BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE
Senator Anthony Cannella, Chairman
BILL NO: SB 1187 HEARING: 04/17/12
AUTHOR: Rubio FISCAL: No
VERSION: 02/22/12 CONSULTANT: John Chandler
California Seed Law.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
The California Seed Law ensures that seed offered for sale is
properly identified and is of the quality represented on the tag
or label. This law is enforced through California's Seed Law
Enforcement program, a third-party seed inspection program which
monitors the accuracy of label statements as to variety and
type, purity, and germination. The program is administered
statewide by the California Department of Food and Agriculture
(CDFA).
Existing seed law defines a "person" as an individual,
partnership, trust association, cooperative association, or any
other business unit or organization.
Existing law requires that each container of agricultural seed
for sale or sold in the state shall have a label or tag which
provides specified information. There is an exemption for
occasional sale of seed grain by the producer to their neighbor
for use within the county of purchase.
PROPOSED LAW
SB 1187 would do the following:
Include the term "corporation" in the definition of
"person" for California Seed Law
Ensure the amount of seed represented on a tag or label
is properly identified.
Clarify that "neighbor" means a person who lives in
close proximity to another when determining the labeling
exemption of occasional sale of seed to a neighbor.
Make other technical changes.
COMMENTS
1.According to the author's office, this bill will update and
SB 1187 - Page 2
clarify seed law to cover existing industry practices. There
is concern if CDFA initiated enforcement action against a
properly registered corporation there might be ambiguity as to
whether the corporation was liable due to the current
definition of "person." SB 1187 would eliminate that
ambiguity by including "corporation" in the definition of
"person" for California Seed Law.
Further, seed law is intended to provide the consumer with
confidence that the label properly identifies what is inside
the seed package. SB 1187 would codify that the label would
not only properly identified and quality represented but also
the amount represented on the label.
Finally, SB 1187 gives better direction on seed sales between
neighbors that are exempted from labeling requirements. Under
current law, there is no clear definition for "neighbor,"
which could be portrayed as only adjacent property owners. SB
1187 will allow these sales to occur beyond the adjacent
property owners and include those in close proximity.
2.SB 1187 will provide a needed definition for "neighbor" for
purposes of determining exempted sales from seed labeling
requirements. The bill would define "neighbor" as a person
who lives in close proximity to another. The committee may
wish to define "close proximity."
3.Senate Engrossing and Enrolling has suggested several
amendments to the bill of a grammatical nature. The committee
may wish to consider whether or not SB 1187 should have good
grammar.
SUPPORT
None received
OPPOSITION
None received