BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE
Senator Anthony Cannella, Chairman
BILL NO: AB 914 HEARING: 06/21/11
AUTHOR: Atkins FISCAL: Yes
VERSION: 06/13/11 CONSULTANT: John Chandler
State Commissions: market information.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
The California Avocado Commission (CAC) was created in 1978 to
provide advertising, promotion, education, and research for the
benefit of California avocado producers.
The 15-member commission is composed of 10 producers elected two
from each of the five districts, four handler members, and one
public member. The CAC's activities are supported by mandatory
assessments on avocado producers in California.
The five districts of the CAC producer members are reapportioned
every five years with each district representing 20 percent of
the avocado production in the state. The commission determines
every two years the number of pounds of avocados produced in
each postal zip code area and for the entire state.
The California Cut Flower Commission (CFC) was formed in 1990 to
promote and conduct research for the California cut flower
industry. The CFC is composed of 13 members, 12 of which are
producers and one public member. The California Avocado
Commission, the California Apple Commission, and the California
Blueberry Commission have the authority to gather and
disseminate sales marketing information to prevent unfair trade
practices.
PROPOSED LAW
AB 914 would do the following:
Increase from two years to five years the number of
prior avocado crop years used the CAC determines the
average number of pounds produced in each California postal
zip code area and statewide average.
Require avocado producers to provide the commission with
the location at which avocados are produced and the annual
volume of avocados produced at each location, information
that may be used for food safety, communications,
reapportionment of districts, and to conduct elections and
referenda.
AB 914 - Page 2
Require the Cut Flower Commission to collect market
price information from willing producers of sales on
commission-determined varieties of cut flowers in order to
prevent unfair trade practices.
Require dissemination of the market price information to
the willing cut flower producers.
Require that information collected about individual cut
flower producers be kept confidential and not made public.
Require that the CFC, with the approval of the
California Department of Food and Agriculture, adopt
procedures for collection and dissemination of the market
price information on sales of specified cut flowers.
COMMENTS
1.Supporters state that AB 914 would address unfair trade
practices by allowing the market to fluctuate on credible
information. Cut flower market values based on misinformation
is detrimental to California cut flower growers in an industry
dominated by cheap imported flowers. By giving the commission
the tools to gather and disseminate credible cut flower market
price information, producers would be able to receive the fair
market value for the commodity.
Increasing the time for the California Avocado Commission
(CAC) to determine the average pounds of avocados produced to
five years will help the commission look at production for the
entire period prior to the five-year reapportionment of the
producer districts. Requiring avocado producers to provide
the location and annual volume produced will aid the CAC in
the reapportionment process. AB 914 enhances the timeliness
and provides a better edge for the CAC to address a food
safety issue with location and production information of
California avocados.
2.AB 914 would require avocado producers to provide the
locations and the volume of avocados produced at each
location. In the unfortunate event of a food illness outbreak
linked to avocados, health agencies will be tracking and
tracing back individual fruits or lots to their source.
Typically, the handler provides the trace-back information to
the health investigator, as handlers commonly track the
sources of commodities handled and shipped in the course of
AB 914 - Page 3
business. It does not seem that general production
information and location required in AB 914 would be as useful
as information available from handlers on the source and
disposition of contaminated product when tracing the source
and controlling food safety outbreaks.
PRIOR ACTIONS
Assembly Floor 70-0
Assembly Appropriations17-0
Assembly Agriculture 9-0
SUPPORT
California Cut Flower Commission
OPPOSITION
None received