BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1138
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1138
AUTHOR: Cedillo
AMENDED: April 5, 2010
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 19, 2010
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Caroll
Mortensen
SUBJECT : RENDERING INDUSTRY ADVISORY BOARD
SUMMARY :
Existing law pursuant to the Food and Agriculture Code :
1) Establishes the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) which is responsible for promoting,
protecting, and furthering the economy of the state's
agricultural industry, including identifying, studying, and
recommending solutions to agribusiness problems so that
adequate supplies of food and fiber will be available and
the industries involved will be economically sound.
2) Establishes a nine-member Fertilizer Inspector Advisory
Board appointed by the Secretary of CDFA with eight of the
members subject to CDFA licensure requirements. One member
must represent the public. This board is advisory in
nature to the Secretary on inspection, enforcement,
research, education and budget matters, including fees.
3) Establishes a 13-member Agricultural Pest Control Advisory
Committee, appointed by the Secretary. Twelve members must
represent the industry, plus one public member that must be
appointed to the committee by the Secretary from nominees
recommended by the committee. The committee must be
advisory to the Secretary in all matters concerning the
licensing, certification, and regulation of persons and
firms licensed or certified pursuant to this division.
SB 1138
Page 2
4) Establishes the eight-member Livestock Identification
Advisory Board. Seven members represent the industry, plus
one public member that must be appointed to the Board from
recommendations provided by the Board members. Requires
the Secretary in making a selection of the membership of
the board, to take into consideration the recommendations
of organizations and associations of cattlemen, dairymen,
livestock marketing agencies, and general farm
organizations.
5) Creates the Food Biotechnology Task Force that is
co-chaired by the Secretary of California Health and Human
Services, and the Secretary of the CDFA. It requires the
Task Force to appoint an advisory committee to provide
input on issues reviewed by the task force. The advisory
committee must consist of representatives from consumer
groups, environmental organizations, farmers, ranchers, and
representatives from the biotechnology industry,
researchers, organic farmers, food processors, retailers,
and others with interests in the issues surrounding
biotechnology.
This bill :
1) Establishes the Rendering Industry Advisory Board (board)
consisting of seven licensed renderers, dead animal
haulers, and transporters of inedible kitchen grease
appointed by the secretary of CDFA.
2) Authorizes the Secretary to appoint a public member to the
Rendering Industry Advisory Board from nominations
submitted by the board.
3) Sets the term limit of the board members at three years.
4) Specifies that members receive no salary but do receive
reimbursement for travel.
5) Authorizes the board to make recommendations to the
secretary on inspection, enforcement, annual budget, and
regulations.
6) Authorizes the board to elect its own chairman and other
SB 1138
Page 3
officers.
7) Requires the board to meet at least once a year or on the
call of the board chairman, any three members of the board,
or CDFA.
8) Specifies that a quorum of the board is five members and a
vote of a majority of board members at a meeting where
there is a quorum is an act of the board.
9) Specifies that board members or agents of the board are not
personally liable for the actions of the board.
10)Authorizes the board to keep accurate books and records of
its activities, subject to audit by CDFA, and provide an
annual report with audit to all licensed renderers, dead
animal haulers, and inedible kitchen grease haulers.
11)Authorizes the board to make recommendations to CDFA
concerning adoption, modification, and repeal of
regulations and procedures for employment, training,
supervision, and compensation of inspectors and other
personnel; rate and collection of license fees and
penalties; acquisition and use of equipment; and posting
and noticing changes in bylaws, general procedures, or
orders.
12)Protects proprietary information gathered as part of the
rendering program.
13)Requires CDFA to adopt any practicable recommendation of
the advisory board if it is in the interest of the
rendering industry and the public within 30 days or provide
a written statement of reasons the recommendation was not
adopted.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "The rendering
industry provides critical health and safety infrastructure
for Californians by taking a waste product and turning it
into a valuable commodity while also killing disease vectors
that impact animal and human health. It offers a sanitary
SB 1138
Page 4
and eco-friendly way to dispose of the massive amount of
meat and food by-products produced every year. One of the
most valuable commodities the industry processes and
recycles is used, inedible kitchen grease. The primary
product made from inedible kitchen grease is biodiesel.
