BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1354|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1354
Author: Galgiani (D)
Amended: 5/19/16
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE: 5-0, 5/24/16
AYES: Galgiani, Cannella, Berryhill, Pan, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
SUBJECT: Agricultural pest control: Asian citrus psyllid:
Huanglongbing
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires the California Department of Food
and Agriculture (CDFA), upon appropriation specific for this
purpose, to support research activities relating to Asian citrus
psyllid (ACP) and Huanglongbing (HLB) and to work with specified
stakeholders to establish a process for voluntary tracking of
best practices to manage ACP-infested and HLB-infected groves.
The information collected shall be used to establish recommended
management protocols based on best available science and
treatment outcomes. This bill contains an urgency clause.
ANALYSIS: Existing law establishes the California Citrus Pest
and Disease Prevention Committee (CCPDPC) within the CDFA to
advise the Secretary of CDFA on efforts to prevent and manage
citrus pests and diseases. An assessment is levied on citrus
producers and deposited into the Citrus Disease Management
Account for the sole purpose of combating citrus-specific pests
and diseases. This account may also contain funds from federal
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and other non-General Fund sources. (AB 281, De Leon, Chapter
426, Statutes of 2009; Food and Agricultural Code §5911 et
seq.).
This bill:
1)Requires CDFA, upon appropriation of funds for that purpose,
to support research activities relating to the ACP and HLB.
These activities shall include, but not be limited to, all of
the following:
a) Finding a cure and/or suppression tactic for HLB.
b) Development of early detection techniques to identify
diseased trees.
c) Development of resistant rootstocks, scions, or
psyllids.
d) Improved psyllid trapping and control methods.
e) Expanded biological control availability for the ACP in
priority areas where there is a reasonable expectation of
success.
f) New horticultural methods to maximize crop production in
the presence of HLB.
g) Support for new and existing containment research
facilities for projects investigating HLB.
2)Requires CDFA to, upon appropriation of funds for that
purpose, work with county agricultural commissioners, pest
control advisors, researchers, and/or the Citrus Research
Board to establish a process for voluntary tracking of best
practices to manage ACP-infested and HLB-infected groves. The
information collected shall be used to establish recommended
management protocols based on best available science and
treatment outcomes.
Background
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California is the top-producing agricultural state in the nation
with $54 billion in agricultural commodity value in 2014.
California is also a top producer of citrus fruits and is ranked
second only to Florida in citrus production but first in citrus
product sold fresh to market. According to the most recent
census, in 2012, the $2.1 billion California citrus industry
grew nearly four million tons of citrus on 270,000 acres and
provided more than 14,000 jobs.
ACP is an invasive pest that feeds on citrus plants' leaves and
stems and causes shoot deformation and plant stunting. More
importantly, ACP may transmit HLB, a bacterial disease that
causes the plant to produce unpalatable fruit before ultimately
killing the tree. According to CDFA, HLB is the most
devastating disease of citrus in the world. There is no cure
and infected plants must be destroyed.
The first discovery of ACP and HLB in the United States was in
Florida in 1998 and early September 2005, respectively. Within
two years, the disease HLB spread to all citrus-producing
counties and infected over half of all citrus trees in the
state. Studies have shown that the economic damage due to HLB
in Florida alone has resulted in a loss of $7.8 billion and
7,513 jobs since 2007, reducing the industry to nearly a quarter
of the size it once was. The disease HLB has also been detected
in Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Texas, and most recently,
California.
In 2008, the pest ACP was first identified in Southern
California. In in the last two years, ACP has rapidly spread
north into commercial citrus groves and residential trees, and
quarantine boundaries have expanded to encompass one-third of
the state. Meanwhile, in March 2012, HLB was detected in a
residential, multi-grafted citrus tree in Los Angeles County.
The tree was destroyed, however the disease was detected again
in 2015 and now 22 trees located in the surrounding areas have
tested positive for HLB. The new finds and the rapid northern
migration is a cause of great concern.
The citrus industry, the University of California, and both the
state and federal governments are working to eliminate and
prevent the establishment of ACP and HLB in California. Much of
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the research is conducted with funding from the citrus industry,
CDFA Specialty Crops Block Grants, and the United States
Department of Agriculture - National Institute of Food and
Agriculture (USDA-NIFA).
