Senate Agriculture Committee

1020 N Street, Suite 244 ● Sacramento, California 95814 ● 916-651-1508 (phone) ● 916-327-8290 (fax)

 

END OF YEAR REPORT

2007

 

This report will provide you with a summary of all bills heard by the Committee as well as a brief synopsis of the informational hearings during the 2007 legislative year. 

 

For additional information concerning any bill in this summary, please contact the Committee office.

 

Thank you for your continued interest in agriculture issues.   It is important for the Committee to continue advancing agriculture policy issues for California.     


Introduction / Senate Bills / Assembly Bills / Informational Hearings

 

Introduction

 

The Senate Agriculture Committee is pleased to provide this End of Year Report for the benefit of the Committee members, their staff, the administration, the lobbying community, and the public.  The Committee hopes that this report provides a quick and convenient reference to bills that were considered by the Committee and informational hearings held during the 2007 legislative year.

 

Committee bill files dated 2004 or earlier are available for review at the California State Archives.  Committee bill files from this year and last Session are kept with the Committee and are available for public review upon request.  Please contact us by phone at (916) 651-1508 or in person at 1020 N Street, Suite 244 if you need more detailed information about any bill included in this report. 

 

The Committee also keeps a record of all informational hearings.  The record includes the hearing agenda, various background materials developed by the Committee staff, testimony, and supporting materials submitted by witnesses.  In addition, informational hearings are often audio recorded and occasionally video recorded.  Please contact us if you need more information about an informational hearing summarized in this report.


Summary of Legislation

 

This summary is intended to provide a quick reference to bills that were considered by the Committee during the 2007 legislative year.  The summary is not intended to provide a complete analysis of each bill.  However, analysis are available upon request.  If you need more information about a particular bill, which is presented in this report, please review the complete bill analysis.

 

The summary includes the bill number, the bill’s author, a summary of the bill, and the current status of the bill.  Senate Bills are listed first because the Committee normally hears Senate Bills early in the legislative year, followed by Assembly Bills.


Senate Bills

 

SB 107 (Alquist), as referred to committee, would require the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the State Department of Health Care Services to establish the “Healthy Food Retail Innovations Fund.”  Because this bill was amended replacing the two agencies with the State Department of Health Services, the bill was withdrawn from the Committee.  In August, the bill was gutted and amended with language related to wave pools.  Status: Held in the Senate Rules Committee.

 

SB 200 (Florez) would establish recall regulations on produce and create a leafy green vegetable inspection program.  Status: Held in the Assembly Agriculture Committee.

 

SB 201 (Florez) would create leafy green vegetable crop safety regulations.  Status: Held in the Assembly Agriculture Committee. 

 

SB 202 (Florez) would create a leafy green vegetable crop traceback system.  Status: Held in the Assembly Agriculture Committee. 

 

SB 246 (Margett) provides that the directors for the 48th District Agricultural Association may reside outside of the boundaries of the district but within Los Angeles County. Status: Chapter 203, Statutes of 2007.

 

SB 281 (Maldonado) simplifies the procurement procedure for district agriculture associations and the California Exposition and State Fair.  Status: Chapter 346, Statutes of 2007. 


SB 311 (Cogdill) would appropriate $1 million annually from the General Fund to the Noxious Weed Management Account.  Status: Held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

 

SB 486 (Maldonado) would establish the California Avocado Pest and Disease Prevention Act of 2007.  Status: Held in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

 

SB 517 (Maldonado) would require the California Department of Food and Agriculture to establish and oversee a program to provide additional funding for successful applicants to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.  Status: Held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

 

SB 556 (Wiggins) creates the Light Brown Apple Moth Program to eradicate the moth subject to funding availability.  Status: Chapter 190, Statutes of 2007.

 

SB 770 (Cogdill) specifies that the regulated minimum price of milk must be used when determining the “sale below cost” value of milk.  Status: Chapter 351, Statutes of 2007.

 

Assembly Bills


AB 472 (Agriculture) increases a number of fees associated with brand registration and hide inspections.  Status: Chapter 267, Statutes of 2007.

 

AB 684 (Leno) permits the cultivation of industrial hemp in California under a pilot program in five counties: Butte, Imperial, Kings, Mendocino, and Yolo.  Status: Vetoed.

 

AB 771 (De Leon) establishes coexisting working groups between seedless mandarin and honeybee stakeholders.  Status: Chapter 324, Statutes of 2007.

 

AB 856 (Parra) would provide the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, upon the recommendation of the Seed Advisory Board, the option to not provide the minimum $100 annual subvention to counties without registered seed labelers.  Status: Held on the Senate Inactive File.

 

AB 1021 (Galgiani) would establish the California Apple Pest and Disease Prevention Act of 2007.  Status: Held in the Senate Agriculture Committee.

 

AB 1667 (La Malfa) would define “carnival” and “carnival workers.”  Status: Held in the Senate Agriculture Committee.

 

AB 1713 (Agriculture) redefines the distribution funds of the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax dollars.  Status: Chapter 421, Statutes of 2007.

 

AB 1717 (Agriculture) provides the county agriculture commissioners with regulations and oversight to ensure proper use and application of fumigates and other structural pest control pesticides.  Status: Chapter 338, Statutes of 2007.

 

AB 1718 (Agriculture) clarifies dairy exemption number language from previous legislation.  Provides the Kiwifruit Commission the authority to share market price information.  Status: Chapter 124, Statutes of 2007.

 

AB 1735 (Agriculture) makes several technical changes to state milk standards and grades.  Status: Chapter 339, Statutes of 2007.

 

Informational Hearings


2/27/07      Farming and the Environment: An Overview of the 2006 E. coli Outbreaks.

This hearing focused on the impact on the California agriculture industry from the E. coli outbreak in spinach, the findings of the government investigations during the outbreak, and the future of the leafy green industry.  The hearing was held jointly with the Assembly Agriculture Committee at the State Capitol.


6/22/07      Food Labeling: Are We Communicating With Consumers?

This hearing discussed the importance of agricultural product labeling as well as international origin labels and examined the information on agricultural products that may pose potential food safety risks.  The hearing was held in Salinas.