BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1811 Page 1 Date of Hearing: March 30, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE Bill Dodd, Chair AB 1811 (Dodd) - As Amended February 25, 2016 SUBJECT: Fertilizer: organic input material: inspections. SUMMARY: Deletes requirement for organic input material (OIM) manufacturers to be inspected annually and makes other technical changes. Specifically, this bill: 1)Deletes the requirement that OIM manufacturers be inspected at least once per year. 2)Expands the California Department of Food and Agriculture's (CDFA) ability to do site inspections by deleting language that inspections are done during registration process. 3)Changes the approval of third party inspections from the National Organic Program (NOP) to the Secretary (Secretary) of CDFA and expands that approval to all OIM manufacturers to both in-state or out-of-state. 4)Makes technical, non-substantive changes. AB 1811 Page 2 EXISTING LAW: Existing law regulates fertilizing materials, as defined, and which includes OIM, and provides for the licensure of individuals who manufacture or distribute fertilizing materials; requires OIM manufacturers to be inspected at least once per year; authorizes CDFA to perform site inspections of OIM manufacturing processes used to validate label nutrient guarantees, claims, and compliance with specified federal standards during the registration process, and to accept inspections performed by a third-party organization recognized by NOP for out-of-state OIM manufacturers; and, requires all inspection records obtained by the third-party organization to be made available to the Secretary upon request. FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. COMMENTS: AB 856 (Caballero), Chapter 257, Statutes of 2009, established the OIM manufacturers' licensure program, with a new fee structure and authorized inspections of OIM manufacturers. This was in response to an incident of a OIM manufacturer adulterating their product with non-organic substances and putting organic growers at risk of decertification. In order to accommodate the cost of annual inspections of all OIM manufacturing facilities, CDFA has used alternative funding sources derived from non-organic fertilizer production. This has created an inequality in the marketplace. If CDFA were to raise the fee structure levied on OIM manufacturers to supplement the high inspection costs, fees would be unbearable for small manufacturers. This proposal seeks to relieve the fiscal burden borne by non-organic fertilizer producers and establish a sustainable OIM inspection protocol that is cost-effective and while maintaining oversight of OIM manufacturers. AB 1811 Page 3 The U.S. Department of Agriculture's NOP only requires facilities that produce liquid high-nitrogen products (greater than 3% nitrogen) to be inspected annually. No other state, which regulates OIM manufacturing facilities, inspects every facility annually. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION: Support California Certified Organic Farmers La Rocca Vineyards Opposition None on file. Analysis Prepared by:Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084 AB 1811 Page 4