BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 2755|
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 2755
          Author:   Gallagher (R), et al.
          Amended:  4/11/16 in Assembly
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE:  6-0, 6/14/16
           AYES:  Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Hertzberg

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  76-0, 4/28/16 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   Agriculture:  bees:  civil remedies


          SOURCE:    California State Beekeepers Association

          DIGEST:   This bill provides for treble damages, as specified,  
          plus an amount in fair compensation for the time and money  
          properly expended by the plaintiff in recovering or replacing  
          the bees, in any civil action for: (1) the wrongful and willful  
          taking, possessing, harboring, or transporting of a beehive; (2)  
          the wrongful and willful removal of bees from their beehive; or  
          (3) the wrongful and willful killing or destroying of bees  
          without the consent of the owner or the person lawfully in  
          possession of those bees.  This bill includes legislative intent  
          language to that end, and sets forth various legislative  
          findings and declarations relating to bees.  


          ANALYSIS:  


          Existing law:








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          1)Provides that for every wrong there is a remedy.  


          2)Provides that every person is bound, without contract, to  
            abstain from injuring the person or property of another, or  
            infringing upon any of his or her rights.  


          3)Provides that one who obtains a thing without the consent of  
            its owner, or by a consent afterwards rescinded, or by an  
            unlawful exaction which the owner could not at the time  
            prudently refuse, must restore it to the person from whom it  
            was thus obtained, unless he has acquired a title thereto  
            superior to that of such other person, or unless the  
            transaction was corrupt and unlawful on both sides.  


          4)Governs, under the Apiary Protection Act, bee management and  
            beekeepers and establishes enforcement mechanisms and  
            specifies various penalties for violations of the Act.   
            Existing law finds and declares that a healthy and vibrant  
            apiary industry is important to the economy and welfare of the  
            people of the State of California, and that the protection and  
            promotion of this important industry is in the interest of the  
            people of the State of California.  


          5)Provides that every person who feloniously steals, takes,  
            carries, leads, or drives away the personal property of  
            another is guilty of theft, as specified.  


          6)Provides that "grand theft" is any theft where the money,  
            labor, or real or personal property taken, or when the  
            property is taken from the person of another is of a value  
            exceeding $950, except as specified.  


          7)Provides that theft in other cases is petty theft and is  
            punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by imprisonment  
            in the county jail not exceeding six months, or both.  








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          This bill: 


          1)Provides that in any civil action for the wrongful and willful  
            taking, possessing, harboring, or transporting of a beehive,  
            for the wrongful and willful removal of bees from their  
            beehive, or for the wrongful and willful killing or destroying  
            of bees without the consent of the owner or the person  
            lawfully in possession of those bees, the damage caused to the  
            plaintiff shall be three times the value of the bees at the  
            time of the taking, possessing, harboring, transporting,  
            destroying, or vandalizing of the bees, plus an amount in fair  
            compensation for the time and money properly expended by the  
            plaintiff in recovering or replacing the bees.


          2)Sets forth various findings and declarations, including: 


                 California has the largest beekeeping industry of any  
               state in the United States. Nearly 500,000 colonies of bees  
               are operated by 400 commercial and semicommercial  
               beekeepers;


                 Nearly three-fourths of the country's documented  
               commercial honeybee crop pollination is conducted in  
               California;


                 Drastic reductions in populations of native insect  
               pollinators have created a great need for honeybee  
               pollination to ensure reseeding and perpetuation of wild  
               plants. These plants serve as sources of fruits, nuts, and  
               vegetation for consumption by various birds and mammals;  
               and


                 In recent months, there has been a significant reduction  
               in the honeybee population due to Colony Collapse Disorder  
               and other problems such as poor nutrition due to lack of  
               available "bee pasture," that is, pollen- and  
               nectar-producing flowers. This has created a serious threat  







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               to our food supply, and this crisis threatens to wipe out  
               production of crops dependent on bees for pollination.


          1)States the intent of the Legislature to create specific civil  
            remedies for wrongfully taking, possessing, harboring,  
            transporting, destroying, or vandalizing bees.


