BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1976| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1976 Author: Irwin (D) and Williams (D) Amended: 8/19/16 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 specified agricultural marketing and promotional 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 makes other changes and requirements regarding commission membership, definitions, and time permitted to submit information to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Senate Floor Amendments of 8/19/16 clarify requirements for conducting teleconference meetings to ensure transparency and public participation; exclude smaller avocado growers from the definition of "producer" or "grower;" and require handlers to handle one percent or more of the total industry volume of AB 1976 Page 2 avocados in order to be nominated and elected to the CAC. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1) Requires that all meetings of a state body be conducted 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 to hold 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 the agricultural marketing and promotion advisory boards, commissions, and councils created in Divisions 21 and 22 of the Food and Agricultural Code from the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act requirement for teleconference meetings that each teleconference location be identified. 2) Requires these entities to provide specific information to the public when conducting teleconference meetings. These requirements include listing in the meeting minutes the names of the members participating by teleconference; requiring a telephone number and a website address (if applicable) where the public can access the meeting remotely; requiring members to provide 24-hour notice if they will be participating by AB 1976 Page 3 teleconference; requiring a physical meeting location attended by at least one member; and requiring the advisory board, commission, or council to adopt teleconferencing guidelines to ensure transparency and public participation. 3) 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. 4) Finds that this bill is necessary because of the unique circumstances affecting members of entities authorized in Divisions 21 and 22 of the Food and Agricultural Code as a result of involvement in the production, processing, or handling of agricultural products. 5) Decreases from four to two the number of avocado handlers elected to the CAC. 6) Decreases from two to one the number of alternate handler members. 7) 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. 8) Deletes the provision allowing any handler handling 30% or more of the volume of avocados to appoint a handler member to the CAC. 9) Requires a vacancy of a member position on the CAC to be filled by a majority vote of the CAC. 10)Deletes the provision that a producer seeking election in one district shall not seek election in any other district for four years. 11)Requires handlers to submit names, mailing addresses, grove location, and handled volume to the secretary within 60 days of the request. AB 1976 Page 4 12)Excludes avocado growers producing less than 10,000 pounds per year from the definition of "producer" or "grower." 13)Requires avocado handlers to handle at least one percent of the total industry volume of avocados in order to be nominated and elected to the CAC and that they must maintain this eligibility throughout the entire term of office. 14)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. 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, AB 1976 Page 5 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 marketing and promotional 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, 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 AB 1976 Page 6 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. Other agricultural governing bodies. There are many other agricultural advisory boards and committees that were not created by Divisions 21 and 22 of the Food and Agricultural Code and, therefore, not included in this bill. A short list includes the Certified Farmers' Market Advisory Committee, the Fertilizer Inspection Advisory Board, the Livestock Identification Advisory Board, the Seed Advisory Board, and the State Board of Food and Agriculture. Generally, these entities advise the secretary of CDFA on issues regarding regulations rather than commodity-specific marketing and promotional activities. This bill is narrowly tailored to address only the agricultural marketing and promotional advisory boards, commissions, and councils. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified8/19/16) 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 AB 1976 Page 7 Olive Oil Commission of California OPPOSITION: (Verified8/19/16) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "This bill is intended to codify a motion that was unanimously approved by the 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 AB 1976 Page 8 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 8/22/16 20:37:45 **** END ****