BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1826 (Mark Stone) - Organic products
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|Version: June 30, 2016 |Policy Vote: AGRI. 5 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Robert Ingenito |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1826 would (1) modify the California Organic
Products Act of 2003, (2) revise the composition of the
California Organic Products Advisory Committee, (3) revise
registration fee payment tiers based on gross product sales, and
(4) revise required information provided during registration and
for recordkeeping.
Fiscal
Impact: To implement the requirements of this measure, the
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) estimates a
one-time cost of $107,000 for reprogramming the State Organics
Program's (SOP's) online registration system and database which
can be absorbed within SOP's Department of Food and Agriculture
Fund reserve. Specifically, CDFA would have to restructure the
application process, data collection and assignments, and the
fee schedule.
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In addition, CDFA anticipates a reduction in annual revenue of
approximately $164,000 (Department of Food and Agriculture Fund)
resulting from the reduction and consolidation of fee categories
and the removal of registration requirements for specified
operations.
Background: Federal, state, and local agencies are all participate in the
regulation of organic products. California's SOP was created
under the California Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. The
federal Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 authorized the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish the
National Organic Program (NOP). Once the NOP was fully
implemented in 2002, California renamed and revised the act to
the California Organic Products Act of 2003 to incorporate NOP
standards and regulations in conjunction with the SOP.
California is the only state with its own organic program. The
SOP requires organic producers, processors, handlers, retailers,
wholesalers, and brokers to register with CDFA to verify SOP
compliance throughout the production and supply chain.
Registration fees range from $25 to $3,000 annually depending on
size of production; however, producers whose annual organic
gross sales are $5,000 or less are exempt from registration.
Fees are used by CDFA to fulfill responsibilities under the SOP.
On the local level, county agricultural commissioners (CAC)
contract with CDFA to provide SOP enforcement and compliance.
On the federal level, the NOP provides national regulatory
oversight and enforcement of USDA organic standards. The NOP
determines which materials may be used in organic production and
periodically reviews and updates these standards, investigates
complaints and violations, and provides accreditation for
third-party organic certifiers.
Under current law, CDFA, through the SOP, registers and enforces
organic provisions related to raw agricultural products. SOP's
enforcement activities are coordinated with the Department of
Public Health, who regulates the processing or handling of
processed products, the USDA's NOP, and county agriculture
commissioners, who registers local producers and handlers.
Currently, SOP's activities include program administration;
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county biologist training; spot inspections; residue testing and
sampling; complaint investigations; registration; and, providing
information and guidance to the California organic industry.
The federal NOP program recognizes SOP as a state organic
program and has delegated enforcement of federal organic
standards and regulations to SOP.
Proposed Law:
This bill would, among other things, do the following:
Rename the California Organic Products Act of 2003 as
the California Organic Food and Farming Act (Act).
Change the membership of the advisory committee as
specified.
Authorize CDFA, in consultation with the advisory
committee, to establish procedures and conduct all of the
following activities, to the extent that funds are
available: receive and investigate complaints; conduct
periodic spot inspections and prohibited substance testing;
conduct farmers' market inspections; support organic
agriculture through education, outreach and other
programmatic activities; reimburse investigation,
enforcement and market surveillance expenses; and conduct
hearings, appeals, mediation or settlement conferences.
Require investigation, inspection, and prohibited
material testing reports to be forwarded to CDFA for
enforcement.
Require CDFA to coordinate SOP activities with other
county and state licensing, registration, inspection, and
fee collection procedures.
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Require any monies collected pursuant to the Food and
Agricultural Code sections of the Act to be used solely to
fulfill the responsibilities authorized under the same
sections of the Act.
Require only persons engaged in the production or
handling of raw agricultural products sold as organic and
processors of organically derived products to be registered
with CDFA.
Categorize organic product registrants as follows:
citrus; fruits excluding citrus, and vegetable row crops;
livestock or dairy; nuts; vegetables; other, such as herbs,
mushrooms, cut flowers, and nursery.
Require registrants to provide the address or assessor's
parcel number of the precise location where products are
produced, processed, or handled.
Delete the requirement that exempt producers provide
additional information regarding the production area, such
as a map and documentation of the previous 36-month land
use history.
Delete the requirement that, during registration, exempt
producers provide a list of all substances applied or used.
Consolidate fee schedule categories by combining
producers with gross sales of $10,000 to $50,000 into one
group with a registration fee of $75 and combine producers
with gross sales of $50,000 to $250,000 into a group with a
registration fee of $100.
Delete a variety of fees and registration requirements
placed on small producers, brokers, retail stores, and
persons hiring custom packing or labeling.
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Exempt the adoption, amendment, or repeal of any fee
from California state administrative procedures and only
requires the Office of Administrative Law to publish a
notice of the fee change.
Require CDFA, in consultation with the director of the
California Department of Public Health, to coordinate
registration and annual fee collection procedures.
Remove the authority of county agricultural
commissioners to deny a registration submission that is
incomplete or not in compliance.
Limit the registration fee for certifying agencies to
$500 annually.
Delete specific, prescribed, record keeping requirements
and, instead, requires the secretary, in consultation with
the Advisory Board, to determine what data and records
should be kept by registrants.
Related
Legislation: AB 2612 (Agriculture), Chapter 393, Statutes of
2010. Among other provisions, requires organic producers to
include a detailed physical description of the location where
organic products are produced and requires exempt producers to
include a map, as specified, and exempts producers whose annual
organic gross sales are $5,000 or less.
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