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: 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
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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
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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,
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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
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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
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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
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