming all the corresponding code sections to contain
virtually the same language makes it easier for both county
counsel and judges to understand that the authority conferred is
the same in each case."
Conforming language: Similar conforming provisions in the Food
SB 504 - Page 3
and Agriculture Code authorize county agricultural commissioners
to obtain judgments by a superior court to collect civil
penalties levied on violators of provisions regarding plant
quarantine and pest control, pesticide use, California Organic
Products Act, and direct marketing of agricultural products (FAC
§§ 5312, 12999.5, 46017, 47025). Currently, there is no such
authorization for commissioners enforcing the Fruit, Nut, and
Vegetable Standards Law.
RELATED LEGISLATION :
AB 2686 (T. Berryhill) Chapter 395, Statutes of 2010.
Authorizes a county agricultural commissioner to obtain
judgments from a superior court to expedite recovery of civil
penalties levied on violators of the California Organic Products
Act.
AB 1598 (Agriculture) Chapter 499, Statutes of 2006. Omnibus
bill. Authorizes a county agricultural commissioner to obtain
judgments from a superior court to expedite recovery of civil
penalties levied on violators of provisions relating to plant
quarantine and pest control.
AB 520 (Parra) Chapter 220, Statutes of 2005. Authorizes the
secretary or county agricultural commissioners to levy a civil
penalty, in lieu of prosecution, against violators of the Fruit,
Nut, and Vegetable Standards Law.
SUPPORT :
Conference of California Bar Associations (Sponsor)
California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association
OPPOSITION :
None received