BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2714


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          Date of Hearing:  April 20, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          AB  
          2714 (Cooper) - As Amended April 12, 2016


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          |Policy       |Agriculture                    |Vote:|9 - 0        |
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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill: 


          1)Makes legislative findings and declarations related to  
            Pierce's Disease, the importance of the California wine  
            industry, and the need for funding the Pierce's Disease  
            Control Program (PDCP).


          2)Appropriates $5 million from the General Fund to the Pierce's  
            Disease Management Account in the California Department of  
            Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Fund. 








                                                                    AB 2714


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          FISCAL EFFECT:


          This bill appropriates $5 million from the General Fund to the  
          Pierce's Disease Management Account. 


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose: According to the author, this bill will recommit  
            state funding and support to combat Pierce's Disease and other  
            pests and diseases that affect California's wine industry


          2)Background: The PDCP was created in 2001 to control the spread  
            and severity of Pierce's Disease, a fatal bacterial disease of  
            grapevines that is spread by certain types of insects, in  
            particular the glassy-winged sharpshooter. PDCP has five major  
            components: containing the spread of the disease, statewide  
            survey and detection, rapid response, outreach, and research.  
            Despite PDCP's success, California has experienced a greater  
            incidence of Pierce's Disease and increased populations of the  
            glassy-winged sharpshooter in recent years.  


          3)Program Funding: The PDCP currently relies upon federal  
            assistance and wine grape assessments that fund operations and  
            research. In FY 2014-15, the Program received $15.3 million in  
            federal dollars and $1.1 million in industry assessments.  
            Prior to FY 2011-12, the Program also received an average $5.6  
            million annually in General Fund support. 


          4)Parallel citrus efforts and prior veto. SB 822 (Roth) in 2016,  
            which is currently pending in the Senate Appropriations  
            Committee, appropriates $5 million from the General Fund to  








                                                                    AB 2714


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            the Citrus Disease Management Account to combat the spread and  
            devastating effects of the Huanglongbing (HLB) disease, a  
            bacterial plant disease spread by the Asian citrus psyllid.  
            This bill follows a similar bill (AB 571 (Gatto) in 2013)  
            vetoed by the Governor, whose veto message suggested that such  
            funding decisions should be made during the budget process. 


          Analysis Prepared by:Luke Reidenbach / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081