BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 1871 (Dickinson) - Agricultural Products: Direct Marketing:
Certified Farmers' Markets
Amended: August 4, 2014 Policy Vote: Agriculture 5-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 4, 2014
Consultant: Robert Ingenito
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1871 would modify provisions related to
certified farmers' markets (CFM) by (1) increasing fees and
penalties, and (2) expanding requirements, enforcement, and
violations. The bill would also delete the current January 1,
2018 sunset provisions, making this program permanent.
Fiscal Impact: The California Department of Food and Agriculture
(CDFA) indicates that, under the bill, costs relating to
oversight of county programs and enforcement would be about
$1.35 million annually (special fund), reflecting (1) new
oversight and enforcement personnel, and (2) reimbursement to
counties for investigative work at the local level. However, the
bill's increased fee authority would generate revenues roughly
equal to the higher costs (See Staff Comments).
Background: The federal Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act
of 1976 was enacted to promote "the development and expansion of
direct marketing of agricultural commodities from farmers to
consumers" in order to "lower the cost and increase the quality
of food to such consumers while providing increased financial
returns to the farmers." Shortly thereafter, CDFA enacted
regulations exempting certified producers from specified packing
and labeling requirements under the Fruit, Nut, and Vegetable
Standards Law in order to sell agricultural products directly to
consumers. The required certification issued by the county
agricultural commissioner offered assurance that the produce
sold was grown by the producer.
Currently, there are nearly 800 CFMs in California with 3,350
certified farmers directly marketing to consumers. .As CFMs
AB 1871 (Dickinson)
Page 1
gained popularity, concerns of fraud grew in the marketplace.
AB 593 of 1999 addressed these concerns by authorizing
individual CFMs to adopt more restrictive rules and procedures
and required that each vendor pay a stall fee of $0.60 per
market day to pay for program costs. Nevertheless, fraudulent
marketing is still of great concern to vendors and consumers, as
highlighted by a Los Angeles television station broadcasting an
undercover story a few years ago, which exposed a certified
producer who was selling things he did not produce.
Proposed Law: This bill would allow for additional marketing
methods to be considered CFM. Specifically, this measure would
allow CDFA to contract funding back to the counties for services
rendered and direct marketing misrepresentation would become a
misdemeanor offense or be subject to civil penalties. This
measure would also allow anyone to register as a direct
marketing producer provided they submit information about crops
they intend to harvest, and a self-certification that they are
following good agricultural practices, which would then allow
exemptions from size, standard pack, container, and labeling
requirements. Specifically, this bill would do the following:
Creates and modifies crimes for misleading statements or
representations with respect to the area of production,
identity of producer, or manner of production, or use of
the term "California Grown," punishable by a fine of up to
$2,500 or six months in county jail.
Provides that, in lieu of prosecution, the Secretary of
the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) or
county agricultural commissioner (CAC) may levy a civil
penalty against violators of not less than $500 and not
more than $5,000 for each violation. Additionally allows
the CDFA or CAC to modify, suspend, revoke, or refuse, or
condition the issuance of a permit, registration, or
certification issued under this chapter.
Creates the Direct Agricultural Marketing Penalty
Account (DAMPA) and requires all penalties collected under
this chapter to be deposited into DAMPA for use in
investigations and enforcement actions related to this
chapter; authorizes a continuous appropriation of DAMPA
funds without regard to fiscal year.
AB 1871 (Dickinson)
Page 2
Increases the CFM vendor fee from $0.60 per day per
stall to $2.00 per day per stall and expands the payment
base from CFM vendors to all vendors selling goods under
authority of the CFM operator; allows CFM operator to
recover those fees from vendors.
Related Legislation:
AB 996 (Dickenson) of 2013. Would have expanded
requirements, raised fees, and increased penalties for
provisions relating to certified farmers' markets. This
bill was held under submission in the Assembly Committee on
Appropriations.
AB 654 (Hall), Chapter 409, Statutes of 2013. Extends
from January 1, 2014 to January 1, 2018, the sunset date
for the collection of certified farmers' market fees and
related penalty and enforcement provisions.
Staff Comments: Over the last five years, the CDFA has collected
between $240,000 and $270,000 per year in vendor fees under the
current $0.60 fee. Assuming the number of markets and vendors
remain consistent, the $2.00 vendor fee would generate revenue
between $800,000 and $900,000 per year to the CDFA. Given that
the universe of vendors paying fees will expand to include all
vendors selling goods under authority of the CFM operator,
however, total fee revenue to the CDFA (Agriculture Fund) is
expected to be $1.35 million.
The bill would result in additional personnel-related costs,
estimated to be $382,000 annually. In addition, approximately
$725,000 would be used for county cooperative agreements for
enforcement activities. The total costs to the program,
including the $240,000 annual budget for the current program,
would be approximately $1.35 million.