BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1259|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1259
Author: Levine (D)
Amended: 9/1/15 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE: 3-0, 6/30/15
AYES: Galgiani, Cannella, Pan
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/14/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Bees: apiculture: state-owned lands
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife
(DFW) to consider authorizing, rather than permitting,
apiculture on department-managed wildlife areas; allows the
department to temporarily authorize the placement of bee hives
on these lands through simple lease or permit agreements that
are not subject to competitive bidding; and makes findings and
declarations. This bill contains an urgency clause.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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1)Authorizes the California Department of Food and Agriculture
(CDFA) to protect pollinator health and promote apiculture in
California (Food and Agricultural Code §29000 et seq.).
2)Authorizes county agricultural commissioners to enforce apiary
laws and regulations at the local level.
3)Prohibits any person from maintaining an apiary on public land
without the expressed oral or written approval of the entity
that is responsible for the land (Food and Agricultural Code
§29046).
4)Authorizes DFW to lease department-managed lands for
agricultural activities, such as grazing, where such
activities are consistent with the purpose of the acquired
land and compatible with the approved management plan for the
area (Fish and Game Code §1745 - 1745.1).
5)Authorizes DFW to consider permitting apiculture on
department-managed wildlife areas, where deemed appropriate.
6)Authorizes DFW to collect fees and issue permits for specific
uses of department-managed lands. Fees shall be appropriated
for the management and operation of such lands.
7)Authorizes the Department of General Services (DGS), with
consent of the affected agency, to lease state land below the
fair market rate for specified purposes (Government Code §
14670 et seq.).
This bill:
1)Makes findings and declarations in regards to honeybee health
and foraging.
2)Repeals the use of permits for apiculture on
department-managed wildlife areas.
3)Authorizes the DFW to allow temporary placement of bee hives
on department-managed wildlife areas through simple lease or
permit agreements. These agreements are not subject to
competitive bidding requirements.
4)Authorizes DFW to continue any authorization for apiculture on
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department-managed areas that it granted before January 1,
2015, without taking further action.
5)Authorizes DGS, with consent of the affected agency, to lease
state land to apiaries for up to five years at less than fair
market rent if the lease does not require exclusive use of the
land.
6)Includes an urgency clause.
Background
The U.S. honey bee industry is critical for the pollination of
agricultural crops across the nation. In California, honey bees
are necessary to pollinate fruit and nut trees as well as a
variety of row crops and native plants. These bees also produce
honey; in 2013, California producers marketed 11 million pounds
of honey worth $23 million (United States Department of
Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service).
In 2006, honey bee colony collapse disorder (CCD) was identified
as a new threat to the health and welfare of honey bees and
their hives when over 30% of bee hives nationwide died off over
the winter. CCD is characterized by a sudden abandonment and/or
disappearance of adult honey bees from their hives for reasons
not fully understood. In response to this problem, the CCD
Steering Committee and Working Team was created to help
coordinate efforts to better understand CCD and determine what
measures could be taken to improve bee health and prevent CCD.
Led by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),
participants include government, industry, and academic experts
who collaborate to conduct research, develop beekeeping best
management practices, and identify the cause(s) of CCD and
declining bee health in general.
In May 2013, the USDA and the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) issued a report on honey bee health as a
result of an October 2012 conference organized by individuals on
the CCD Steering Committee. Per the conference report,
"Consensus is building that a complex set of stressors and
pathogens is associated with CCD, and researchers are
increasingly using multi-factorial approaches to studying causes
of colony losses."
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( http://www.usda.gov/documents/ReportHoneyBeeHealth.pdf ).
On May 19, 2015, President Obama's Pollinator Health Task Force,
co-chaired by USDA and EPA, released the National Strategy to
Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators (National
Strategy). The National Strategy outlines a comprehensive
approach aimed at reducing the impact of multiple stressors,
including pests and pathogens, reduced habit, lack of forage,
and exposure to pesticides. The National Strategy's goals
include reducing honey bee colony losses over winter to no more
than 15% within 10 years, increasing the Eastern population of
monarch butterflies, and restoring or enhancing 7 million acres
of land for pollinators over the next five years though federal
actions and public/private partnerships.
( https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/P
ollinator%20Health%20Strategy%202015.pdf ).
Comments
AB 2185. Last year, AB 2185 (Eggman, Chapter 338, Statutes of
2014) was signed into law and requires DFW to consider
permitting apiculture on department-managed lands. During
implementation of this new authorization, it was discovered that
additional changes to current law were necessary to fully
achieve the goals of AB 2185. The greatest concern was that
beekeepers would be required to partake in a competitive bidding
process that would not be timely considering the seasonal nature
of apiculture and the immediate need for available foraging
land. The current bill clarifies DFW's authority and
streamlines the process for beekeepers to access DFW land.
Interim hearing. The Assembly Committee on Agriculture and the
Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials
held a joint informational hearing on October 16, 2013 on the
issue of bee health and colony collapse disorder. Expert
witnesses testified that a variety of stressors are responsible
for the decline in honey bee health, such as nutrition,
parasitic mites, pesticides, viruses, and bee management
practices. This hearing recognized that identifying local
forage opportunities for bees is a necessary part of the
solution, and that potentially favorable sites include habitat
strips along public highways and natural vegetation areas on
state and federal public lands.
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Nutrition. Several factors contributing to CCD and poor bee
health have been identified by experts, as previously stated.
It can be argued from a physiological standpoint that by
addressing nutritional requirements, bees will have the
fundamental tools needed to support a healthy immune system to
fight parasites and pathogens as well as a variety of other
environmental stressors. Meeting these nutritional requirements
has been challenging, where in some instances bees are not
provided adequate and diverse foraging.
Bees and agriculture. There may be concern as to the impact of
this bill on certain agricultural crops, specifically seedless
citrus varieties. In 2007, the Seedless Mandarin and Honeybee
Coexistence Working Group was created to address concerns of
cross-pollination of seedless mandarins that could lead to seeds
forming within these fruits, causing them to no longer be
seedless and, thus, losing value in the marketplace. Similar
concerns may exist with this bill should honey bees be placed on
state lands adjacent to sensitive agricultural crops (Food and
Agricultural Code §29810-12).
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill has
unknown administrative cost impacts, but potential minor
savings, to the Wildlife Restoration Fund (special) to allow
DFW-managed lands to be issued without competitive bidding;
unknown revenues losses, potentially in the tens of thousands of
dollars, to the General Fund and the Wildlife Restoration Fund
(special) for leases made below fair market value; and increased
costs for increased state liability (General Fund and various
special funds) for apiary activities on state lands.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/28/15)
California State Beekeepers Association
San Diego County Board of Supervisors
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/28/15)
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None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "AB 1259
benefits bees and beekeepers by increasing apiculture bee
foraging opportunities on state lands managed by the Department
of Fish and Wildlife. This bill clarifies DFW's existing
authority to authorize temporary placement of bee hives on
department-managed wildlife areas, and to continue
authorizations for placement of bee hives on state lands
previously granted by DFW before January 1, 2015. AB 1259 also
clarifies the Legislature's intent in passing AB 2185 (Eggman)
in 2014 was to increase apiculture opportunities on state lands,
and not to create new barriers. AB 1259 acknowledges the
importance of bees and the need for a streamlined and efficient
method for providing access to appropriate public lands for bee
foraging."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/14/15
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, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, 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
NO VOTE RECORDED: Linder, Medina
Prepared by:Anne Megaro / AGRI. / (916) 651-1508
9/1/15 20:41:47
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