BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session AB 384 (Perea) - Food safety ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: February 18, 2015 |Policy Vote: HEALTH 7 - 1 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Brendan McCarthy | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: AB 384 would eliminate the sunset on the provision of law imposing a $100 fee on most food processors and authorizing the Department of Public Health to use the resulting revenue to support education and training programs for food processors. Fiscal Impact: Ongoing costs of $640,000 per year for the Department of Public Health to provide education and training to food processors on safe handling of food products, fully offset by fee revenues (Food Safety Fund). Background: Under current law, food processors must register with the Department of Public Health and are subject to regulation by the Department to protect the public health. As part of the registration process, food processors pay a fee to the Department to cover the costs of regulation. In addition, food processors pay an additional $100 fee (excluding certain small food processors) which is used to fund a program through which the Department provides education and training to food AB 384 (Perea) Page 1 of ? processors on safe handling of foods. The authority to impose the $100 fee and implement the training program sunsets on January 1, 2016. Proposed Law: AB 384 would eliminate the sunset on the provision of law imposing a $100 fee on most food processors and authorizing the Department of Public Health to use the resulting revenue to support education and training programs for food processors. Staff Comments: The program extended by this bill was first established by AB 1559 (Cardoza, Statutes of 1997) with a statutory sunset that has been extended several times since then. This bill would eliminate the statutory sunset, making the program permanent. The recently enacted 2015-16 Budget Act authorizes four additional positions at the Department of Public Health to increase enforcement activities relating to food processors. These positions will be funded from a $3.3 million judgment against a food processor for violations of the state's food safety regulations. The only costs that may be incurred by a local agency relate to crimes and infractions. Under the California Constitution, such costs are not reimbursable by the state. -- END --