BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 2730
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 30, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

            AB 2730 (Agriculture Committee) - As Amended:  March 18, 2014

          Policy Committee:                               
          AgricultureVote:7-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the California Department of Food and  
          Agriculture (CDFA) to:

          1)On or before July 1, 2015, develop and maintain a written list  
            of animal diseases reasonably likely to enter California for  
            which detection, exclusion, eradication, control, or  
            management action by the state might be appropriate.

          2)Develop and maintain a written plan of the most appropriate  
            action options for detection, exclusion, eradication, control,  
            or management of the higher priority animal diseases.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Minor and absorbable costs to CDFA for updating the disease  
            list.

          2)Modest but likely absorbable costs to CDFA for renewing and  
            developing response action plans over an uncapped period of  
            time, with a potential impact to GF if period for developing  
            response action plans were compressed.

           COMMENTS  

          1)  Purpose.   According to the authors, AB 2730 attempts to  
            proactively in identify animal diseases that have a reasonable  
            likelihood of entering California, and requires CDFA to  
            develop, ahead of their entry and beyond, response plans,  
            detection protocols, regulatory actions, treatment strategies  
            and research priorities for those diseases.








                                                                  AB 2730
                                                                  Page  2


          2)  Background.   CDFA has historically responded to the discovery  
            of an invasive animal disease by identifying it in their lab,  
            notifying the US Department of Agriculture, identifying the  
            consequences of the disease, assessing the need of quarantine,  
            and identifying potential economic consequences to California  
            and the United States.  If warranted, CDFA convened a  
            Technical Working Group to review the situation and provide  
            recommendations for detection protocols, regulatory actions,  
            treatment strategies and research priorities.

            For example, CDFA developed and revised a Foreign Animal  
            Disease Emergency Response Executive Order in January 2006  
            that laid out procedures and protocols for dealing with  
            foreign animal diseases, including a scenario for an Avian  
            Influenza event in California.

            In recent years, CDFA experienced cuts to its animal health  
            and lab funds, potentially resulting in increased risks to the  
            state's livestock and personal pets from animal diseases and  
            viruses.  In order to use resources more effectively,  
            prioritizing a list of animal diseases and health risks that  
            are likely to be introduced into California could help CDFA  
            focus its expertise on those areas of the greatest risk.

          3)  Invasive pests.   Several years ago an approach similar to that  
            in this bill was taken for invasive pests.  AB 2763 (Laird),  
            Chapter 573, Statutes of 2008, required CDFA to develop and  
            maintain a list of invasive animals, plants, and insects  
            likely to enter California, and plan for appropriate responses  
            to these possible pests.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916) 319-2081