BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE on AGRICULTURE
Senator Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2185 HEARING: 06/17/14
AUTHOR: Eggman FISCAL: Yes
VERSION: 04/23/14 CONSULTANT: Anne Megaro
Bees: foraging: state-owned lands.
SUMMARY :
This bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife and
the Department of Transportation to encourage apiculture
(beekeeping) on public lands that these departments respectively
manage.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW :
The U.S. honey bee industry is critical for the pollination of
agricultural crops across the nation. In California, honey bees
are necessary to pollinate fruit and nut trees as well as a
variety of row crops and native plants. These bees also produce
honey where in 2012, California producers marketed 12 million
pounds of honey worth $23 million. Total apiary products,
including honey, beeswax and rental of bees for pollination,
were valued at $56.9 million (United States Department of
Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service).
In 2006, honey bee colony collapse disorder (CCD) was identified
as a new threat to the health and welfare of honey bees and
their hives, as over 30% of beehives nationwide died off over
the winter. CCD is characterized by a sudden disappearance
and/or abandonment of adult honey bees from their hives for
reasons not fully understood. In response to this problem, the
CCD Steering Committee and Working Team was created to help
coordinate efforts to better understand the occurrence of CCD
and determine what measures could be taken to improve bee health
and prevent CCD. Led by the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), participants include government, industry,
and academic experts who collaborate to conduct research,
develop beekeeping best management practices, and identify the
cause(s) of CCD and declining bee health in general.
In May 2013, the USDA and the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) issued a report on honey bee health as a
result of an October 2012 conference organized by individuals on
the CCD Steering Committee. Per the conference report,
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"Consensus is building that a complex set of stressors and
pathogens is associated with CCD, and researchers are
increasingly using multi-factorial approaches to studying causes
of colony losses."
( http://www.usda.gov/documents/ReportHoneyBeeHealth.pdf ).
Existing law provides for the protection and promotion of
apiculture in California. The California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) is responsible for administering this program
and county agricultural commissioners are responsible for
enforcing apiary laws and regulations on the local level (Food
and Agricultural Code �29000 et seq.).
Existing law prohibits any person from maintaining an apiary on
public land without the expressed oral or written approval of
the entity that is responsible for the land. Any apiary located
or maintained on public land without lawful consent is a public
nuisance and may be seized by CDFA or the county agricultural
commissioner (Food and Agricultural Code �29046).
Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife
(DFW) to lease department-managed lands for agricultural
activities, such as grazing, where such activities are
consistent with the purpose of the acquired land and compatible
with the approved management plan for the area. DFW may enter
into contracts for the management of the land by specified
nonprofit conservation groups, and management plans are subject
to public review and comment. DFW may collect fees and issue
permits for specific uses of department-managed lands. Fees
shall be appropriated for the management and operation of such
lands (Fish and Game Code �1745 - 1745.1).
Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) to lease to public or private entities the use of
areas above or below state highways for up to 99 years, subject
to conditions that maintain protection and safety of highway
facilities and maintain adjacent land uses. In providing such
lease, Caltrans must determine that the proposed use is not in
conflict with local zoning regulations, and leases shall be made
by a competitive bidding process, as specified. Revenues shall
be deposited in the State Highway Account (Streets and Highways
Code �104.12).
PROPOSED LAW :
AB 2185 - Page 3
This bill:
1. States findings and declarations in regards to the state
of the honey bee industry, the importance of honey bees to
agricultural production, and the challenges impacting honey
bee health.
2. States that it is the policy of the state that DFW and
Caltrans shall encourage apiculture on lands that those
departments respectively manage.
3. Requires DFW and Caltrans, if developing or amending
land use plans or for lands that are idle or have been
granted a right-of-way, to do the following:
a. Maximize the coexistence and minimize the
conflict between apiculture and other public land
uses, values, and public safety.
b. Establish an efficient, effective, and uniform
system for the management and administration of
apiculture on public lands.
c. Ensure that the state receives an appropriate
financial return from the use of public resources.
4. Requires the secretary of CDFA to assist CFW and
Caltrans, to the extent possible, to accomplish apiculture
access on their respective state-owned lands.
COMMENTS :
Need for this bill: According to the author, "The intent of
this bill is to provide more diverse foraging opportunities from
public lands for bees, in an effort to strengthen bee health
while improving the pollination of our natural environment."
Interim hearing: The Assembly Committee on Agriculture and the
Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials
held a joint informational hearing on October 16, 2013 on the
issue of bee health and colony collapse disorder. Expert
witnesses testified that a variety of stressors are responsible
for the decline in honey bee health, such as nutrition,
parasitic mites, pesticides, viruses, and bee management
practices. According to the author, the "areas of greatest
AB 2185 - Page 4
concerns were with nutrition and the need for adequate and
dynamic foraging opportunities for bees; education of farmers
regarding cultural practices when bees are present; and,
addressing the parasitic mites that weaken the bees, their
larvae and the overall health of the hive."
Nutrition: Several factors contributing to CCD and poor bee
health have been identified by experts, as previously stated.
It can be argued from a physiological viewpoint that by
addressing nutritional requirements, bees will have the
fundamental tools needed to support a healthy immune system to
fight parasites and pathogens as well as a variety of other
environmental stressors. Meeting these nutritional requirements
has been challenging where, in some instances, bees are not
provided adequate and diverse foraging.
Bees and agriculture: There may be concern as to the impact of
this bill on certain agricultural crops, specifically seedless
citrus varieties. In 2007, the Seedless Mandarin and Honeybee
Coexistence Working Group was created to address concerns of
citrus cross-pollination of seedless mandarins that could lead
to seeds forming within these fruits, causing them to no longer
be seedless and thus losing value in the marketplace. Similar
concerns exist with this bill should honey bees be placed on
state lands adjacent to sensitive agricultural crops (Food and
Agricultural Code �29810-12).
RELATED LEGISLATION :
AB 1912 (Evans), Chapter 585, Statutes of 2010. Creates the
California Apiary Research Commission in state government to
conduct research and education programs regarding the health and
welfare of honey bees and the beekeeping industry.
PRIOR ACTIONS :
Assembly Floor 77-0
Assembly Appropriations 17-0
Assembly Agriculture 7-0
SUPPORT :
Bayer Corporation
California Farm Bureau Federation
Pesticide Action Network, North America
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OPPOSITION :
None received