BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 1976|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520    Fax: (916)      |                              |
          |327-4478                          |                              |
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 1976
          Author:   Irwin (D) and Williams (D)
          Amended:  6/22/16 in Senate
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE:  5-0, 6/21/16
           AYES:  Galgiani, Cannella, Berryhill, Pan, Wolk

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  76-0, 4/14/16 (Consent) - See last page for  
            vote

           SUBJECT:   Food and agriculture:  marketing advisory and  
                     promotional boards, councils, and commissions


          SOURCE:    California Avocado Commission


          DIGEST:  This bill exempts California agricultural advisory  
          boards, commissions, and councils from the Bagley-Keene Open  
          Meeting Act requirement that each teleconference location be  
          identified. This bill also reduces the number of handler members  
          on the California Avocado Commission (CAC) and reduces the time  
          permitted to submit producer information to the California  
          Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).  

          ANALYSIS:  

          Existing law:

           1) Requires that all meetings of a state body be conducted  








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             openly and allow all persons to attend any meeting, with  
             exceptions (Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, Government Code §  
             11120 et seq.).

           2) Permits a state body from holding a meeting by  
             teleconference if, among other conditions, each  
             teleconference location is identified in the notice and  
             agenda of the meeting. 

           3) Establishes the CAC, composed of 10 producers and four  
             handlers elected by the industry and one public member  
             appointed by CDFA.  

           4) Divides California into five districts representing  
             approximately 20% of the avocado production. 

           5) Provides for CAC membership, voting procedures, duties and  
             powers, assessment rates, recordkeeping, quality standards,  
             penalties, and referendum procedures including continuance  
             and termination.

          This bill:

           1) Exempts California agricultural advisory boards,  
             commissions, and councils from the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting  
             Act requirement that for teleconference meetings, each  
             teleconference location be identified.

           2) Finds and declares that this exemption would impose a  
             limitation on the public's right of access to meetings;  
             however, in order for these governmental bodies to hold  
             meetings and make timely decisions, it is in the state's  
             interest to revise requirements for teleconferences to  
             encourage participation by directors.  

           3) Decreases from four to two the number of avocado handlers  
             elected to the CAC.

           4) Decreases from two to one the number of alternate handler  
             members.

           5) Decreases from eleven to nine the number of voting members  
             if the CAC consists of three or four districts and ten voting  
             members if the CAC consists of five districts.







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           6) Deletes the provision allowing any handler handling 30% or  
             more of the volume of avocados to appoint a handler member to  
             the CAC.

           7) Requires a vacancy of a member position on the CAC to be  
             filled by a majority vote of the CAC.

           8) Deletes the provision that a producer seeking election in  
             one district shall not seek election in any other district  
             for four years.

           9) Requires handlers to submit names, mailing addresses, grove  
             location, and handled volume to the secretary within 60 days  
             of the request.

           10)Makes technical changes.
          
          Background
          
          The CAC was created in 1978 to benefit California and the  
          industry by addressing advertising, promotion, research, quality  
          and maturity standards, crop statistics, and public education  
          (Food and Agricultural Code § 67001 et seq.).

          California leads the nation in avocado production, where in  
          2014, 54,000 acres were harvested with a farm gate value of $3.3  
          million.

          The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act ensures that the actions and  
          deliberations of state agencies be conducted openly (Government  
          Code § 11120 et seq.).  All meetings shall be publically  
          available for any person to attend, with exceptions for  
          closed-door sessions.  If a meeting is held via teleconference,  
          it shall comply with the following requirements:

           The meeting shall be audibly accessible at the location  
            specified in the meeting notice.

           Agendas shall be posted at all teleconference locations.

           Each teleconference location shall be identified in the notice  
            and agenda and be accessible to the public.








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           All votes shall be taken by roll call.

           At least one member shall be physically present at the  
            location specified in the meeting notice.
          
          Comments
          
          Need for this bill. This bill, in part, ratifies the action  
          taken by the CAC board on October 15, 2015.  At this meeting,  
          the board raised concern that the new board seat configuration  
          enacted by AB 958 could potentially give handlers a larger  
          percentage of the total board votes than was previously  
          established.  The board shared letters of support from the  
          handler community that showed a general consensus for reducing  
          the number of handler members on the CAC board.  The board then  
          voted unanimously to reduce the number of handler members from  
          four to two, with one handler alternate member.

