BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2730
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2730 (Agriculture Committee)
As Amended March 18, 2014
Majority vote
AGRICULTURE 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Eggman, Olsen, Skinner, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Dahle, Pan, Quirk, Yamada | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| | | |Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| | | |Holden, Jones, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA), on or before July 1, 2015, and to the extent
funds are available, to develop and maintain a written plan on
animal diseases likely to enter California, and how to deal with
the higher priority diseases. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes legislative findings and declarations as follows:
a) Global travel, trade and climate change introduce
invasive animals, plants, insects, and plant and animal
diseases into California; and,
b) Humans are susceptible to 85% of animal diseases.
2)Requires, on or before July 1, 2015, CDFA to develop and
maintain a written list of the reasonably likely animal
diseases that could enter California for which state action,
e.g., detection, exclusion, eradication, control, or
management, would be appropriate.
3)Requires CDFA, to the extent funds are available, to develop
and maintain a written plan of the most appropriate action
options of the higher priority animal diseases listed
according to the previous required list. Requires CDFA, in
determining higher priority diseases and appropriated actions,
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to consult with the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA), the University of California (UC), state agencies and
departments, and others in the scientific and research
community.
4)Permits CDFA, in implementing these requirements, to contract
for scientific research with UC or other institutions of
higher learning.
EXISTING LAW : Requires CDFA to protect and promote California
agricultural industries, including our various animal
industries; requires CDFA to periodically publish a list of
reportable animal conditions that pose or may pose significant
threats to public health, animal health, environmental health or
the food supply; provides for quarantines, confiscation or
destruction of diseased animals; prohibits the importation of
specified animals into the state and any other form of animal
life which is detrimental to agriculture; and, such animals
shall be refused entry and shall be immediately destroyed or
shipped out of the state within 48 hours.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill has minor and absorbable costs to CDFA for
updating the disease list, and 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 the
General Fund if the period for developing response action plans
were compressed.
COMMENTS : CDFA had developed a Foreign Animal Disease (FAD)
Emergency Response Executive Order (FADEREO), and then revised
it January 2006. It lays out procedures and protocols for
dealing with FAD, including a California scenario for a pandemic
and Avian Influenza event. Due to the virulent nature of many
animal diseases, and their potential transmittal to humans,
urgent response is essential to protect animals and humans.
According to CDFA's FADEREO of lessons learned from previous
outbreaks, "early and continuous surveillance for FAD's in
California is the single most effective method of preventing a
FAD from becoming established."
CDFA has historically responded to the discovery of an invasive
animal disease by identifying it in their state lab; notifying
USDA; identifying the consequences of the disease; the need of
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quarantine; and, economic consequences to our state and nation.
Upon certain findings, they convene a Technical Working Group
(TWG) that reviews the situation and provides recommendations
for an eradication program that may include a multi-faceted
program involving detection protocols, regulatory actions,
treatment strategies and research priorities.
In recent years, due to state revenue shortfalls, CDFA's budget
has had significant cuts, including animal health and lab funds.
This has put the state's livestock industry and personal pets
at risk of contracting animal health diseases or viruses. In
order to focus the limited dollars and resources more
effectively, prioritizing a list of potential animal diseases
and health risks that could be introduced into California could
help CDFA in focusing its expertise to those areas of the
greatest risk.
This bill attempts to be proactive in identifying diseases that
have a "reasonable likelihood" of entering California, and
requires CDFA to develop, ahead of its entry and beyond, a
response plan, the detection protocols, regulatory actions,
treatment strategies and research priorities that TWG would do
after the disease is present in the state.
Several years ago, a similar approach was taken for 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.
This bill follows the path of planning ahead of a problem,
rather than reacting to a problem. Having more complete
response plans in place should lead to greater prevention and
protection of our animal industries, as well as, household pets.
Analysis Prepared by : Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084
FN: 0003240
AB 2730
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