BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SCR 71|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SCR 71
Author: Cannella (R), et al.
Amended: 5/15/12
Vote: 21
SUBJECT : The University of California Division of
Agriculture and
Natural Resources
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution states the Legislatures support
for the program and initiatives administered by the
University of California Division of Agriculture and
Natural Resources (UCDANR) and requests the United States
Department of Agriculture, the Regents of the University of
California, and the board of supervisors in each county in
the state to continue their support and funding of the
UCDANR.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following
legislative findings:
1. That the University of California (UC) is a land-grant
institution founded in 1868 whose original mandate was,
"without excluding other scientific and classical
studies and including military tactic, to teach such
branches of learning as are related to agriculture and
the mechanic arts."
2. The UCDANR is a network of researchers and educators
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dedicated to the creation, development, and application
of knowledge to local and statewide problems.
3. The UCDANR has a physical presence in 57 of
California's 58 counties and provides California
residents with local access to UC resources.
4. The UC Cooperative Extension is supporting healthy
communities by developing science-based strategies whose
goals include, but are not limited to, prevention of
childhood obesity and diabetes, reducing pesticide usage
in agriculture, offering nutrition education to
limited-resource families and children, enhancing the
safety of our food supply, and protecting state
resources from the harmful effects of invasive species.
5. The UCDANR Agricultural Experiment Station and the UC
Cooperative Extension develop and disseminate
innovations that help drive California's $35 billion
agricultural industry.
6. In 2011, Master Gardener Program volunteers and 4-H
volunteers trained by the UCDANR dedicated 1.9 million
hours of their time to improving the lives of young
people, enhancing their communities, and providing sound
research-based information to homeowners and backyard
gardeners.
7. The UCDANR has sustained substantial funding cuts in
recent years.
8. The number of UCDANR academic appointments has decreased
by 18 percent from 1998 to 2008, inclusive, for
advisors, specialists, and Agricultural Experiment
Station academics.
9. Budgetary constraints, vacant positions, and eliminated
positions are requiring individual UC cooperative
extensionists to assume responsibility for multiple
counties and threatening their ability to maintain
traditional service levels.
10.California policymakers and the public at large face
emerging and regulatory issues for which science-based
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information will be critical for effective, equitable,
and transparent policymaking.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
PQ:do 5/16/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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