BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1826|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1826
Author: Mark Stone (D)
Amended: 6/30/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/21/16
AYES: Galgiani, Cannella, Berryhill, Pan, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 5/31/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Organic products
SOURCE: California Certified Organic Farmers
DIGEST: This bill recasts and revises the California Organic
Products Act of 2003; revises the composition of the California
Organic Products Advisory Committee; revises registration fee
payment tiers based on gross product sales; revises required
information provided during registration and for recordkeeping;
and makes technical and conforming changes.
ANALYSIS:
Existing federal law:
1) Requires the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
to develop national standards and regulations for organically
produced agricultural products to assure consumers that
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products labeled as "organic" meet consistent, uniform
standards and originate from farms with organic
certification, as authorized by the Organic Foods Production
Act of 1990.
2) Provides for definitions, regulations, organic certification
process, compliance requirements, production and handling
practices, accreditation program for certifying agents,
violations, penalties, and appropriations.
3) Establishes a National Organic Standards Board and a
National Organic Certification Cost Share Program. The
program provides reimbursement to farms up to 75% (maximum
$750) of the organic certification cost.
Existing state law:
1) Establishes the State Organic Program (SOP) to provide
organic certification and registration, conduct inspections,
collect fees and penalties, investigate violations, provide
enforcement, and otherwise regulate products sold or labeled
as organic.
2) Establishes the California Organic Products Advisory
Committee (Advisory Committee) to advise the secretary of the
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) on
organic matters. The committee consists of 15 members: six
producers, two processors, one wholesale distributor, two
consumer representatives, one environmental representative,
two technical representatives, and one retail representative.
This bill:
1) States findings and declarations in regards to California
organic agriculture and the state and federal organic
programs.
2) Renames the California Organic Products Act of 2003 as the
California Organic Food and Farming Act (Act).
3) States the purpose of the Act is to promote coordination of
federal, state and local agencies and to support organic
agriculture through education, outreach, and other
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programmatic activities.
4) Changes the membership of the advisory committee by
requiring one, instead of two, members to be consumer
representatives and adds one member to represent an
accredited certifying agency operating in California.
5) Authorizes the secretary, 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.
6) Requires investigation, inspection, and prohibited material
testing reports to be forwarded to the secretary for
enforcement.
7) Requires the secretary to coordinate SOP activities with
other county and state licensing, registration, inspection,
and fee collection procedures.
8) Defines "accredited certification agency" to mean an entity
accredited by the USDA to certify operations as compliant
with the federal organic standards.
9) Provides several definitions, such as "certified operation,"
"data," "exempt operation," "prohibited substance," "residue
testing," and "retail food establishment," among others.
10)Requires 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.
11)Requires 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 the
secretary.
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12)Categorizes organic product registrants as follows: citrus;
fruits, excluding citrus; livestock or dairy; nuts;
vegetables; other, such as apiculture, fallow ground, herbs,
mushrooms, cut flowers, and nursery.
13)Requires registrants to provide the address or assessor's
parcel number of the precise location where products are
produced, processed, or handled.
14)Deletes 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.
15)Deletes the requirement that, during registration, exempt
producers provide a list of all substances applied or used.
16)Consolidates 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 combines producers with gross
sales of $50,000 to $250,000 into a group with a registration
fee of $100.
17)Deletes a variety of fees and registration requirements
placed on small producers, brokers, retail stores, and
persons hiring custom packing or labeling.
18)Exempts 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.
19)Requires CDFA, in consultation with the director of the
California Department of Public Health, to coordinate
registration and annual fee collection procedures.
20)Removes the authority of county agricultural commissioners
(CACs) to deny a registration submission that is incomplete
or not in compliance.
21)Limits the registration fee for certifying agencies to $500
annually.
22)Authorizes certifying agencies to submit annual registration
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fees and applications on behalf of their clients.
23)Requires certifying agencies to provide records, as
specified, for inspection.
24)Exempts records from being subject to the California Public
Records Act.
25)Deletes 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.
