BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                 UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 1235
          Author:   Knight (R)
          Amended:  8/19/14
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 4/30/14
          AYES:  Hernandez, Morrell, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Monning,  
            Wolk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Beall, Nielsen

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           SENATE FLOOR  :  36-0, 5/15/14
          AYES:  Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett,  
            Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani,  
            Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara,  
            Leno, Lieu, Liu, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen, Padilla,  
            Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Wolk, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Calderon, Walters, Wright, Yee

          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  79-0, 8/25/14 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Prepackaged food

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill excludes from the definition of a food  
          facility a premises set aside by a beer manufacturer for the  
          purposes of beer tasting that offers crackers, pretzels, or  
          prepackaged food for onsite consumption.
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           Assembly Amendments  make specified facilities subject to various  
          provisions of retail food code, limit display area to 25 square  
          feet and add double-jointing language to avoid chaptering out  
          issues with SB 170 (Wolk) and AB 1990 (Gordon).

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          1.Establishes the California Retail Food Code (CalCode), 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 CalCode, and vests local enforcement agencies with  
            primary responsibility for enforcement of CalCode.

          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  
            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, as specified, and farm stands, as specified.

          3.Exempts from the definition of a food facility and from the  
            provisions of CalCode premises set aside for wine tasting,  
            that comply with glassware cleaning provisions, regardless of  
            whether there is a charge for the wine tasting, if no other  
            beverage, except for bottles of wine and prepackaged  
            nonpotentially hazardous beverages, is offered for sale for  
            onsite consumption, and no food, except for crackers, is  
            served.

          4.Exempts from the definition of a food facility, and from the  
            provisions of CalCode, premises set aside by a beer  
            manufacturer, as defined, for the purposes of beer tasting,  
            regardless of whether there is a charge for the beer tasting,  
            if no other beverage, except for beer and prepackaged  
            nonpotentially hazardous beverages, is offered for sale for  
            onsite consumption, and no food, except for crackers or  

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            pretzels, is served.
               
          This bill:

          1.Excludes from the definition of a food facility a premises set  
            aside by a beer manufacturer for the purposes of beer tasting  
            that offers prepackaged food, pretzels, or crackers, for  
            onsite consumption, provided the food display is no more the  
            25 square feet.

          2.Makes specified facilities subject to some provisions of  
            retail food code.

          3.Contains double-jointing language to prevent chaptering out  
            issues with SB 170 (Wolk) and AB 1990 (Gordon).

           Prior Legislation
           
          AB 1014 (Fletcher, Chapter 159, Statutes of 2011) exempts  
          premises set aside by a beer manufacturer, as defined, for beer  
          tasting, from the definition of a food facility, thereby,  
          exempting beer tasting premises from the provisions of the  
          CalCode.

          SB 241 (Runner, Chapter 571, Statutes of 2009) among other  
          things, clarifies the exemption for premises set aside for wine  
          tasting to apply regardless of whether there is a charge for the  
          wine tasting.

          SB 144 (Runner, Chapter 23, Statutes of 2006) established the  
          CalCode in order to create uniformity between California's  
          retail food safety laws and those of other states, as well as to  
          enhance food safety laws based on the best available science.

          AB 1778 (Areias, Chapter 1065, Statutes of 1985) excludes  
          premises set aside for wine tasting if no other beverage, except  
          for bottles of wine and prepackaged nonpotentially hazardous  
          beverages, is offered for sale for onsite consumption and no  
          food, except for crackers, is served, from the definition of a  
          food facility.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes


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          Negligible state fiscal effect.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/26/14)

          Bravery Brewing Company, LLC
          Craft Brewers Association

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office,  
          brewery owners currently face obscure limitations within current  
          Health and Safety Code as to food that can be sold for onsite  
          consumption while patrons are beer tasting in their facilities.   
          This bill is needed to further specify the prepackaged foods  
          that are eligible to be sold in the tasting room.  Existing law  
          is ambiguous, and it is unclear why the law specifically spells  
          out two food items, but fails to list a variety of prepackaged  
          foods that are safe for onsite consumption.  Allowing brewery  
          tasting rooms to sell prepackaged foods other than crackers and  
          pretzels gives businesses more flexibility and more service to  
          offer to their faithful customers.

          Bravery Brewing Company (BBC) writes that this bill provides a  
          win-win situation because it allows breweries to offer  
          convenience to craft brewery patrons who wish to enjoy a snack,  
          while also generating increased sales revenue for the brewery.   
          BBC further states that existing law adds costly regulation  
          expenses when breweries wish to sell prepackaged food items, yet  
          not for prepackaged drink items, which there seems to be little  
          difference between.


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  79-0, 8/25/14
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,  
            Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,  
            Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,  
            Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,  
            Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,  
            Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,  
            Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A.  
            Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,  
            Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,  
            Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Vacancy

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          JL:k  8/26/14   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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