          Background


          California law, the Apiary Protection Act, recognizes the  
          importance of a healthy and vibrant apiary industry to the  
          economy and welfare of the people of the State of California,  
          and declares that the protection and promotion of this important  
          industry is in the interest of this state.  Accordingly, the Act  
          governs bee management and beekeepers, and in doing so  
          establishes various enforcement mechanisms and penalties for  
          violations of the Act.  (See Food & Agr. Code Sec. 29000 et  
          seq.)  


          According to various reports, in recent years, thieves have been  
          stealing commercial beehives, disrupting operations for  
          beekeepers and almond growers (which rely on pollination).  For  
          example, an article from February of this year detailed how one  
          California beekeeping family discovered that 280 of their  
          beehives were missing as they were about to be moved into nearby  
          almond orchards-a loss estimated at $100,000, which includes  
          both pollination income and the overall value of the hives. That  
          same article detailed that about 240 beehives were stolen from  
          two other bee yards in Glenn County in January, and another 210  
          were stolen from a beekeeper in Kern County.  (See Souza,  
          AgAlert, Beehive Thefts Add to Pressures at Bloom Time (Feb. 10,  
          2016)  
                                                                    Page  5


            in all the way from the East Coast. As the pollinators  
            continue to die off each year, it's becoming harder and more  
            expensive to sustain important crops such as the almonds.


            To make matters worse, counties in California are now  
            reporting that mass beehive thefts are on the rise. Butte  
            County Sheriff's Detective, Jay Freeman, says the bee hive  
            thefts have been "picking up this year" which "could be due to  
            the increased prices and pollination fees and also a shortage  
            of bees coming into California as well." At least a half dozen  
            thefts have been reported in Glenn, Kern, Colusa and Sutter  
            Counties. In Butte County, the thefts have become a big deal.  
            According to the Butte County Sheriff's Office, "information  
            that over 500 beehives have been reported stolen in two  
            separate incidents which took place in two neighboring  
            counties over the last two weeks."  (Devon, Natural News,  
            Honeybee Populations Are Collapsing So Rapidly That Bee Hive  
            Thefts Are Now on the Rise (Feb. 19, 2016)  
             
                                                                    Page  6


          without the consent of the owner or the person lawfully in  
          possession of those bees.


          Comments


          As stated by the author: 


            Bees pollinate some of California's most valuable crops, such  
            as almonds. Our farmers are struggling with a dwindling bee  
            population and increasing costs associated with crop  
            pollination. Beekeepers throughout the state are under a  
            tremendous amount of pressure to keep up with the demand for  
            pollination and to overcome many environmental circumstances  
            to maintain healthy bee hives. Bee hive thefts have been on  
            the rise this year, therefore now is the time to protect  
            beekeepers' property and to keep this segment of our  
            agricultural economy vibrant.  


            AB 2755 provides for civil damages of three times the value of  
            bees that are unlawfully taken, possessed, harbored, or  
            transported from their beehive. These civil damages [ . . . ]  
            will dis-incentivize the theft of bees and assist in restoring  
            the losses of bee keepers.     


          The sponsor of this bill, the California State Beekeepers  
          Association writes in support that "due to the increasing costs  
          and high demand for commercial hives, there has been a rash of  
          beehive thefts across the state.  This problem has reached  
          epidemic levels.   Since January 1, 2016, 1,734 hive thefts have  
          been reported to the California State Beekeepers Association.   
          The theft of 200 beehives might be a $36,000 loss up front, but  
          the damage is often three times worse, when growers factor in  
          what the bees could have made pollinating crops."  




          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:NoLocal:    No







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          SUPPORT:   (Verified6/17/16)


          California State Beekeepers Association (source)
          California Citrus Mutual
          California Farm Bureau Federation
          Community Alliance with Family Farmers
          Sierra Club California


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified6/17/16)


          None received
           
           

          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  76-0, 4/28/16
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,  
            Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,  
            Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,  
            Dababneh, Dahle, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,  
            Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,  
            Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger  
            Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,  
            Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty,  
            Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,  
            Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,  
            Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,  
            Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Chávez, Daly, Mathis, Olsen

          Prepared by:Ronak Daylami / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
          6/17/16 15:03:48


                                   ****  END  ****


          









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