The Agricultural Act of 2014 (H.R. 2642) was signed into law on
February 7, 2014, and directs $125 million of the USDA Specialty
Crop Research Initiative funding toward citrus disease research
over the next five years. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, the federal
government awarded $20 million in grants nationwide to
university researchers and extension projects to aid in the
fight against HLB.
Comments
Residential citrus. Over half of all citrus trees in California
are located in residential backyards. Currently, $12 million of
the industry-assessed fees are being used to detect and trap ACP
and remove HLB-infected citrus trees in the Los Angeles Basin,
the area of greatest infestation.
Funding sources. The CCPDPC is funded by the California citrus
industry and federal grants. Of the $25 million annual budget,
roughly $15 million is funded through the $0.09 per carton
assessment fee and $10 million through the USDA. However, this
year, the federal government approved an additional $2 million
in funding that will be used to increase psyllid detection and
trapping in the San Joaquin Valley. The CCPDPC received a
one-time $1 million appropriation from the General Fund in FY
2013-14 (AB 110, Blumenfield, Chapter 20, Statutes of 2013),
however no other monies from California's General Fund have been
appropriated.
Budget request. The Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 2 approved a
General Fund allocation of $5 million to CDFA for ACP control,
where $4.25 million is dedicated for residential application and
$750,000 for an interagency agreement with the Department of
Pesticide Regulation to provide a consumer product database for
a residential level study of the impacts of
neonicotinoid-treated seed and plants sold at the retail level.
None of these funds are directed for use towards advancing
research to find new tools for ACP or HLB control.
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Informational Hearing. The Senate Committee on Agriculture held
an informational hearing on May 17, 2016, titled "Crisis in the
Golden State: Asian Citrus Psyllid's Threat to Destroy
California Citrus." The hearing highlighted the urgent need for
additional support to not only mitigate the spread of ACP but to
find a cure for HLB, develop critical research and technology,
and improve enforcement and compliance with citrus treatment and
transportation regulations.
Research and Technology. According to expert witnesses at the
informational hearing, additional funding is needed to support
critical research projects. For example, California would
benefit from the development of early detection techniques of
infected trees. Florida and Texas did not have this technology
available, and unidentified HLB-infected trees remained in
groves and spread the disease to neighboring trees. Current
technology requires sufficient time (roughly one year) for the
disease to build up in the tree to a detectable concentration.
However, California is in a position where, if early detection
techniques are developed, infected trees (both commercial and
residential) could be identified and removed, or treated,
immediately.
Other critical research needs include finding a cure for HLB,
increasing the availability of biological control (release of
non-stinging parasitic wasps), developing resistant trees and
psyllids, and improving psyllid trapping and control, among
others. Current research projects are funded through USDA and
citrus industry grants; however, no General Fund monies are
appropriated for this purpose.
Urgency. This bill contains an urgency clause given that, due
to the rapid infestation of ACP and increasing HLB detections,
this bill is needed to provide immediate help to prevent this
invasive pest and disease from destroying residential and
commercial California citrus trees.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
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According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, as currently
written, this bill requires CDFA to support specified research
if funding is appropriated, but does not make an appropriation.
Consequently, this bill will result in cost pressures of unknown
magnitude, minimally in the hundreds of thousands of dollars
annually (General Fund).
SUPPORT: (Verified5/27/16)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/27/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "California is
facing a serious infestation of Asian citrus psyllid, an
invasive pest that threatens to kill every California citrus
tree. As already seen in Florida, this tiny pest and the
disease it carries, Huanglongbing, has the ability to destroy
both the citrus industry as well as residential citrus trees. SB
1354 seeks to provide solutions to manage ACP and HLB in
California by increasing the tools available to combat
ACP-infested and HLB-infected trees and groves. In doing so,
California might be able to avoid massive devastation and stop
ACP and HLB from killing California's valuable crops and
cherished residential citrus trees. The reality of HLB taking
hold in California is chilling, and the state must do what it
can to support critical activities that aim to not only mitigate
the spread of ACP but to find a cure for HLB."
Prepared by: Anne Megaro / AGRI. / (916) 651-1508
5/28/16 16:46:08
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