BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 914
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
AB 914 (Atkins) - As Introduced: February 17, 2011
SUBJECT : Cut Flower Commission: market information.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Cut Flower Commission (CFC) to
annually collect information relating to the type and varieties
of cut flower's market price information based on sales to
prevent unfair trade practices. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires CFC to annually collect information from members
related to sales in order to prevent unfair trade practices.
2)Requires dissemination of this information to all interested
persons.
3)Requires information about individual CFC members to be
confidential and not be made public.
4)Allows the disclosure of the sales information that gives
industry totals, averages or other similar data.
5)Requires procedures for the collection and dissemination of
the information be adopted by CFC and approved by the
Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture
(CDFA).
EXISTING LAW creates CFC, composed of 13 members, with specified
powers and duties, including, but not limited to, conducting,
and contracting with others to conduct, production research,
including the study, analysis, accumulation, and dissemination
of information obtained from that research. (Food and
Agriculture Code Section (FAC) 77910-77924). Existing law also
allows several marketing commissions to collect sales
information on commodities. (FAC 67094, 68082, 75602, 78882,
79252)
FISCAL EFFECT : Legislative Counsel has keyed this bill fiscal.
COMMENTS : According to the author, CFC needs the authority
AB 914
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given by AB 914 to help prevent unfair trade practices within
California. The author states that by providing relevant market
price information, CFC will be able to address and track
misinformation about commodity values, which can have a negative
financial impact on the growers who produce a specific
commodity. Supporters state that in an industry dominated with
cheap imported flowers, this bill would allow the market to
fluctuate on credible information, providing the opportunity for
California's growers to receive fair market value for their
California grown flowers.
According to CDFA, the purpose of marketing programs is to
provide agricultural producers and handlers an organizational
structure, operating under government sanction, which allows
them to solve production and marketing problems collectively
that they could not address individually. Current marketing
programs' activities include commodity promotion, research,
maintenance of quality standards, and gathering information on
commodities sales. Commissions provide a structure for solving
problems and also provide a vehicle for collecting funds to
support activities.
It is not unusual for marketing commissions to have small
variations in legislative authority, due to the uniqueness of
various commodities. Makeup of the boards, terms for elected
member and levels of product promotion are examples of this
variability among commissions.
Currently five marketing commissions, The Avocado, Kiwifruit,
Apple, Blueberry and Mendocino County Winegrape and Wine, have
the authority to gather and disseminate sales information for
the purpose of preventing unfair trade practices.
AB 914 differs from the above stated commissions in two ways:
1. The sales information gathered is limited to specific
types and varieties of cut flowers are specified annually
by CTC. According to the author, this is necessary due to
the wide range of types and varieties of cut flowers grown
in California and offers CTC flexibility to target cut
flowers where unfair trade practices are believed to occur.
2. Gathering and dissemination of sales information is
limited to cut flower producers who agree to participate.
According to discussion with supporters, this is necessary
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to incrementally determine the value of the program to the
cut flower industry.
Since CTC started 20 years ago, there have been many changes to
the industry. The California cut flower market is strongly
influenced by imports. According to CTC, AB 914 will allow CTC
members to follow the market fluctuations based on creditable
pricing information and provide the chance for California flower
growers to receive fair market value for their California grown
flowers.
The committee may wish to consider whether the authority that AB
914 provides for CTC is within the acceptable range of
authorities held by commissions.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Cut Flower Commission
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Victor Francovich / AGRI. / (916)
319-2084