BILL NUMBER: AB 2324 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 15, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Eggman
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
An act to amend Sections 47000.5, 47001, and 47004 of, and to add
Section 47005.4 to, the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to
certified farmers' markets.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2324, as amended, Eggman. Certified farmers' markets.
Existing law provides for the regulation of certified farmers'
markets and authorizes the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to adopt
regulations to encourage the direct sale by farmers to the public of
all types of California agricultural products. Existing law requires
vendors of agricultural products selling within a certified farmers'
market to comply with specified requirements. Existing law makes it
unlawful to violate the provisions regulating certified farmers'
markets, and authorizes the secretary or a county agricultural
commissioner, in lieu of prosecution, to levy a civil penalty against
a person who violates those provisions. Existing law defines
"agricultural product" for purposes of the certified farmers' market
provisions.
This bill would revise the definition of "agricultural product" to
include raw sheared wool.
This bill would specify the Legislature's intent that the
secretary, in adopting those regulations and regulations clarifying
the provisions regulating certified farmers' markets, endeavor to
keep costs incurred by farmers and certified farmers' market
operators at a minimum.
This bill would additionally require vendors of agricultural
products at certified farmers' markets to keep specified sales
records for at least 12 months and would require a vendor to make
those records available for inspection by any state or county
enforcement agency within 3 business days 24
hours of delivery of the request or within a reasonable time
period, as specified. The bill would also require a certified farmers'
market operator, upon written request by a state or county
enforcement agency pursuant to an investigation of an alleged
violation of a specified law, to commence to note and make record of
the product identity of all fresh fruits and vegetables offered for
sale by a vendor, and to furnish the agency with a copy of those
notes and records within 3 business days of a subsequent request or
within a reasonable time period, as specified. By imposing additional
requirements on vendors and operators of certified farmers' markets,
the violation of which would be a crime, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 47000.5 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
amended to read:
47000.5. The following definitions apply to this chapter, unless
otherwise specified:
(a) (1) "Agricultural product" means a fresh or processed product
produced in California, including fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs,
mushrooms, dairy, shell eggs, honey, pollen, unprocessed bees wax,
propolis, royal jelly, flowers, grains, nursery stock, raw sheared
wool, livestock meats, poultry meats, rabbit meats, and fish,
including shellfish that is produced under controlled conditions in
waters located in California.
(2) Products that are characterized as services, arts, crafts,
bakery, candies, soaps, balms, perfumes, cosmetics, pottery,
clothing, fabrics, pastas, compost, fertilizers, candles, ceramics,
foraged foods, and types of wares are not agricultural products for
purposes of this chapter. A product that combines an agricultural
product with a nonagricultural product or service in a manner that
materially increases the purchase price of the product shall
disqualify the product from being sold as an agricultural product for
purposes of this chapter.
(b) "Practice of the agricultural arts" means the undertaking of
being predominantly responsible for the decisions and actions
encompassing the various phases of producing an agricultural product.
The practice of the agricultural arts for fruit, floral, nut,
vegetable, and other plant products includes directive or actual
responsibility for all the actions of planting, growing, fertilizing,
irrigating, cultivating, pest control, and harvesting. The practice
of the agricultural arts for agricultural animal products includes
directive or actual responsibility for a substantial time of the
raising, feeding, veterinary care, and product harvesting.
(c) "Producer" means a person, partnership, corporation, or an
otherwise legally formed farm or ranch that produces agricultural
products by the practice of the agricultural arts upon land that the
person or entity owns, rents, leases, sharecrops, or otherwise
controls and has the documented legal right to possession. A person
or entity that rents, leases, or otherwise acquires the right to
possession of property essentially only for or limited to the period
of the harvest season of the agricultural products produced on that
property shall not be considered a producer under the provisions of
this chapter.
SEC. 2. Section 47001 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended
to read:
47001. (a) The secretary may adopt regulations to encourage the
direct sale by farmers to the public of all types of California
agricultural products. It is the intent of the Legislature that, in
adopting those regulations, the secretary shall endeavor to keep
costs incurred by farmers and certified farmers' market operators to
a minimum, recognizing that any administrative costs imposed on
farmers and certified farmers' market operators are generally passed
on in the form of increased prices to the public, thus economically
benefiting neither the public nor the farmer.
(b) In accordance with the intent expressed in subdivision (a),
the secretary may adopt regulations clarifying the provisions of this
chapter, including the adoption of regulations for maintaining the
quality and wholesomeness of the products offered for sale and
promoting and fostering honest selling activities for those products.
(c) The secretary may enter into a cooperative agreement with a
county agricultural commissioner to carry out the provisions of this
chapter, including, but not limited to, administration,
investigations, inspections, registrations, and assistance pertaining
to direct marketing producers and outlets. Compensation under the
cooperative agreement shall be paid from assessments and fees
collected and deposited pursuant to this chapter and shall provide
reimbursement to the county agricultural commissioner for associated
costs exclusive of the costs of certification and minimum inspections
required pursuant to Section 47020.
(d) Upon reasonable suspicion of a violation of Section 890, a
certified farmers' market operator may contract with a county
agricultural commissioner for a special onsite field or storage
verification inspection of a direct marketing producer selling in a
certified farmers' market operated and controlled by the operator.
All contracts and contract fees are subject to the discretion of the
county agricultural commissioner in the county where the verification
inspections are being requested.
SEC. 3. Section 47004 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended
to read:
47004. (a) Certified farmers' markets are California agricultural
product point-of-sale locations that are registered under the
provisions of Section 47020 and operated in accordance with this
chapter and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.
