BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1039|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1039
Author: Committee on Agriculture
Amended: 4/21/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE: 5-0, 7/7/15
AYES: Galgiani, Cannella, Berryhill, Pan, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Fertilizing materials: violations: administrative
penalty: filing of final judgment
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill removes the authority of the California
Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to levy a civil
penalty against a person in violation provisions relating to
fertilizer, and instead authorizes CDFA to levy an
administrative penalty; authorizes CDFA to file the department's
final decision directing payment of an administrative penalty
and, if applicable, an order denying a petition for a writ of
administrative mandamus with the county court clerk who shall
enter judgement immediately and at no cost.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Defines "fertilizing material" as any commercial fertilizer,
agricultural mineral, auxiliary soil and plant substance,
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organic input material, or packaged soil amendment.
2)Requires CDFA to adopt and enforce regulations relating to the
manufacturing, labeling, tonnage reporting, inspection, and
distribution of fertilizing materials.
3)Requires every person who manufactures or distributes
fertilizing materials to obtain a license from CDFA.
4)Requires every fertilizer material label, and any changes to
that label other than weight or package size, to be registered
with CDFA. CDFA may require proof of labeling statements,
including scientific data and evaluation.
5)Establishes the Fertilizer Inspection Advisory Board,
consisting of nine members appointed by the secretary, to make
recommendations on all matters pertaining to fertilizing
materials such as inspection and enforcement, research and
education, budget, and fee rates.
6)Provides for misdemeanor violations, hearings, and appeals
process.
7)Authorizes the secretary to levy a civil penalty, not to
exceed $5,000, against persons in violation of fertilizing
materials laws and regulations.
This bill:
1)Replaces CDFA's authority to levy a civil penalty against a
person in violation of provisions relating to fertilizer, and
instead authorizes CDFA to levy an administrative penalty
against that person.
2)Makes conforming changes from civil to administrative
penalties.
3)Authorizes CDFA to, after a hearing, file the department's
final decision directing payment of an administrative penalty
and, if applicable, an order denying a petition for a writ of
administrative mandamus with the county court clerk.
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4)Requires the county court clerk to enter judgement immediately
and at no cost.
Background
The Fertilizing Materials Inspection Program within CDFA ensures
that fertilizing materials distributed in California are safe,
effective, and properly identified as to the quality and
quantity of materials represented on the product label.
Inspectors collect and test samples, respond to consumer
complaints, and enforce laws and regulations.
Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) was established
in 1990 to provide funding for research and education regarding
the use and handling of fertilizing material including, but not
limited to, any environmental effects. FREP is funded through a
mill fee on the sale of fertilizer materials.
Comments
Civil vs. administrative penalties. As stated in the author's
argument, additional avenues are needed to adjudicate those in
violation of provisions of the Food and Agricultural Code. In
the past few years, several bills have addressed this issue by
authorizing CDFA to levy administrative penalties instead of
taking violators to court (see the Senate Committee on
Agriculture analysis for related legislation). This bill is one
more in this series, and perhaps not the last, that seeks to
penalize violators without requiring civil action. These bills
also require specific notice, hearing, and appeals procedures to
afford the alleged violator their right of due process.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/18/15)
None received
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OPPOSITION: (Verified8/18/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "Due to most
county district attorneys having very full criminal prosecution
schedules, many violations of the Food and Agricultural Code
don't get prosecuted. It has been the policy of the Legislature
in recent years to adopt similar provisions for direct
adjudication with the courts for various violations enforced by
CDFA and the county agricultural commissioners. The policy
concern raised legislatively has been that 'due process' is
followed and an 'appeal' option is made available to the
violator. These requirements have been followed and are
included in this proposal."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15
AYES: Achadjian, 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-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark
Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Jones, O'Donnell, Olsen, Waldron,
Weber
Prepared by:Anne Megaro / AGRI. / (916) 651-1508
8/19/15 20:39:09
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