BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 348|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 348
Author: Galgiani (D)
Amended: 8/7/13
Vote: 21
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE : 4-0, 4/2/13
AYES: Galgiani, Cannella, Berryhill, Lieu
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/15/13
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SENATE FLOOR : 38-0, 4/22/13
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller,
Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff,
Jackson, Knight, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Nielsen,
Padilla, Pavley, Price, Roth, Steinberg, Walters, Wolk,
Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 9/3/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Agricultural seed: county seed enforcement
subventions
SOURCE : California Seed Association
DIGEST : This bill extends the operation and repeal dates for
provisions of the California Seed Law (CSL), including an annual
county subvention for enforcement activities necessary to carry
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out these provisions, until July 1, 2016 and January 1, 2017,
respectively.
Assembly Amendments revise the operation and repeal dates for
provisions of the CSL until July1, 2016 and January 1, 2017,
respectively.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes the CSL which provides for
an optional subvention program under which a county may enter
into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary of Food and
Agriculture (Secretary) to receive an annual apportionment of
funds from the Secretary for maintaining a statewide compliance
level on all seed within the county. Under those provisions, a
county with no registered seed labelers may annually receive
$100, at the discretion of the Secretary, and a county with
registered seed-labeler operations may annually receive a
subvention based on enforcement activity generated by the
registered seed-labeler operations within the county and upon
the performance of enforcement activities necessary to carry out
the provisions of the CSL. Existing law makes those provisions
inoperative on July 1, 2014, and repeals those provisions on
January 1, 2015.
This bill extends the operation of these provisions until July
1, 2016, and repeals the provisions on January 1, 2017.
Background
The CSL was enacted in 1967 to ensure that agricultural and
vegetable seed is properly and accurately identified on the
product label. Seed is analyzed through the Seed Services
program administered by the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA). The CSL is locally enforced by county
agricultural commissioners who enter into cooperative agreements
with the Secretary of CDFA and agree to maintain a statewide
compliance level on all seed sold in the county. In return,
county agricultural commissioners receive annual subvention
payments for expenses incurred in association with approved
enforcement work plans.
Funding for this program is entirely supported through industry
seed assessments and registration fees and is administered by
the CDFA. Every labeler of agricultural or vegetable seed
offered for sale in California, or any person who sells that
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seed in this state, must annually register as a seed labeler and
pay an annual fee of $40. In addition, those who are registered
seed labelers must also pay an assessment capped at 40 cents per
$100 gross annual dollar volume sales. The Secretary shall
determine the rate of assessment, not to exceed the department's
cost of carrying out these provisions.
CDFA allocates $120,000 for subvention payments among all
counties for costs incurred by enforcement of the CSL. At the
discretion of the Secretary and upon recommendation of the Seed
Advisory Board, counties with no registered seed labelers may
annually receive $100. Counties with registered seed labelers
shall receive subventions based upon the volume of work
performed.
Currently, there are 13 counties that do not have registered
seed labelers and receive subvention funds: Alpine, Amador,
Calaveras, Del Norte, El Dorado, Inyo, Lake, Mariposa, Mono,
Plumas, Sierra, Trinity, and Tuolumne. In addition, there are
three counties with registered seed labelers that received
subvention funds but did not complete approved work plans:
Contra Costa, Marin, and Napa.
Prior Legislation
AB 1255 (T. Berryhill, Chapter 281, Statutes of 2009), extends
to January 1, 2015, the operation of provisions of the
California Seed Law (CSL), including a subvention program.
AB 856 (Galgiani, Chapter 425, Statutes of 2008), extends to
January 1, 2010, the operation of provisions of the CSL,
including a subvention program; provides that the minimum $100
subvention may not be allocated to counties without registered
seed labelers.
AB 315 (Salinas, Chapter 394, Statutes of 2003), requires the
Secretary to pay a total annual subvention to counties of
$120,000; extends to July 1, 2009, the operation of provisions
in the CSL.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to Senate Appropriations Committee, currently, CDFA
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sends $120,000 per year (special funds) to California's counties
in order to fund the enforcement of the CSL provisions.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/1/13)
California Seed Association (source)
Rural County Representatives of California
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 9/3/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,
Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hall, Patterson, Vacancy, Vacancy
JL:ej 9/3/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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