BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
2595 (Huffman)
Hearing Date: 08/02/2010 Amended: 08/02/2010
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: F&A 3-1, EQ 5-2
AB 2595 (Huffman), Page 2
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 2595 prohibits county agricultural
commissioners from issuing an operator identification number for
the use of agricultural pesticides if the operator is in
violation of specified water quality regulations.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
Water Board enforcementMinor costs Special
*
County Agricultural Unknown costs, potentially
reimbursableSpecial ** /
Commissioner costs General
* Waste Discharge Permit Fund.
** Department of Pesticide Regulation Fund.
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill may meet the criteria for referral to
the Suspense File.
Under current law, the State Water Resources Control Board and
the Regional Water Quality Control Boards enforce the state's
water quality laws and regulations. Property owners that
discharge waters into streams and rivers (including discharges
from stormwater runoff) are regulated by the state. Often,
dischargers are required to comply with individual waste
discharge requirements. In other cases, the regional water
quality control boards issue waivers for these individual
requirements (although the waivers typically come with their own
regulatory requirements). In the agricultural industry, several
of the regional water quality control boards (covering most of
the state's agricultural land) have developed an Irrigated Lands
Conditional Waiver Program. Under the Irrigated Lands
Conditional Waiver Program, growers typically join geographic
coalitions that coordinate and oversee monitoring of discharges
to protect water quality. If water quality problems are found,
growers may be required to adopt certain best practices to
reduce pollution.
AB 2595 (Huffman), Page 2
Under current law, operators of agricultural properties are
required to get an operator identification number from the
county agricultural commissioner before using pesticides in
agricultural operations.
Beginning on January 1, 2012, AB 2595 prohibits county
agricultural commissioners from issuing an operator
identification number if the State Water Board or a regional
water quality control board has notified the commissioner that
the operator is in violation of a requirement to obtain a waste
discharge requirement, has failed to furnish technical or
monitoring reports, or has failed to enroll in the Irrigated
Lands Conditional Waiver Program.
Upon receipt of a certificate of compliance showing that the
operator has satisfied the water quality requirements, the
county agricultural commissioner is required to immediately
issue the operator identification number.
The bill authorizes county agricultural commissioners to levy
civil penalties up to $5,000 for obtaining an operator
identification number by fraud.
The bill requires the State Water Board or a regional water
quality control board to provide notice to the appropriate
county agricultural commissioner if an operator has not met the
water quality regulatory requirements mentioned above. The bill
requires the State Water Board or a regional water quality
control board to transmit notice that an operator is in
violation of these requirements to a county agricultural
commissioner only if 30 days have elapsed since all
administrative appeals by the operator have been exhausted and
the operator has not complied with an order of the appropriate
board.
The State Water Board indicates that any costs to it or the
regional water quality control boards can be absorbed within
existing resources.
The county agricultural commissioners are local government
agents and are eligible for reimbursement for state mandated
programs. To the extent that the bill imposes an administrative
burden on them, the state may be liable to reimburse them for
any costs. For example, if commissioners are required to check
all applicants for an operator identification number against a
list of operators in violation of water quality requirements,
AB 2595 (Huffman), Page 2
the additional administrative costs to do so may be a
reimbursable mandate. The amount of this mandate is unknown and
will depend on the number of operators that are in violation of
water quality control regulations and the actual costs of any
administrative burden imposed on the commissioners.