BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1976


                                                                    Page  1


          (Without Reference to File)

          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB  
          1976 (Irwin and Williams)


          As Amended  August 19, 2016


          Majority vote


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          |ASSEMBLY:  |76-0  |(April 14,     |SENATE: |39-0  |(August 23,      |
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          |COMMITTEE VOTE: |18-0 |(August 30,     |RECOMMENDATION:   |concur     |
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          (G.O.)


          Original Committee Reference:  G.O.


          SUMMARY:  Makes several changes to California Avocado Commission  
          (CAC) and the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Bagley-Keene).   








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          Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Changes from four to two the number of avocado handlers  
            (handlers) as members of the CAC Board (Board).
          2)Changes from two to one the number of alternative handlers for  
            the Board.


          3)Deletes provision to having alternative handler members being  
            assigned to serve as the alternate to specific handler  
            members. 


          4)Lowers from 11 to nine member of the Board if there are three  
            or four CAC districts.


          5)Changes information required for a list of CAC producers by  
            deleting district numbers and adding avocado grove locations.


          6)Changes the time from 90 days to 60 days when the list of CAC  
            producers needs to be sent to CDFA, upon a written request  
            from CDFA. 


          The Senate amendments:


          1)Change the Bagley-Keene open meeting act teleconferencing for  
            agricultural marketing and advisory boards, commissions and  
            councils (advisory board) from requiring a physical location  
            for each board member participating by teleconference to be  
            noticed and open to the public to the following:
             a)   Require any member of the advisory board that  
               participates by teleconference be listed in the minutes of  
               the meeting and provide at least 24 hour notice prior to  
               the meeting;
             b)   Require, for an advisory board having a teleconference  
               meeting to provide a primary physical location of the  
               advisory board meeting open to the public;








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             c)   Require at least one member of the commission or council  
               shall be in attendance at the primary physical meeting  
               location.


             d)   Require, for an advisory board having a teleconference  
               meeting, the meeting agenda to contain the teleconference  
               phone number, Web site or other information that grant the  
               public access to the meeting; 


             e)   State that this section does not exempt the advisory  
               board from providing information for physical location of  
               meeting and any teleconferencing participation information,  
               as specified; and,


             f)   Require the advisory board, prior to a teleconference  
               meeting, to adopt teleconference guidelines that include,  
               but are not limited to, cancellation due to technical  
               issues, ensuring transparency, and public access. 


          2)Make technical and clarifying amendments related to the  
            election of handlers and their alternates for CAC.  
          3)Exempt from the definition of avocado producer or grower,  
            persons who produced less than an annual average of 10,000  
            pounds of avocado annually in the last three years. 


          4)Require handlers who are nominated and elected to CAC to have  
            handled at least 1% of the total volume of industry avocados  
            in the previous year and require, once elected, the handlers  
            maintain these eligibility requirements.


          5)Make findings and declarations that it is in the state's  
            interest to revise the requirements for teleconferences of the  
            Bagley-Keene for these boards, councils, and commissions in  
            order to encourage participation by directors.








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          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Requires that all meetings of a state body be conducted openly  
            and allow all persons to attend any meeting, with exceptions.
          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.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, this bill will incur  
          negligible state costs. 


          COMMENTS: 


          Purpose of the Bill:  According to the author: "AB 1976 makes a  
          change to teleconference meetings for certain agricultural  
          programs.  Many members of agricultural marketing programs  
          reside in remote locations across the state which make  
          teleconferences great tools for conducting meetings.  Current  
          law requires a physical location to be posted for every member  
          of the meeting.  However, many members may call from a vehicle  








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          or need to move locations due to last minute emergencies.  Due  
          to the nature of these programs, this can create an undue burden  
          for members of the commission who may not have a stable location  
          and therefore would be in violation of the law.  To ensure the  
          public has access to the meetings and accommodate the members of  
          these unique groups, this bill requires that one physical  
          location be posted in the agenda for meetings with at least one  
          member present.  The bill still ensures that phone numbers be  
          provided for public participation.  This will allow members of  
          the public to access meetings at their convenience, either in  
          person or by phone, while taking into consideration unique  
          difficulties facing members of these agricultural programs."


          Background:  When the Legislature enacted the Bagley-Keene Act  
          of 1967 it essentially said that when a body sits down to  
          develop its consensus, there needs to be a seat at the table  
          reserved for the public.  In doing so, the Legislature has  
          provided the public with the ability to monitor and be part of  
          the decision-making process.  Bagley-Keene explicitly mandates  
          open meetings for California State agencies, boards, and  
          commissions and facilitates transparency of government  
          activities and protects the rights of citizens to participate in  
          state government deliberations.  Therefore, absent a specific  
          reason to keep the public out of meetings, the public should be  
          allowed to monitor and participate in the decision-making  
          process.  Similarly, the California's Brown Act of 1953 protects  
          citizen's rights to open meetings at the local and county  
          government levels. 


          Bagley-Keene provides if a meeting is held via teleconference,  
          it shall comply with the following requirements:


          1)The meeting shall be audibly accessible at the location  
            specified in the meeting notice.
          2)Agendas shall be posted at all teleconference locations.


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








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          4)All votes shall be taken by roll call.


          5)At least one member shall be physically present at the  
            location specified in the meeting notice.


          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  
          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.









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          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.


          Prior/Related Legislation:


          SB 103 (Liu), of 2011-12.  Would have made substantive changes  
          to provisions of the Act relating to teleconference meetings.   
          (Died Assembly Appropriations Suspense File)


          SB 962 (Liu), Chapter 482, Statutes of 2010.  Allowed the use of  
          videoconferencing and teleconferencing at the court's discretion  
          and subject to availability for prisoners to participate in  
          court proceedings for the termination of their parental rights  
          or the court ordered dependency petition of their child. 


          SB 519 (Committee on Governmental Organization), Chapter 92,  
          Statutes of 2007.  Amended the Bagley-Keene Act to authorize the  
          calling of a special meeting to provide for an interim executive  
          officer of a state body upon the death, incapacity, or vacancy  
          in the office of the executive officer. 


          AB 277 (Mountjoy), Chapter 288, Statutes of 2005.  Made  
          permanent certain provisions authorizing closed sessions for  
          purposes of discussing security related issues pertaining to a  
          state body.









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          AB 192 (Canciamilla), Chapter 243, Statutes of 2001.  Made  
          various changes to the Bagley-keene Act, which governs meetings  
          held by state bodies, to make it consistent with provisions of  
          the Ralph M. Brown Act, which governs meetings of legislative  
          bodies of local agencies. 


          SB 95 (Ayala), Chapter 949, Statutes of 1997.  Made various  
          changes to the Bagley-Knee Act by expanding the notice,  
          disclosure and reporting requirements for open and closed  
          meetings of state bodies. 


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
          Kenton Stanhope / G.O. / (916) 319-2531  FN:  0005011