BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Senator Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 689 Hearing Date:
6/30/15
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|Author: |Dodd |
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|Version: |6/23/15 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No | Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Anne Megaro |
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Subject: Marketing of eggs: violations: administrative and
civil penalties.
SUMMARY :
This bill would authorize the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) to refuse to issue, or suspend or revoke, an
egg handler or egg producer certificate of registration, as
specified; would authorize CDFA to adopt regulations to classify
egg marketing violations and would increase the maximum civil
penalty from $1,000 to $10,000; would authorize CDFA and county
agricultural commissioners, in lieu of prosecution, to levy an
administrative penalty, as specified.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING
LAW :
Existing state and federal law provides for the regulation of
eggs and egg products to assure that healthful, wholesome eggs
of known quality are sold in California, to facilitate the
orderly marketing of shell eggs in a uniform manner, and to
prevent the marketing of deceptive, adulterated, or mislabeled
containers of eggs (Food and Agriculture Code §27501 et seq.;
Egg Products Inspection Act, 21 USC §1031 et seq.).
Existing state law:
1) Authorizes the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA), and county agricultural commissioners
under the supervision of the secretary, to enforce laws and
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regulations for eggs produced, shipped, or sold in
California. The Egg Safety and Quality Management Program
ensures that eggs sold in California are properly handled,
transported, refrigerated, and labeled for quality, origin,
grade and size. (Food and Agriculture Code §27501 et
seq.).
2) Requires egg producers and egg handlers selling eggs in
California to register with CDFA.
3) Establishes the Shell Egg Advisory Committee to advise
the secretary of CDFA on all matters pertaining to
standards for shell eggs, including quality, sampling,
inspection, fees, budget, and components of the Egg Quality
Assurance Plan.
4) Requires the secretary to establish a policy manual
describing the procedures for providing notice to a person
charged with a violation and for conducting a hearing.
5) Authorizes the district attorney in the county where a
violation occurs to prosecute a violator of egg marketing
laws or regulations.
6) Authorizes CDFA, in lieu of prosecution, to bring civil
action against any person in violation of egg marketing
laws and regulations for a maximum penalty of $1,000 per
violation.
7) Provides for criminal punishment and procedures for
persons engaging in unlawful acts related to egg marketing,
punishable as a misdemeanor.
PROPOSED
LAW :
This bill:
1) Requires the secretary of CDFA to adopt regulations that
would classify violations of egg marketing laws and
regulations as minor, moderate, or serious and, subject to
penalties from $50 to $10,000.
2) Authorizes CDFA to refuse to issue, or suspend or
revoke, an egg producer's or egg handler's registration if
AB 689 (Dodd) Page 3 of ?
the applicant fails to pay in full a fine, fee,
assessment, or penalty or if the applicant has violated a
provision of egg marketing laws or regulations.
3) Requires CDFA to adopt regulations to establish
procedures for a hearing and appeals process and establish
a maximum time period an applicant must wait before
reapplying for registration.
4) Increases the civil penalty for violations up to
$10,000.
5) Authorizes a county agricultural commissioner to take an
egg marketing violator to county court and deposit any
money recovered into the county's general fund.
6) Authorizes the secretary or a commissioner, in lieu of
prosecution, to levy an administrative penalty against a
violator in an amount according to the penalty schedule to
be created by CDFA, not to exceed $10,000.
7) Provides the process for which an administrative penalty
is levied by the secretary or a commissioner, including
notice of violation, hearing and appeals process, payment,
and involvement of the county court in the event of
nonpayment.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
According to the author, "Currently, violations of shell egg
marketing regulations are under-enforced. District attorneys
may hesitate to allocate limited resources to a
commercial/agricultural issue that brings little return to the
county due to caps on penalties. While the Secretary of Food
and Agriculture can pursue civil penalties, using a statewide
office to pursue local violations is cumbersome. [This] bill
provides enforcement authority to local agricultural
commissioners who have expertise in the issue. AB689 will weed
out bad actors and ensure California's consumers are protected."
COMMENTS :
Penalty increase. This bill would increase the maximum penalty
for violations of egg marketing provisions from $1,000 to
$10,000. Although this is a seemingly large increase, the low
penalty of $1,000 has not been changed since 1990. A weak
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penalty could be construed as the "cost of doing business" and
not serve as a strong incentive for egg producers and handlers
to comply with state laws and regulations.
Egg safety. CDFA developed regulations to reduce the risk of
Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) contamination, and these regulations
went into full effect on January 1, 2015. These regulations
implement a vaccination program to protect against SE; implement
a chick-monitoring program for environmental SE; establish hen
enclosure requirements; and require that every container of eggs
sold in California include a new label statement indicating
"California Shell Egg Food Safety Compliant" or "CA SEFS
Compliant" (3 CCR 1350).
RELATED
LEGISLATION :
AB 1414 (Agriculture), Chapter 11, Statutes of 2014. Defines
"pasteurized in-shell eggs" and includes these eggs in the
definition of "egg handler"; exempts pasteurized in-shell eggs
from current labeling requirements for "shell eggs" and,
instead, creates new labeling requirements and sell-by date
criteria for pasteurized in-shell eggs.
AB 1069 (Agriculture) Chapter 283, Statutes of 2003. Creates a
new procedure for regulating out-of-state egg shippers.
AB 2981 (Agriculture) Chapter 535, Statutes of 2002. Clarifies
compliance with federally required labeling for safe-handling
instructions for eggs.
AB 593 (Cardoza) Chapter 403, Statutes of 1997. Improves the
quality controls under which fresh eggs are handled,
transported, and marketed.
PRIOR
ACTIONS :
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|Assembly Floor: |77 - 0 |
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|Assembly Appropriations Committee: |17 - 0 |
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|Assembly Agriculture Committee: |10 - 0 |
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SUPPORT :
Association of California Egg Farmers (Co-sponsor)
Pacific Egg & Poultry Association (Co-sponsor)
OPPOSITION :
None received
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