This week’s report highlights the final slew of agricultural related bills that are now in print. With the exception of a handful of agricultural “spot” bills (not listed) that will be amended with substantive language on a later date, we now have a fairly good idea of “the good…the bad…and the ugly” bills that will the focus over the next several months.
Unemployment Insurance – AB 23XXX (Arambula) Adopts the necessary changes to California law to qualify for two major pieces of the Federal Economic Stimulus funding. The first applies to the “alternative base period” which allows recent earnings to qualify unemployed people for unemployment insurance benefits. It also qualifies California to receive $839 million in federal funds for unemployment insurance benefits. Secondly, the bill qualifies Californians for 20 weeks of additional federal unemployment benefits for people who have exhausted their benefits. These extended benefits are paid 100% by federal dollars.
Wheat Commission - AB 735 (Committee on Agriculture) reduces the number of producer members on the California Wheat Commission from 15 to 13 and adds two at-large members. There are also changes in the number and boundaries of the voting districts.
VOC’s - AB 835 (Monning) Specifies that any regulation adopted by the Air Resources Board, or adopted by the Department of Pesticide Regulation, or pesticide product registered by the Department of Pesticide Regulation, that reduces an environmental hazard associated with a pesticide product shall not lead to the registration of, or increased use of, any product that’s more toxic.
Agricultural Commodities - AB 905 (Committee on Agriculture) Removes the 200-pound per lot minimum exception that applies to showing proof of ownership in any transaction relating to the sale, purchase or transportation of any fruit, nut or vegetable. It will also apply to every person who sells or buys the commodity for resale, processing, or further distribution through any commercial or nonprofit enterprise. Additionally, the bill allows enforcement officials to take possession and maintain custody of products seized from individuals believed to be in unlawful passion of an agricultural commodity.
Dead Animal Haulers - AB 1249 (Galgiani) Authorizes the State Veterinarian to issue a master or individual permit to a licensed dead animal hauler or an individual hauling his or her own animal that allows transport of a dead animal to an appropriately permitted landfill under either of the following circumstances: (1) During a proclaimed state of emergency or local emergency; or, (2) When the licensed hauler has certification from a licensed renderer that the dead animal can’t be processed due to operational conditions or legal or regulatory requirements or constraints.
State Seed Enforcement - AB 1255 (Tom Berryhill) Extends until January 1, 2015, the authorizations to allocate annual subvention payments to the counties for enforcement of seed identification and quality standards.
Polyvinyl Chloride - AB 1329 (Brownley) Prohibits any person from selling at retail or distributing in commerce a rigid polyvinyl chloride packaging container.
Organic Foods - AB 1401 (Ma) Enacts the California Transition to Organics Act of
2009. The bill would establish the Transition to Organics Fund administered by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture for providing financial assistance to farms transitioning from conventional farm to certified organic farms.
Egg Sales - AB 1437 (Huffman) Commencing on January 1, 2015, the sale of shelled eggs for human consumption would be prohibited if the eggs are produced from an egg-laying hen that was confined on a farm or place that is not in compliance with animal care standards enacted in Proposition 2, which was approved by the voters on November 4, 2008.
Williamson Act - AB 1441 (Committee on Agriculture) Extends until January 1, 2011, existing Williamson Act law that authorizes a city or county and a landowner to agree to rescind a contract and simultaneously enter into a new contract to facilitate lot line adjustments.
Food Justice - AB 1488 (Hall) Requires by July 1, 2010, the Department of Food and Agriculture, in consultation with the State Department of Public Health and the State Department of Social Services, to provide recommendations to the Legislature regarding actions that need to be taken to promote food justice. The recommendations would encompass access to healthy food; diversity of food experiences; healthy and humane food production and preparation practices; agricultural land protection; and, increased urban access to farmers’ markets and farm stands.
Carbon Sequestration - AB 1504 (Skinner) Requires the State Board of Forestry to ensure that its rules and regulations governing the harvesting of commercial forest tree species maximize, to the extent feasible, the capacity of forest resources to sequester carbon dioxide emissions.
Agricultural Notices - AB 1526 (Fletcher) Authorizes the distribution of any written notice, report, statement or record that is required by provisions of law relating to agriculture to be transmitted electronically or by facsimile.
Judgment Liens - AB 1549 (Committee on Banking and Finance) Specifies that when there’s a conflict relative to the priority between a judgment lien on personal property and a conflicting security interest or agricultural lien in the same personal property, priority shall be determined according to priority in time of filing or perfection.
Antibiotics - SB 416 (Florez) Places severe restrictions on the use of antibiotics in livestock and poultry raised for food products. The provisions include: prohibiting any school, after January 1, 2012, from serving poultry and meat products treated with antibiotics to pupils; prohibit the registration of any antibiotic; and, commencing January 1, 2015, prohibit a person from using antibiotics for nontherapeutic and prophylactic use in any animal raised for the production of any human food product.
Hazardous Cleaning Products - SB 443 (Pavley) Includes cleaning products used in food facilities among the chemical products and ingredients that are currently under review by the Department of Toxic Substances Control for consideration as being chemicals of concern relative to public health and worker safety.
Food Recall Technology - SB 550 (Florez) Requires grocery stores that use a programmable checkout scanner to ensure that when a recalled product is scanned, the programmable checkout scanner will notify the employee and customer that the product being purchased is subject to a recall.
Williamson Act – SB 715 (Wolk) Makes several substantive changes including the authorization for a county board of supervisors to require the county assessor to send an annual survey to verify continuous agricultural income from one or more agricultural uses or agricultural commodities, in the form the board prescribes, to all owners of land under a contract. The owner or owners would be required to return the completed survey to the assessor within 60 days. The bill would define "agricultural income" to mean continuous income derived from either an agricultural use or an agricultural commodity, or both.
Aerial Spraying - SB 759 (Leno) Requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to use prescribed information regarding the effects of pesticides, including inert ingredients, to develop educational material for distribution to physicians and surgeons and to the public when pesticides are aerially applied near residential or sensitive areas.
Card Check - SB 789 (Steinberg)
Permits agricultural employees to select their labor representatives by submitting a petition to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board accompanied by representation cards signed by a majority of the bargaining unit. The board would be required to conduct an immediate investigation to determine whether to certify the labor organization as the exclusive bargaining representative for the particular agricultural employees. Within 5 days after receiving a petition, the board would be required to make a non-appealable administrative decision. If the board determined that the representation cards meet specified criteria, then the labor organization would be certified as the exclusive bargaining representative. If the board determined that the representation cards were deficient, it would notify the labor organization of the deficiency and grant the labor organization 30 days to submit
additional cards.
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