(b) The operator of a certified farmers' market shall establish a
clearly defined marketing area where only agricultural products may
be sold. Only the producer or the lawful authorized representative of
the producer may sell agricultural products within the area defined
as a certified farmers' market. Sales of agricultural products
purchased from another individual or entity shall not occur within a
certified farmers' market, and an agricultural product producer or
product dealer shall not sell his or her agricultural products to
another individual or entity with the understanding or knowledge that
the products are intended to be resold in a certified farmers'
market in violation of this chapter or the regulations adopted
pursuant to this chapter. Every producer selling within a certified
farmers' market shall comply with Section 47020.
(c) All vendors of agricultural products selling within a
certified farmers' market shall do all of the following:
(1) Post a conspicuous sign or banner at the point of sale that
states the name of the farm or ranch, the county where the farm or
ranch maintains the production grounds that produced the products
being offered for sale is located, and a statement that "We Grew What
We Are Selling" or "We Raised What We Are Selling" or "We Grow What
We Sell" or similar phrases that clearly represent that the farm or
ranch is only selling agricultural products that they themselves have
grown or raised on California land that they possess or control.
Product sales by different farms at the same vendor stand shall
separate the products from each farm or ranch and correspondingly
post the required sign or banner in direct relationship with the
sales display of the products produced by each farm.
(2) Ensure that all processed agricultural products that they
offer for sale state in a clear manner by package label, container
label, or bulk sales signage that they consist only, with the
exception of incidental flavorings and necessary preservatives, of
agricultural products grown or raised by the farm or ranch selling
them, the farm or ranch name, and the city where the farm or ranch is
located. In addition, every processed product shall identify on a
package label, container label, or on bulk sales signage the
registration number or other identity reference of the facility where
the food was processed, or another required labeling statement or
information, in accordance with Sections 110460, 114365, and 114365.2
of the Health and Safety Code, or, in the case of meat or poultry
products, the identity of the facility where the meat or poultry
products were cut and wrapped, in accordance with the applicable
United States Department of Agriculture or State of California
inspection standards, or, in the case of dairy products, the identity
of the facility where the dairy products were manufactured or
processed.
(3) Ensure all products being represented or offered for sale as
organic are clearly labeled or have conspicuous and posted
point-of-sale signage identifying the products as organic.
(4) Keep product identity, product variety, and quantity of sales
records for all agricultural product sales made to the public from
each certified farmers' market at which products were sold. Records
of these product sales shall be maintained by the vendor for at least
12 months from the date of sale.
(5) Keep product identity and relative measured weight or volume
records of all unprocessed agricultural product delivered to a
processing facility for purposes of creating processed agricultural
product intended for sale to the public at certified farmers'
markets, including the name and address of the processor, the dates
when the unprocessed product was delivered by the vendor to the
processor, the dates when the processed product was delivered to the
vendor by the processor, the character and type of processed
agricultural product produced by the processor for the vendor, and
the relative measured weight or volume of the processed product
delivered back to the vendor. These records shall be maintained by
the vendor for a minimum of 12 months from the date the vendor
received the product from the processor.
(d) Upon a written request that specifically identifies the
information desired, the records required to be kept pursuant to
paragraphs (4) and (5) of subdivision (c) shall be made available for
inspection during normal business hours to any state or county
enforcement agency charged with enforcement of this chapter within
three business days 24 hours of the
delivery of the request, or within a similar period of time that is
reasonable for the circumstances prevailing at the time.
(e) The representations required pursuant to subdivision (c) shall
be subject to the provisions and penalties specified in Section 890.
(f) An operator of a certified farmers' market that also operates,
manages, or otherwise controls a separate sales activity or vending
event or marketing area in close proximity, adjacent, or contiguous
to the operator's certified farmers' market shall not allow the sale
or distribution of fresh whole fruits, nuts, vegetables, cultivated
mushrooms, herbs, and flowers by vendors selling within those sales
activity or vending event or marketing areas.
(g) The operator of a certified farmers' market shall keep an
accurate participation record of the individual direct marketing
producers whose agricultural products were presented for sale in
their market each market day. The operators shall submit to the
department a quarterly report of the registration numbers and
participation frequency of the direct marketing producers whose
agricultural products were presented for sale in the operator's
market during that past quarter. The department shall create and
maintain online capability for reporting.
(h) Operators of certified farmers' markets may establish rules
and procedures that are more restrictive and stringent than state
laws or regulations governing or implementing this chapter, so long
as the rules and procedures are not in conflict with state laws or
regulations.
(i) Except for certified farmers' markets operated by government
agencies, nonprofit entities and other qualified operators of
certified farmers' markets shall be considered private entities and
may take actions, adopt rules, and impose requirements they deem
necessary for the proper and honest operation of their market,
subject to the application of any state or other laws. Government
agency operators of certified farmers' markets are subject to
applicable state laws, the regulations and laws of the governing
agency, and other laws governing the conduct and actions they may
take as a governmental entity.
SEC. 4. Section 47005.4 is added to the Food and Agricultural
Code, to read:
47005.4. (a) Pursuant to an investigation of an alleged violation
of Section 890, and upon a request by a state or county enforcement
agency specifying the vendor's name, farmers' market location, and
farmers' market date, the operator of a certified farmers' market
shall commence to note and make record of the product identity of all
fresh fruits and vegetables that the vendor offered for sale on the
specified farmers' market date. The operator shall furnish to the
agency copies of those notes and records within three business days
of the delivery of a subsequent written request or within a similar
period of time that is reasonable for the circumstances prevailing at
the time of request.
(b) Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted to preclude the
creation and keeping of additional information that a certified
farmers' market operator may endeavor itself to create and keep, or
to contractually require the provision of by a
vendor to provide additional information as a condition to
selling in the operator's farmers' market.
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.