BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2612|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2612
Author: Assembly Agriculture Committee
Amended: 6/16/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/15/10
AYES: Florez, Emmerson, Hancock, Hollingsworth, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/6/10 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Food and agriculture: omnibus bill
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes clarifying changes and updates
provisions of existing law governing animal rendering and
the State Organic Program.
ANALYSIS : Current law specifies that the first person to
sell production agriculture or structural-use pesticide
products must develop a recycling program or participate in
a recycling program for plastic pesticide containers.
Overseen by the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR),
the recycling program records are subject to audit by DPR
for three years, comply with the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) and American Society of
Agriculture and Biological Engineers Standards, and must be
CONTINUED
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certified by an ANSI accredited third party organization
for compliance.
California requires that every person engaged in
collecting, hauling, and processing meat not fit for human
consumption be licensed each year by the Department of Food
and Agriculture (DFA). Each license includes the name and
address of the applicant, all the vehicles registered for
hauling, and other information required by DFA.
The California Organic Program is responsible for
enforcement of the federal Organic Foods Production Act of
1990 and the California Organic Products Act of 2003.
These statutes protect consumers, producers, handlers,
processors, and retailers by establishment of standards
under which fresh agricultural products/foods may be
labeled and/or sold as "organic". Enforcement activities
are coordinated with the California Organic Products
Advisory Committee, the United States Department of
Agriculture, and California county agricultural
commissioners. Activities include program administration,
county biologist training, initiation of complaint
investigation, registration of private certification
organizations, and acting as an information resource on the
California Organic Products Act and California's organic
industry.
The California Organic Program requires that every person
engaged in the production or handling of products sold as
organic certified under the National Organic Program must
register annually with the county agricultural
commissioner. Registration fees range from $25 to $3,000
and are determined by the producer's yearly gross sales.
Processors of organic products are required to register
with DFA. The National Organic Program exempts from
certification producers of $5,000 or less annual organic
sales.
California law requires a person engaged in the
manufacture, packing, or holding of processed food in the
state to pay a food safety fee of $100 to the Department of
Public Health for a food safety fund. The funds are used
to assist in developing and implementing education and
training programs related to food safety, known as the Food
Industry Education and Training Program.
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This bill:
1. Eliminates the third-party certification for compliance
for plastic pesticide container recycling programs.
2. Changes responsibility for establishing a plastic
pesticide container recycling program from the first
seller to the registrant of any production agricultural
use or structural-use pesticide product sold in
California.
3. As it pertains to slaughter animals not fit for human
consumption used in pet food and rendering:
A. Expands the definition of a "collection center" to
include a "pet food processor."
B. Changes the license expiration date from a year
after issuance to December 31 of each year.
C. Exempts a "collection center" from registration as
a transporter of kitchen grease if they are licensed
as a collection center in accordance with this
chapter.
4. As it pertains to the California Organic Program Act of
2003:
A. Clarifies that alternates to the advisory board
are representatives of the same category as the board
member.
B. Updates reference to "State Public Health Officer"
from "State Director of Health Services."
C. Adds definitions for an "exempt handler" as being
a handler that sells organic agricultural products
but whose gross income from such sales is $5,000 or
less annually; and for an "exempt producer" as being
a producer that sells organic agricultural products,
but whose gross income from such sales is $5,000 or
less annually. Makes other conforming changes.
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D. Permits the required reporting by any producer,
handler, processor or organic registrant of exact
gross sales over $25,000,001 or more.
E. Permits the required reporting by any producer,
handler, processor or organic registrant of gross
sales by commodity and acreage.
F. Permits the adoption of regulations, to the extent
reasonably necessary, that supersede these statutory
registration requirements in order to provide an
online registration system.
G. Makes technical and non-substantive changes.
5. Extends the sunset date from January 1, 2011, to January
1, 2016, for the $100 food safety fee paid by persons
engaged in manufacture, packing, or holding of processed
food in California.
Comments
In 2008, the Legislature passed SB 1723 (Maldonado)
requiring a recycling program for plastic pesticide
containers in line with a proposed federal pesticide
container recycling program. The law included a
requirement for ANSI-accredited third-party certification
of a seller's recycling program compliance. However, it
became evident that the overall pesticide container
recycling program was being delayed due to a lack of
ANSI-accredited third parties to certify compliance.
Supporters feel that the program audit and recordkeeping is
sufficient to ensure compliance with any recycling program.
The inclusion of the term "collection center" in California
law regarding rendering licensing and registration would
help the law reflect current practice. Collection centers
serve as drop-off points for haulers so material can be
aggregated into larger loads for efficient transport for
processing at rendering plants or licensed pet food
processors. Further, technical changes will help DFA
administer the program.
Proponents state that this bill will help make the organic
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registration process as streamlined as possible by
clarifying inconsistencies between the State Organic
Program and the National Organic Program. Further, this
bill allows changes in the organic program to help DFA meet
the current and future needs of California's organic
industry.
The Food Industry Education and Training Program funding
mechanism used for food safety training and education is
due to sunset in 2011. Extending the sunset for five
years will allow this program to continue to provide
California's food industry with low-cost food safety
training.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/28/10)
California Farm Bureau Federation
California League of Food Processors
Western Plant Health Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified >)
>
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : >
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : >
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De
Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
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Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Block, De La Torre, Gilmore,
Mendoza, Vacancy
TSM:mw 6/28/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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