Background
California is the leading agricultural state in the nation.
California accounts for more than 40% of the nation's organic
production, valued at more than $2.2 billion in sales of raw
agricultural products. Organic registration has steadily
increased, and in 2015 there were 4,043 organic agricultural
operations registered with the CDFA and an additional 2,694
organic products operations registered with the California
Department of Public Health.
The California Organic Foods Act of 1990 created the SOP under
CDFA to protect consumers from false or misleading organic
labeling claims. The federal Organic Foods Production Act of
1990 authorized the 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
the scale 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, CACs contract with CDFA to provide SOP
enforcement and compliance.
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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.
Only products that have been certified as meeting USDA
production and handling requirements may use the USDA organic
seal/stamp on their labels.
Comments
NOP and SOP. California is the only state with its own organic
program. Before the national program existed, California had
already begun to regulate organic agricultural production and
labeling in California (Organic Food Act, 1979). Once the NOP
was established, California aligned the SOP to accommodate and
incorporate the national standards while maintaining state
enforcement, surveillance activities, and the authority to
impose additional requirements and gather data on organic
production in the state. Currently, the SOP can regulate any
organic claim at any point in the supply chain regardless of
whether or not an operation is registered or certified organic.
For instance, according to CDFA, many of the small producers who
are exempt from organic certification sell products at certified
farmers' markets. These exempt producers (who receive $5,000 or
less annual gross sales) are required to be registered with CDFA
even though they do not have an organic certification. This
allows CDFA and CACs to conduct market inspections and
surveillance of all vendors selling at certified farmers'
markets.
Additionally, CDFA also works closely with the Department of
Pesticide Regulation for pesticide residue testing, and the
California Department of Public Health regulates processed
organic products.
Paperwork and fees. Although the value of maintaining the SOP
is recognized, organic producers are now concerned with the
volume of paperwork and multiple fees required to be a certified
organic producer in California. The third-party accrediting
agency, local CACs, CDFA, and certified farmers' markets (if
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they participate in these markets) all require similar and very
detailed information regarding every plot of land and commodity
produced. This bill changes the fee structure and removes
certain reporting requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, to implement
the requirements of this bill, CDFA estimates a one-time cost of
$107,000 for reprogramming the 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.
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.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/12/16)
California Certified Organic Farmers (source)
Archi's Acres, B Corp.
Be Wise Ranch, Inc.
Bennett Farms, Inc.
Café Virtuoso
California Certified Organic Farmers Pacific Southwest Chapter
California Climate and Agriculture Network
California Compost Coalition
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Farmlink
California League of Conservation Voters
Californians Against Waste
Capay Organic
Corigin
Cornucopia Institute
Ecological Farming Association
Environment California
Environmental Working Group
The Farmers Guild
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Frey Vineyards
Harpos Organics
Harvest Fields Organic Farm
Heirloom Organic Gardens
Hunter Orchards
LaRocca Vineyards
Orange County Produce LLC
Organic Trade Association
Panorama Meats
Pesticide Action Network
The Peterson Family
Phil Foster Ranch
Quarter Acre Farm
Roots of Change
San Diego County Farm Bureau
Seven Bridges Cooperative Microbrewery, Inc.
Stoney Point-Pine Hill Orchards
Straus Family Creamery
T&D Willey Farms
Traditional Medicinals, Inc.
One individual
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/12/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "Organic
products are wanted more and more throughout the country and
California organic producers have grown to fill that increased
demand. As these farmers work to provide these products they are
required to comply with both state and national programs,
something that producers in other states are not required to do.
California's organics program has been critical in developing
the state into the global leader in organics, but has also
resulted in some duplicative fees and paperwork for producers.
AB 1826 will help limit those duplications and ensure California
remains as a top producer of organic products, while maintaining
the integrity of the California organics market."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 5/31/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
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Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,
Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Olsen, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines, Harper, Patterson
Prepared by:Anne Megaro / AGRI. / (916) 651-1508
8/15/16 20:17:20
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