Amended in Senate June 3, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1597

Introduced by Committee on Agriculture (Eggman (Chair), Olsen (Vice Chair), Atkins, Dahle, Pan, Quirk, and Yamada)

February 4, 2014

An act to amend begin delete Section end delete begin insert Sections 9641.5 and end insert 42815 of the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to food and agriculture.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1597, as amended, Committee on Agriculture. begin delete Fruit, nut, and vegetable standards. end delete begin insert Food and agriculture. end insert

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(1) Existing law requires any horse or other Equidae brought into the state to be accompanied by certain health information, including certification that the horse is free from evidence of any communicable disease. A violation of those provisions is an infraction or a misdemeanor, as specified. Existing law exempts from those provisions a horse or other Equidae moved from California to another state for no more than 14 days.

end insert begin insert

This bill would delete this exemption. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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Existing

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begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Existing end insert law, until January 1, 2015, requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to create an industry-funded standardization program for purposes of implementing and enforcing provisions relating to fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Existing law requires the secretary to adopt regulations reasonably necessary to carry out those provisions, including establishing assessment rates and procedures for payment of assessments. Existing law establishes an assessment rate of $0.003 per container for commodities that are not otherwise subject to a mandatory inspection fee, and an assessment rate of $0.001 per container for commodities that are subject to a mandatory inspection fee, to be deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund and used for implementing and enforcing the provisions specified above. Existing law requires the secretary to exempt any commodity subject to those provisions if a petition representing a specified percentage of the producers is submitted to the secretary, as specified.

This bill would extend the repeal date of the standardization program provisions to January 1, 2020.

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(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert .

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 9641.5 of the end insert begin insert Food and Agricultural Code end insert
begin insert is amended to read: end insert

9641.5.  

(a) Any horse or other Equidae brought into this state
shall be accompanied by the following:

(1) A certificate of health from the state of origin issued by an
accredited veterinarian. The certificate shall state that the horse or
other Equidae is free from evidence of any communicable disease.

(2) Verification that any horse or Equidae has been tested within
the preceding 12 months and found negative to a test for equine
infectious anemia. The test shall be approved by the secretary and
conducted by a laboratory approved by the United States
Department of Agriculture, and the necessary sample shall be
taken, and the verification signed by, an accredited veterinarian.

(b) A nursing foal of less than six months of age when
accompanied by a negative dam and any horse or other Equidae
consigned for immediate slaughter shall be exempt from the testing
requirements of this section.

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(c) Any horse or other Equidae moved from California to another
state for a period of not more than 14 days, is exempt from this
section upon returning to California, provided that the exemption
does not apply to any horse or other Equidae that leaves the
continental United States.

end delete

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 42815 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
amended to read:

42815.  

This article shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
which becomes effective on or before January 1, 2020, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

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begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert begin insert

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.

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