BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Senator Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 862 Hearing Date: 7/7/15
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|Author: |Committee on Agriculture |
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|Version: |6/25/15 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Anne Megaro |
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Subject: Agriculture
SUMMARY :
This bill would make clarifying and substantive changes to the
Food and Agricultural Code in regards to citrus pest and disease
prevention expenditure reimbursements and would add "cultivated
mushrooms" and "herbs" to the list of products that cannot be
sold in areas in proximity to a certified farmers' market. This
bill makes technical changes.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING
LAW :
The California Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee
(CCPDPC) within the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) was created to advise the secretary on
efforts to prevent and manage citrus pests and diseases. An
assessment is levied on citrus producers and deposited into the
Citrus Disease Management Account for the sole purpose of
combating citrus-specific pests and diseases. This account may
also contain funds from federal and other non-General Fund
sources. The current assessment rate is 8 cents per 40 pound
carton, which amounts to $16 million annually and represents 64%
of the total budget for this program (Food and Agricultural Code
§5911 et seq.).
Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) is an invasive pest that feeds on
citrus plants' leaves and stems and causes shoot deformation and
plant stunting. More importantly, ACP may transmit
Huanglongbing (HLB), a bacterial plant disease that causes
citrus trees to produce unpalatable/inedible fruit before
ultimately killing the tree.
AB 862 (Committee on Agriculture) Page
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CDFA is responsible for administering and regulating the direct
sale of agricultural products to consumers to ensure product
quality and to prevent fraud, deception, or misrepresentation in
the marketplace. One form of direct marketing regulated by CDFA
is certified farmers' markets (CFM). Currently, there are
nearly 800 CFMs in California and 3,350 certified farmers
selling directly to consumers. At the local level, county
agricultural commissioners are responsible for issuing producer
and operator certificates and conducting on-site inspections to
verify that all agricultural products sold at the CFM are grown
by the producer (Food and Agricultural Code §47000 et seq.).
The Certified Farmers' Market Advisory Committee, composed of 17
members appointed by the secretary of CDFA, was created to make
recommendations to the secretary on all matters pertaining to
direct marketing, including administration, enforcement,
inspections, fees, civil penalties, and an annual budget (Food
and Agricultural Code §47011).
Current law:
1) Authorizes CCPDPC to develop, under the approval of the
secretary, a statewide citrus-specific pest and disease
work plan and recommend an annual assessment rate and
budget. The CCPDPC shall reimburse the secretary for all
reasonable expenditures incurred in carrying out,
implementing, and administering the statewide work plan.
2) Authorizes CDFA to adopt regulations to encourage the
sale of California agricultural products directly from
farmer to consumer, and to ensure that sales activities are
free from fraud, deception, or misrepresentation.
3) Requires a CFM operator to annually register with CDFA
by applying for and obtaining a certificate from the county
agricultural commissioner.
4) Requires all vendors to pay a stall fee not greater than
$2.00 per marketing day, with exceptions. Fees are
collected by the CFM operator and deposited into the
Department of Food and Agriculture Fund to be used to cover
the reasonable costs to carry out CFM administration,
inspection, and enforcement (Food and Agricultural Code
§47021).
AB 862 (Committee on Agriculture) Page
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5) Requires CFM vendors to post a conspicuous sign at the
point of sale that states the name and county location of
the vendor's farm/ranch and the statement "We Grow What We
Sell" or such similar statement.
6) Prohibits CFM operators who operate other
non-agricultural marketing events in close proximity to a
CFM from allowing the sale of fresh whole fruits, nuts,
vegetables, and flowers outside of the CFM area.
PROPOSED
LAW :
This bill:
1) Makes technical amendments to the Food and Agricultural
Code such as correcting the name of the state Department of
Public Health, providing the correct name for county
agricultural commissioners and county sealers of weights
and measures, and clarifying that any division, office, or
other entity within CDFA, rather than any agency within
CDFA, may issue or renew licenses, registrations, or other
indicia of authority issued by the department.
2) Allows the secretary of CDFA to collect all, rather than
only reasonable, expenditures for costs relating to citrus
pest and disease prevention.
3) Adds "cultivated mushrooms" and "herbs" to the list of
products that cannot be sold in areas in proximity to a
certified farmers' market.
4) Makes technical amendments.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
According to the author, "This is the Assembly Committee on
Agriculture's Omnibus bill to make corrections and provide
clarifications to the codes on agricultural matters. The
provisions of this measure are non-controversial, have no
opposition, and have been vented with the appropriate agencies
and industry groups."
COMMENTS :
AB 862 (Committee on Agriculture) Page
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Citrus. Last year's SB 1018 (De León), which was signed into
law, specifies that only reasonable, rather than all,
expenditures incurred by CDFA be reimbursed from the Citrus
Disease Management Account for responsibilities related to the
Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program. This bill also
requires the secretary to first notify the CCPDPC of any changes
to program activities or increases in expenditures.
SB 1018 addressed citrus industry concerns that CCPDPC was not
notified before budgetary spending authority was increased or
when additional funds were requested by CDFA to cover costs
related to this program. The current bill would retain
provisions of SB 1018 but would require the CCPDPC to reimburse
the secretary for all expenditures incurred in carrying out this
program.
Mushrooms and herbs. This bill would add only cultivated
mushrooms and herbs, not all agricultural products, to the list
of products banned from sale in areas near a CFM. When these
CFM laws were enacted, the intent was to ban only traditional
raw products (such as fresh whole fruits, vegetables, nuts, and
flowers) from being sold in an adjacent non-certified market or
vending area. However, cultivated mushrooms and herbs were
inadvertently left out at that time and are now included in this
bill.
AB 1135. The City of Beverly Hills has expressed support for
the CFM language that was in AB 1135 which has now been moved
into AB 862, however, a letter of support with the updated bill
number was not available by the committee deadline.
RELATED
LEGISLATION :
AB 1871 (Dickenson), Chapter 579, Statutes of 2014. Revises
provisions related to certified farmers' markets by increasing
fees and penalties and expanding requirements, enforcement, and
violations.
SB 1018 (De León), Chapter 924, Statutes of 2014. Specifies
that only reasonable, rather than all, expenditures incurred by
CDFA be reimbursed from the Citrus Disease Management Account
for responsibilities related to the Citrus Pest and Disease
AB 862 (Committee on Agriculture) Page
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Prevention Program, and requires the secretary to notify the
California Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee prior to
making any changes to program activities or increases in
expenditures.
AB 281 (De León) Chapter 426, Statutes of 2009. Establishes the
California Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee and the
Citrus Disease Management Account within CDFA to prevent and
manage citrus pests and diseases, and allows the committee to
levy fees on citrus producers to pay for citrus disease
detection and control programs.
AB 593 (Strom-Martin), Chapter 833, Statutes of 1999. Codifies
regulations exempting direct marketers from specified packing
and labeling standards, amends fee structures, and authorizes
farmers' markets to establish rules and procedures.
PRIOR
ACTIONS :
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|Assembly Floor: |74 - 0 |
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|Assembly Appropriations Committee: |17 - 0 |
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|Assembly Agriculture Committee: |9 - 0 |
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SUPPORT :
Certified Farmers' Markets of Sacramento
OPPOSITION :
None received
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