BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1912
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1912 (Evans) - As Amended: April 8, 2010
Policy Committee: AgricultureVote:7
- 0
Judiciary 8 - 2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill creates the California Apiary Research Commission
(CARC) with prescribed membership, powers, duties and
responsibilities, and requires an affirmative vote by individual
beekeepers and businesses in order to become active.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes the membership, powers and duties of the CARC.
2)Requires the CARC reimburse the California Department of Food
and Agriculture (CDFA) for all expenses.
3)Requires the CARC to establish an assessment following the
marketing season each year, no later than March 1.
4)Establishes that the assessment may not be greater than one
dollar per bee colony.
FISCAL EFFECT
The maximum assessment rate allowed under this legislation is $1
per colony of bees. There are approximately 2 million colonies
operating in California each year, so the maximum assessment
revenue would be about $2 million per year. The actual
assessment rate would likely be some fraction of that. Most
likely the program would be similar to other mid-range research
programs within CDFA and would cost approximately $500,000 per
year.
COMMENTS
AB 1912
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1)Rationale . According to the sponsor, the California State Bee
Keepers Association, honey bees are a critical component of
the agricultural community. Honey bees pollinate
approximately $6 billion worth of crops in California. Urban
development and the on-going water crisis have diminished bee
food supplies. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has reduced the
nation's bee population by 25% in the past three years. The
decline of honey bees has created issues for other
agricultural sectors that rely on honey bees for pollination
of crops. The sponsor believes there is a need for organized
research to protect the health of honey bees to avoid an
imbalance for our agricultural food supply.
2)Honey Bees in Agriculture . According to the Congressional
Research Service, honey bees are the most economically
valuable pollinators of agricultural crops worldwide.
Scientists at universities and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) frequently assert that bee pollination is
involved in about one-third of the U.S. diet, and contributes
to the production of a wide range of fruits, vegetables, tree
nuts, forage crops, some field crops, and other specialty
crops. The monetary value of honey bees as commercial
pollinators in the United States is estimated at about $15-$20
billion annually.
3)Colony Collapse Disorder . Starting in 2006, commercial
migratory beekeepers along the East Coast of the United States
began reporting sharp declines in their honey bee colonies.
Because of the severity and unusual circumstances of these
colony declines, scientists named this phenomenon colony
collapse disorder (CCD). Current reports indicate that
beekeepers in most states have been affected. Overall, the
number of managed honey bee colonies dropped an estimated 32%
in 2006-07 and 38% in 2007-08. Preliminary loss estimates for
the winter of 2008-09 are reported to be close to 30%. To
date, the precise reasons for colony losses are not yet known.
In states reporting CCD, some beekeepers have lost 50 to 90%
of their colonies, often within a matter of weeks.
Bee colonies affected by CCD can appear healthy as few as
three weeks prior to collapse, but then the adult bees
disappear from the colonies--hence the historic nickname,
"disappearing disease." The disappearing bees leave behind a
box full of honey, pollen, capped brood, a queen, and maybe a
AB 1912
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few worker bees.
Beekeepers report that in colonies with CCD, dead bees are not
found in the hive or on the ground outside of the colonies.
Instead, the adult bees simply disappear. The final symptom is
that small hive beetles, wax moths, and other nearby honey
bees ignore the empty hive, even though the hive contains
foodstuffs on which they ordinarily feed.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081