BILL NUMBER: AB 292	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 7, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Galgiani

                        FEBRUARY 8, 2011

    An act to amend Section 29043 of the Food and
Agricultural Code, relating to apiaries.   An act to add
Section 185034.3 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to
high-speed rail. 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 292, as amended, Galgiani.  Apiaries.  
High-speed rail: agricultural lands.  
   Existing law, the California High-Speed Rail Act, creates the
High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail
system in the state, with specified powers and duties. Existing law,
pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act
for the 21st Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the
November 4, 2008, general election, provides for the issuance of
$9.95 billion in general obligation bonds for high-speed rail and
related purposes. Various federal laws provide funding for allocation
nationally to high-speed rail and other related projects.  

   This bill would require the authority to develop a policy that
addresses the preservation of farmland in agricultural areas where
high-speed rail lines are proposed for construction and considers
various impacts on those lands that may occur as a result of
high-speed rail construction. The bill would require the authority,
based on that policy, to develop, and following an opportunity for
public comment, to adopt and implement a farmland preservation and
mitigation plan. The bill would also require the independent peer
review group, established to review certain of the authority's plans
and assumptions, to consult with persons with whom the authority has
entered into memoranda of understanding for the purpose of
identifying best practices for mitigating impacts to farmland from
high-speed rail construction, and to report to the Legislature in
that regard by March 1, 2012.  
   Existing law requires every person who moves bees into the state
or otherwise comes into possession of an apiary that is located
within the state after the 1st day of January to register the number
of colonies moved into the state or so acquired within 30 days after
coming into possession of the apiary. Registration of an apiary is
filed with the county agricultural commissioner of the county in
which the apiary is located, or with the Secretary of Food and
Agriculture if there is no commissioner in the county. The secretary
also adopts a form of registration to be used statewide. 

   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to the
latter provisions. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 185034.3 is added to the 
 Public Utilities Code   , to read:  
   185034.3.  (a) The authority shall develop a policy that addresses
the preservation of farmland in agricultural areas where high-speed
rail lines are proposed for construction. The authority shall give
consideration to all of the following:
   (1) Displacement or disruption of water wells.
   (2) Displacement or disruption of water irrigation systems.
   (3) Loss of revenues from future crops when determining land
valuations associated with land acquisition for high-speed rail
lines.
   (4) Loss of value to property in cases where a high-speed rail
line crosses farmland on a diagonal, rendering the remaining farmland
compromised or unusable.
   (5) Other impacts on agriculture identified in hearings of the
authority, hearings of the Senate and Assembly committees with
jurisdiction over agriculture, and hearings of the Assembly Select
Committee on High-Speed Rail.
   (b) (1) Based on the policy developed pursuant to subdivision (a),
the authority shall develop, adopt, and implement a farmland
preservation and mitigation plan.
   (2) The authority shall provide a 60-day public comment period on
the draft farmland preservation and mitigation plan prior to adopting
the plan.
   (c) The independent peer review group established pursuant to
Section 185035 shall consult with persons with whom the authority has
entered into memoranda of understanding for the purpose of
identifying best practices for mitigating impacts to farmland from
high-speed rail construction. The peer review group shall provide a
report of its findings from those consultations to the authority, the
Senate and Assembly committees with jurisdiction over agriculture,
and the Assembly Select Committee on High-Speed Rail. The report
shall be submitted on or before March 1, 2012.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 29043 of the Food and
Agricultural Code is amended to read:
   29043.  Registration of an apiary shall be filed with the
commissioner of the county in which the apiary is located, or with
the secretary if there is no commissioner in the county. The
secretary shall adopt a form of registration to be used statewide,
which shall include a request for notification of use of pesticide in
accordance with Section 29101. All commissioners shall use the same
form.