BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1811
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1811 (Dodd)
As Amended May 27, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(April 21, |SENATE: |37-0 |(August 11, |
| | |2016) | | |2016) |
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: | 9-0 | (August 17, |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
| | |2016) | | |
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Agri.
Original Committee Reference: AGRI.
SUMMARY: Authorizes the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) to develop a new schedule for organic input
material (OIM) registration; authorize provisional label
registration, as specified; prioritize inspections for high-risk
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products and manufacturers; and, authorize CDFA to determine
whether a fertilizer material is mislabeled, as specified.
The Senate amendments add authority for CDFA to develop a new
schedule for OIM registrations, permit CDFA to determine if a
new registration is required when OIM inputs change, and provide
for OIM manufacturers to conduct business during registration
renewals.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS: Currently, all fertilizing materials must renew label
registrations on the same day (January 1st of the odd-numbered
year). In order to approve a label registration, CDFA must
ensure that all claims, submitted data, and other information
are valid. If scientific evaluation is required, a CDFA senior
environmental scientist reviews the data, performs an
environmental assessment, and consults with outside experts.
After this process, the label may be approved. Given that all
label registrations are due on the same date, this bill would
allow CDFA to develop a new schedule to change registration
renewal dates to ease workload on departmental staff.
CDFA, under current law, is required to inspect every OIM
manufacturer at least once per year. Given budget constraints,
CDFA has had to use alternative, non-OIM sources of funding to
complete this task. Suggestions to raise the fee structure on
OIM manufacturers to fully cover this cost have been met with
concerns that higher fees would be too burdensome for smaller
OIM manufacturers. Therefore, this bill would authorize CDFA to
inspect OIM manufacturers based on high-risk factors, such as
nitrogen content, while reserving the ability for CDFA to
inspect all OIM manufacturers as needed. This is the current
practice under the national Organic Program.
Concerns have been raised by some organic fertilizer
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manufacturers that a new label is required for a product because
the organic input material changed but did not change the
nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (N-P-K) values for the final
product. For instance, if chicken feathers are replaced by
turkey feathers and the N-P-K values are consistent, should a
new label be required? This bill would authorize CDFA to make
determinations such as these on an individual basis.
This bill addresses these issues while maintaining oversight of
OIM manufacturers and products. CDFA will develop regulations
to implement these provisions.
Analysis Prepared by:
Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084 FN: 0004433