BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 1235
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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 1235 (Knight)
          As Amended August 19, 2014
          Majority vote

           SENATE VOTE  :  36-0
            
           HEALTH              17-0        APPROPRIATIONS      17-0        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Pan, Maienschein,         |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow,           |
          |     |Bonilla, Bonta, Chávez,   |     |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian  |
          |     |Chesbro, Gomez, Gonzalez, |     |Calderon, Campos,         |
          |     |Roger Hernández,          |     |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez,  |
          |     |Lowenthal, Mansoor,       |     |Holden, Jones, Linder,    |
          |     |Nazarian, Waldron,        |     |Pan, Quirk,               |
          |     |Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, |     |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner,    |
          |     |Wagner, Wieckowski        |     |Weber                     |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Expands an exemption from provisions of the California  
          Retail Food Code (CRFC) premises set aside for a beer tasting  
          facility that currently serves chips and pretzels to include  
          prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous food for onsite  
          consumption.  Requires a beer tasting facility that sells  
          prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous foods to comply with  
          general provisions of the CRFC relating to proper storage of  
          food, inspection, and enforcement provisions, impoundment of  
          food, penalties, and owner/operator responsibilities; limits the  
          food display area to less than 25 square feet. 

           EXISTING LAW  :  

          1)Establishes the CRFC, which establishes health and sanitation  
            standards for retail food facilities, as defined.  Makes the  
            Department of Public Health responsible for the adoption of  
            regulations to implement and administer CRFC, and vests local  
            enforcement agencies with primary responsibility for  
            enforcement of CRFC.

          2)Defines a food facility as an operation that stores, prepares  
            packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human  
            consumption, on or off the premises, regardless of whether  
            there is a charge, at the retail level.  Food facilities  
            include, but are not limited to, permanent and nonpermanent  








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            facilities, public and private school cafeterias, restricted  
            food service facilities, licensed health care facilities,  
            commissaries, mobile food facilities, mobile support units,  
            temporary food facilities, vending machines, certified  
            farmers' markets, and farm stands.

          3)Establishes a tiered statewide standard to permit non-grocery  
            retailers with limited food display areas to sell prepackaged,  
            non-potentially hazardous food products.  Requires compliance  
            with general provisions of the CRFC and definitions.  Requires  
            varying compliance - depending on the square footage of the  
            food display area of the facility - with CRFC provisions  
            relating to proper storage of food, inspection and enforcement  
            provisions, impoundment of food, penalties, and owner/operator  
            responsibilities. 

          4)Exempts from the definition of a food facility, and therefore  
            from the provisions of CRFC, premises set aside for wine  
            tasting if no other beverage, except for bottles of wine and  
            prepackaged non-potentially hazardous beverages, is offered  
            for sale for onsite consumption, and no food, except for  
            crackers, is served.

          5)Exempts from the definition of a food facility, and from the  
            provisions of CRFC, premises set aside by a beer manufacturer,  
            as defined, for the purposes of beer tasting, if no other  
            beverage, except for beer and prepackaged non-potentially  
            hazardous beverages, is offered for sale for onsite  
            consumption, and no food, except for crackers or pretzels, is  
            served.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, negligible state fiscal effect.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, this bill provides a much  
          needed convenience for breweries in California to offer an  
          additional service for their customers in this cash-strapped  
          economy.  The author further states that allowing brewery  
          tasting rooms to sell prepackaged foods, rather than just  
          prepackaged soda, water, and tea gives businesses more  
          flexibility and more service to offer to their customers.

          The CRFC is patterned after the federal Food and Drug  
          Administration's (FDA's) Food Code, which is a model for local,  
          state, and federal jurisdictions that are responsible for  








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          ensuring food safety.  According to the FDA, the Food Code  
          represents FDA's best advice, updated every four years, for a  
          uniform system of provisions that address the safety and  
          protection of food offered at retail and in food service.   
          Forty-eight states and territories have adopted food codes  
          patterned after the Food Code, representing 80% of the U.S.  
          population.

          Bravery Brewing Company (BBC) writes that this bill provides a  
          win-win situation because it allows breweries to offer  
          convenience to patrons who wish to enjoy a snack, while also  
          generating increased sales revenue for the brewery.  BBC further  
          states that they wish to provide patrons with safe food items  
          while drinking, but are not interested in becoming a restaurant.  



           Analysis Prepared by  :    Dharia McGrew / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097  



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