BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 751|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 751
Author: Cooper (D)
Introduced:2/25/15
Vote: 21
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE: 3-0, 6/30/15
AYES: Galgiani, Cannella, Pan
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 7/13/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 6/1/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Vertebrate pest control research: repeal
extensionVertebrate pest control research: repeal
extension.
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill extends the repeal date for provisions
relating to vertebrate pest control from January 1, 2016 to
January 1, 2026.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires the California Department of Food and Agriculture
(CDFA) to establish a research program on the control of
vertebrate pests that pose a significant threat to the welfare
of the state's agricultural economy, infrastructure, and the
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public. (Food and Agricultural Code §6025.5).
2)Requires the secretary of CDFA to establish the Vertebrate
Pest Control Research Advisory Committee (VPCRAC) to annually
recommend priorities and costs for conducting various
vertebrate pest control research projects.
3)Requires county agricultural commissioners to pay to CDFA a
maximum assessment fee of $0.50 per pound of vertebrate pest
control material sold, distributed, or applied by the county.
The maximum may be increased to $1 after consultation with
VPCRAC.
4)Limits expenditure of funds to reasonable administrative and
operational expenses, federal and state regulatory fees for
material registration, basic and applied research, and
educational outreach.
5)Repeals provisions relating to vertebrate pest control on
January 1, 2016.
6)Authorizes the use of carbon monoxide (CO) for the control of
burrowing rodent pests, provided that proper warning labels
are visible, permanently affixed, and compliant with existing
laws and regulations. This code section has a sunset date of
January 1, 2018, which is different than the sunset date for
the remaining provisions in this article (Food and
Agricultural Code §6025.4).
This bill extends the repeal date for provisions relating to
vertebrate pest control from January 1, 2016 to January 1, 2026.
Background
The CDFA is required to establish a vertebrate pest control
research program to investigate effective and economical
alternative methods for the control of vertebrate pests. The
program cooperates with the United States Department of
Agriculture to fund research programs to maintain, develop, and
register vertebrate pest control products used in California.
Vertebrate pest control materials registered by CDFA may only be
sold or distributed by a county agricultural commissioner (Food
and Agricultural Code § 6025 et seq.).
Rodents and other vertebrate pests cause millions of dollars of
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damage to California agricultural crops every year, and these
pests are known to carry diseases that may be spread to
livestock, other animals, or humans. Pest control efforts help
to mitigate crop damage and the spread of diseases, and new
controls are continuously researched to find alternative methods
and materials that are humane, effective, and economical.
Comments
Sunset Date. The sunset dates for these provisions have been
extended several times since their enactment in 1990, and this
bill marks the third extension within 15 years. Given that
these provisions fund research projects, the Legislature may
wish to consider if the sunset date should be repealed and
provisions made permanent, thus providing stability to
multi-year research projects.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill
likely would not impact any state agencies or departments. CDFA
indicates that that the Program's annual budget is $548,000,
funded exclusively by cost recovery and an assessment on the
sale of vertebrate pest control materials sold, distributed, or
used by County Agricultural Commissioners.
SUPPORT: (Verified7/14/15)
California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association
California Alfalfa & Forage Association
California Citrus Mutual
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Fresh Fruit Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified7/14/15)
None received
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "Each year
rodents such as ground squirrels, pocket gophers, and rats along
with coyotes, birds and other animals cause millions of dollars
of damage to California's agriculture, infrastructure, and
public health. Farmers, park managers, foresters, and others,
including homeowners, use an integrated approach to deal with
these important and frequently devastating pest problems. To
address serious vertebrate pest problems in the State,
rodenticide baits are sold by county agricultural commissioner's
offices. These materials are essential for farmers, resource
managers, public health agents and others to deal with the many
vertebrate pest problems throughout the state."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 6/1/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
Prepared by:Anne Megaro / AGRI. / (916) 651-1508
7/14/15 16:55:13
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