          This bill also exempts agricultural commissions, councils, and  
          advisory boards from the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act  
          requirement that for teleconferenced meetings, each  
          teleconference location be identified on the meeting's notice  
          and agenda.  Supporters of this bill state that it is  
          impractical to include the address for each location and that  
          participation by directors will be adversely affected.  For  
          example, a director could not continue their participation if  
          they moved to a different location for any reason.  Also, if a  
          director cannot participate, it may cause the meeting to be  
          cancelled which adversely affects timely decision making by  
          programs.  

          Public Access.  By exempting agricultural state bodies from the  
          telecommunication location requirements as stated above, this  
          bill imposes a limitation on the public's right of access to  
          meetings.  This bill finds that these limitations are needed to  
          protect the state's interest to encourage participation by  
          directors, many of which are located in remote areas that are  
          difficult for the public to access.  

          Commissions and Councils.  There are approximately 16 active  
          commissions and councils, all of which are governed by boards of  
          directors and overseen by the California Department of Food and  
          Agriculture (CDFA).  These entities were created to enhance  
          their industries by investing in promotion, advertising,  







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          education, marketing research, scientific research, and/or the  
          creation and regulation of quality standards.  Generally,  
          commissions and councils are initiated by the industry and go  
          into effect following an affirmative industry referendum vote  
          and, at times, a periodic vote to reaffirm their existence.   
          Once in effect, every member of the industry, as specified, is  
          required to follow all laws and regulations including, but not  
          limited to, the payment of assessment fees.

          Unlike marketing orders and marketing agreements, commissions  
          and councils are created through commodity-specific legislation.  
           Generally, councils are advisory to CDFA and all actions are  
          subject to CDFA approval.  Commissions have greater autonomy and  
          do not serve an advisory purpose; however, CDFA must concur with  
          their annual budget and activities statement, and CDFA has the  
          authority to issue cease and desist orders to commission actions  
          that CDFA deems to not be in the public interest.

          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   No


          SUPPORT:   (Verified8/2/16)


          California Avocado Commission (source)
          California Apple Commission
          California Blueberry Commission
          California Cut Flower Commission
          California Date Commission
          California Rice Commission
          California Sheep Commission
          California Strawberry Commission
          California Walnut Commission
          Olive Oil Commission of California 


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified8/2/16)


          None received

          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:  According to the author, "This bill is  
          intended to codify a motion that was unanimously approved by the  







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          California Avocado Commission (CAC) Board in 2015 and removes  
          the requirement to post physical locations for teleconferences  
          by an agricultural marketing board or industry council.  

          The CAC has served for over 35 years as the official information  
          source for California avocados and the California avocado  
          industry.  As the industry has evolved over time, the commission  
          and the Legislature have taken actions to reflect modern  
          changes.  Last year, AB 958 changed the membership and district  
          reapportionment to modernize the commission and provide it with  
          more flexibility to adapt.  This bill builds on that to codify  
          motions by the Board that better proportionately represent the  
          handlers-to-producers ratio on the commission and change how  
          commission vacancies are filled to match other commodity boards.

          Many members of agricultural marketing boards or industry  
          councils reside in remote locations across the state which make  
          teleconference meetings among members especially convenient.   
          However, many members may call from a vehicle or need to move  
          locations due to last minute emergencies.  As the purpose of  
          having a teleconference is to accommodate members to  
          participate, posting a physical location creates an undue burden  
          for the group who may not have one and therefore be in violation  
          of the law.  This bill does not change the requirement that  
          phone numbers be provided for public participation, but only  
          removes the posted location obligation."

          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  76-0, 4/14/16
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, 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, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,  
            Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty,  
            Medina, Mullin, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk,  
            Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark  
            Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams,  
            Wood, Rendon
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Irwin, Levine, Melendez, Nazarian

          Prepared by:Anne Megaro / AGRI. / (916) 651-1508
          8/3/16 18:09:01







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