BILL ANALYSIS
AB 604
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 604 (De Leon and Fuller)
As Amended March 24, 2010
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(June 1, 2009) |SENATE: |36-0 |(April 15, |
| | | | | |2010) |
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(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: AGRI.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) to spend, until June 30, 2010, any monies it
has collected since November 2009 on citrus specific pest and
disease programs created by AB 281 (De Leon), Chapter 426,
Statutes of 2009.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill
and instead:
1)Authorize CDFA to spend, until June 30, 2010, any funds it has
collected pursuant to the Citrus Disease Prevention law (Food
and Agricultural Code (FAC), Sections 5911-5940) on citrus
specific pest and disease programs.
2)Add an urgency clause, allowing this bill to take effect
immediately upon enactment.
EXISTING LAW allows for the formation of the California Citrus
Pest and Disease Prevention Committee (CCPDPC), preventing and
controlling citrus diseases in California; allows the CCPDPC to
levy fees within CDFA, with the purpose of preventing and
controlling citrus diseases in California; and, allows the
CCPDPC to levy fees on citrus producers to pay for citrus
disease detection and control programs (FAC, Sections 5911 -
5940).
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill restructured the purpose of
the San Joaquin Valley Quality Cotton District's statutes to be
"subject to" new requirements, as described below:
1)Required that on January 1, 2010, the district statutes and
regulations become inoperative, except for the following
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provisions:
a) The protection of the San Joaquin Valley Cotton Board
(Board) actions from liability as a monopoly or
combinations in the restraint of trade;
b) The protection of the state from acts of the Board or
their contracts;
c) The creation of the Board, its membership and their
election;
d) The use of proceeds for enforcement of this chapter,
Board functions, cotton testing and related administrative
expenses; and,
e) The deposit and expenditure of funds.
1)Permitted the Board, in concurrence with the Secretary of CDFA
(Secretary), to periodically determine what specific sections
of the district's authorizing chapter and related regulations
shall be operative and for what period of time.
2)Authorized the Board, notwithstanding other provisions of the
authorizing chapter and with the Secretary's concurrence, to
decide if funds collected will be refunded in whole or part to
eligible persons, or transferred to persons or organizations
subject to this chapter.
3)Required the Board to annually report, to the Legislature, the
specific actions taken under this new authority and required
the Board to notify, prior to taking any actions concerning
items 2) and 3) above, in a properly noticed public hearing,
all eligible growers and industry members.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Committee on
Appropriations, this bill has limited appropriation due to
negligible new administrative costs through the Citrus Disease
Management Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture
Fund (special funds).
COMMENTS : AB 281 allows CDFA to collect the assessment on
citrus at the beginning of the citrus harvest season in October
2009. The bill did not include language appropriating the money
collected for fiscal year 2009-10. These funds need to be
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appropriated to fund industry supported programs aimed at
controlling the spread of the Asian Citrus Pysllid (ACP) and
preventing the introduction of the devastating disease
Huanglongbing (HLB). Delaying the appropriation of those funds
would delay the implementation of these programs, thereby
seriously threatening the future survival of California's citrus
industry.
The California citrus industry is under threat from several
destructive citrus diseases, including Citrus Canker and HLB.
To date, there is no known control for these diseases, other
than removing and destroying infected groves. After a 2005
discovery in Florida, it took only two years for HLB to transmit
to all 32 Florida citrus producing counties, causing serious
economic impacts.
In September and October 2008, CDFA placed quarantines on
southern San Diego County and southern Imperial County for ACP,
a known carrier of HLB. In the summer of 2009, HLB was detected
in Mexico and in a produce shipment at the Fresno International
Airport. The quarantine highlights the threat facing the
California citrus industry.
Analysis Prepared by : Victor Francovich / AGRI. / (916)
319-2084
FN: 0003860