Rendering companies collect the oil and excess food that is
stored in receptacles behind restaurants and supermarkets
and haul it to their plants for processing. If the oil is
not collected, it is often illegally disposed into the sewer
system, clogging public pipes or dumped in storm drains
creating significant environmental issues."
Often the product is stolen before it is picked up to be
processed. At times it is an entire street or route that is
stolen. This results in lost revenue, time and expense to
the renders. Thus, workers and businesses that employ them
are hurting and need increased enforcement and tools to
address this issue. Furthermore, when individuals steal the
oil, many attempt to personally process it at home into
biodiesel through kits available online. However, this is
problematic because individuals might not have the training
to effectively process the kitchen grease and discard the
excess residue.
2)CDFA Advisory Committees . As shown under "Existing Law"
above, advisory boards are common within CDFA. For the most
part they are comprised of representatives from the
regulated industry and one public member. They are
generally tasked with advising the Secretary on regulation,
fees, program oversight and other related matters. In fact,
most are statutorily directed to look out for the interest
of the industry and makes that tantamount to the interest of
the public. In general this seems to function for CDFA,
however when the commodity being regulated has cross-media
impacts (such as fertilizer or grease), it begs the question
if these boards are as effective as they should be in
advising on the best policy and direction for the State.
3)A Better Model . The Committee should consider the benefits
of an advisory board that has a broader cross-section of
stakeholders to provide the Secretary with the best policy
direction that encompasses more than just the welfare of the
regulated industry when the commodity being regulated has
SB 1138
Page 5
public health and environmental impacts. Under #5 in
"Existing Law" above, the task force for food biotechnology
is one such model. It provides for members that represent
not just the regulated industry but groups that are affected
by the activities of the industry. It would be better
policy for SB 1138 to include members on the advisory board
that represent potential new end-users of grease as well as
representatives who can bring water quality and local
government experience to form the best recommendations to
the Secretary.
4)Supporters Position . Proponents state that the advisory
board created in SB 1138 would provide an opportunity for
official interaction between the industry and CDFA to
address issues and ensure the program continues to maintain
its objectives to regulate and enforce the laws regarding
the rendering industry. Recently, members of the rendering
industry have been encouraging CDFA and the state to
undertake more aggressive enforcement. Through an advisory
board, the industry would be able to guide and oversee both
the rendering program and the industry to assist the goals
of protecting public health, food safety, and the
environment in a cooperative and healthy economic
environment.
5)Related Legislation .
a) AB 2633 (Frommer) of 2004 attempted to create the
Interceptor Grease Transportation, Recycling and Disposal
Act of 2004 to manage the transportation and disposal of
interceptor grease. This bill was vetoed by the
governor.
b) AB 1333 (Frommer) Chapter 186, Statutes of 2006, made
it a misdemeanor to improperly dispose or incompletely
remove grease from traps or interceptors.
c) AB 1065 (Matthews) Chapter 533, Statutes of 2005,
established a method for tracking inedible kitchen
grease; defined "interceptor grease"; required
transporters to be insured; changed the suspension or
revocation of a license or registration; and expanded the
conditions that may lead to a suspension or revocation of
SB 1138
Page 6
a license or registration.
d) SB 1107 (Kehoe) would create a tracking system for
interceptor and trap grease within the State Water
Resources Control Board. This bill is set for hearing in
the Committee on April 19, 2010.
6)Previous Committee . SB 1138 was approved by the Senate Food
and Agriculture Committee on April 6, 2010 (3-1).
7)Amendments Needed . To address the concerns raised in #5
above, the bill should be amended to change one of the
industry members to a representative with experience and
expertise in new and innovative end uses for grease (e.g.,
energy recovery, new products) and add an additional public
(non-industry) member. The two public members would be
required to have water quality, and local government
infrastructure (e.g., enforcement, sewer/sanitation)
experience.
SOURCE : Pacific Coast Rendering Association
California Grain and Feed Association
SUPPORT : None on file
OPPOSITION : None on file