BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1401
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
AB 1401 (Ma) - As Amended: April 20, 2009
SUBJECT : Transition to Organic Act.
SUMMARY : Creates a fund and program, as specified, to assist
farmers who are transitioning from conventional farming
practices to certified organic practices. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Cites this as the Transition to Organic Act (Act), and
requires it to be interpreted in accordance with the National
Organic Program (NOP) and the California Organic Products Act
of 2003 (COPA).
2)Provides the following definitions for purposes of this Act:
a) "Agricultural products" meaning any agriculture
commodity or product, raw or processed, that is marketed in
the nation for human or livestock consumption.
b) "Certified organic farm" means a farm or portion thereof
that produces agricultural products and has been certified
in accordance with NOP or COPA by or after January 1, 2010.
c) "Conventional farm" means any farm or portion thereof
that is not certified in accordance with NOP or COPA and
has submitted a pesticide use report prior to January 1,
2010.
d) "Organically produced" means agricultural products that
are produced and handled in accordance with NOP and COPA.
e) "Person" means an individual, group or individuals,
corporation, association, organization, cooperative or
other entity.
f) "Pesticide" means any substance that alone, in chemical
combination or in a formulation with one of more
substances, is defined as a pesticide in accordance with
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
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3)Creates the Transition To Organics Fund (Fund), defines it as
not a fund of the state treasury, and permits deposits to be
deposited in the state treasury, a bank or other depository
approved by the Department of Finance. Without regard to
other provisions of law, money deposited cannot be transferred
to another fund, encumbered or expended except for purposes
provided by this Act.
4)Requires the Fund to consist of moneys from federal, industry,
and citizen sources and prohibits deposits from the state
general fund.
5)Requires the Fund to be administered by the Secretary
(secretary) of the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) and permits the adoption of regulations to
carryout this Act. Requires expenditures from the Fund to
only the following:
a) Provide financial assistance to transitioning farmers
pursuant to the following procedures:
i) Once such a farmer is certified to sell organic
products, the Act permits them to apply and receive up to
a 25% reimbursement of the costs to obtain organic
certification, including inspection fees, application
fees and annual fees; and,
ii) Restricts the maximum payment to any such farm to
$250.00 with payments made on a first come, first serve
basis, contingent upon sufficient funds being available
in the Fund.
b) Restricts administrative and operational expenses not to
exceed 10% of the total moneys deposited into the Fund.
c) Permits the Secretary to administer the Fund in
coordination with the procedures associated with the
federal Organic Certification Cost-Share program.
d) Requires the Secretary to receive, accept and deposit
moneys on behalf of the Fund from any combination of
persons, state or federal agencies.
e) Requires the Secretary to keep records of contributions
and disbursements of the Fund; these records are to be
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publicly available, and requires them to be available to
the California Organic Products Advisory Committee.
EXISTING LAW was created in 1990 for the purpose of protecting
the consumers, producers, handlers, processors and retailers by
the establishment of standards under which fresh agricultural
products and foods may be labeled and sold as "organic." It
provides definitions, enforcement, program procedures, an
advisory board, inspections, penalties, a certification process,
fees, and regulations. Enforcement activities are coordinated
with the California Organic Products Advisory Committee, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture and California County
Agricultural Commissioners. The scope of the Act was expanded
in 1992 to include seed fiber, and horticultural products sold
or labeled as organic. In 2002, it was amended to conformed to
NOP and renamed COPA.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW provides for the establishment of
regulations of food for humans, food for pets, livestock feed
and raw agricultural products when using, on a principal display
panel (label), the word "Organic." The enabling NOP regulations
were finalized and adopted in December 2001 under the
authorization of the federal Organic Foods Product Act, which
was created in 1990. Regulations provide definitions,
enforcement procedures, registration fees for certification and
procedures, requirements for becoming a certifier, and listing
of allowed and prohibited substances that are updated annually.
The federal Organic Certification Cost-Share program provides up
to 75% of the certification cost, up to a maximum of $750.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. Legislative Counsel has keyed this
bill fiscal.
COMMENTS : Transition from conventional to organic farming
creates many challenges, it take at least three to become
certified organic. Organic or transitioning farmers cannot use
synthetic fertilizers and can only use approved pesticides, and
such products are often more expensive and less familiar to the
farmer. During this time the farmer must comply with organic
growing requirements but cannot sell products as organic. The
sponsors state that these financial challenges discourage many
farmers from converting to organic practices.
Currently, CDFA has an agreement with NOP to administer the
federal Cost-Share Program, which can provide to organic
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farmers, processors and handlers who are eligible, up to 75% or
a maximum of $750 of their costs to be certified as organic.
This is a limited pool of federal funds which is estimated to be
expended over the next two years. AB 1401 proposes to create a
similar program to the federal cost-share program to encourage
farmers interested in transitioning to organic practices and
provide an economic incentive once they have reached
certification status.
Additionally, there are existing definitions under both NOP and
COPA that are conforming. The Committee may wish to consider
if additional definitions are needed and which may be in
conflict with existing definitions. Further, the Act
specifically states that it is required to be interpreted in
conjunction with NOP and COPA. These new definitions could
create confusion to the administration of the Fund. All
farmers, conventional and organic, are required to file a
pesticide use report with each respective county in which they
farm.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Catholic Healthcare West
Organic Consumers Association
Organic Pastures Dairy Company, LLC
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084