Bill Text: CA AB1894 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Food and agriculture: omnibus bill.
Spectrum: Unknown
Status: (Passed) 2016-09-09 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 260, Statutes of 2016. [AB1894 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB1894-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1894 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 260
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 9, 2016
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 9, 2016
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 11, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 23, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 18, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 5, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 1, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Committee on Agriculture
FEBRUARY 11, 2016
An act to amend Sections 33704, 36806, 48003, 61345, 61412, 61805,
62211, and 76259 of, to add Section 61306.5 to, and to repeal
Section 33704.5 of, the Food and Agricultural Code, and to amend
Section 51203 of the Government Code, relating to food and
agriculture, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1894, Committee on Agriculture. Food and agriculture: omnibus
bill.
(1) Existing law regulates the production, handling, and marketing
of milk and dairy products and requires milk products plants to
comply with specified standards and requirements. Existing law
authorizes the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to issue a limited
packaging permit to a semifrozen milk products plant for on-premises
manufacture and packaging of hard frozen dairy products or hard
frozen dairy product novelties if certain requirements are satisfied.
This bill would delete a requirement that an establishment be
closed to the public when hard frozen dairy product novelties are
manufactured and packaged and would delete a requirement that a
manufacturer that directly serves frozen yogurt or nondairy frozen
dessert on its premises post specified signs on the premises.
(2) Existing law requires certain unfrozen product mixes used in
the manufacture of specified frozen dairy products to comply with all
of the requirements for ice cream, frozen dairy dessert, or frozen
dessert, respectively.
This bill would require frozen yogurt mix to comply with all of
the requirements for frozen yogurt.
(3) Existing law requires every milk handler to pay specified
assessments and fees to the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to
cover the costs of regulating milk. In that regard, existing law
requires every milk handler who receives manufacturing milk subject
to the milk marketing regulatory requirements or a handler subject to
a milk stabilization and marketing plan, including
producer-handlers, to deduct a specified assessment from payments
made to producers for manufacturing milk or market milk,
respectively. Existing law establishes the Department of Food and
Agriculture Fund as a special fund, and continuously appropriates
moneys in the fund for the administration and enforcement of, among
other things, laws regulating the marketing of milk and other dairy
products and the stabilization and marketing of market milk.
This bill would, for purposes of those provisions, define the term
"educational and research activities" and would additionally provide
for the regulation of milk and dairy products-related educational
and research activities. The bill would authorize the use of moneys
from the above-described assessments and fees for administering and
enforcing the manufacturing milk and market milk laws, including the
regulation of those educational and research activities. By
authorizing the expenditure of moneys from the fund for a new
purpose, that is, for milk and dairy-related educational and research
activities, the bill would make an appropriation.
(4) Existing law establishes the California Citrus Advisory
Committee and requires the committee to develop and make
recommendations to the Secretary of Food and Agriculture regarding
procedures for implementing an inspection program. Existing law
requires producers of navel oranges, Valencia oranges, lemons, or
mandarin citrus varieties grown in this state and prepared for fresh
market in certain counties of the state to pay an assessment, as
provided. Existing law requires the assessment to be collected from
the producer by the first handler and requires that the assessment be
remitted to the Department of Food and Agriculture by the first
handler, along with an assessment form, at the end of each month
during the marketing season. Existing law requires any handler that
does not file the required assessment report and assessments by the
10th day of the month following the month for which the assessment is
payable to pay a penalty of 10% of the assessment owed and, in
addition, 1.5% interest per month on the unpaid balance.
This bill would instead require a handler to file the required
assessment form and pay the assessment and inspection fees by the
last day of the month immediately following the month in which the
commodities were received and would additionally apply the 10%
penalty and 1.5% interest to a failure to pay an inspection fee. The
bill would make a handler personally liable for the payment of
assessments and inspection fees.
(5) Existing law establishes the California Sheep Commission,
comprised of 14 members who are elected or appointed in accordance
with specified provisions to serve 2-year terms and limits the terms
of office for each member to 4 consecutive terms.
This bill would delete the provision limiting the terms of office
of each member to 4 consecutive terms.
(6) The California Land Conservation Act of 1965, also known as
the Williamson Act, authorizes a city or county to contract with a
landowner for the continued use of the land for agricultural use in
exchange for a lower assessed valuation for property tax purposes.
Existing law requires the Department of Conservation to provide a
preliminary valuation of the land to the county assessor and the city
council or county board of supervisors at least 60 days prior to the
effective date of the agreed upon cancellation valuation if the
contract includes an additional cancellation fee.
This bill would specify that the Department of Conservation is
required to provide the preliminary valuation pursuant to those
provisions only if the department and landowner agree upon a
cancellation value pursuant to a specified provision, as specified.
Appropriation: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 33704 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
amended to read:
33704. (a) (1) Sections 33701, 33731, 33732, 33733, 33734, 33767,
33768, 33770, 33771, 33776, and 34593 do not apply to the
manufacture of ice cream that is manufactured from ice cream mix, to
frozen dairy dessert that is manufactured from frozen dairy dessert
mix, to frozen dessert that is manufactured from frozen dessert mix,
to frozen yogurt that is manufactured from frozen yogurt mix, or to
nondairy frozen dessert that is manufactured from nondairy frozen
dessert mix, if those products are manufactured in a freezing device
from which those products are served directly in a semifrozen state,
without packaging of any type, for consumption on the premises in or
from rooms where food is served to the public.
(2) Except for nondairy frozen dessert mix, all mixes shall be
secured from a licensed manufacturer of milk products.
(3) Ice cream mix, frozen yogurt mix, frozen dairy dessert mix,
frozen dessert mix, and nondairy frozen dessert mix shall be
manufactured into a semifrozen state without adulteration and
freezing device salvage shall not be reused as a mix.
(b) A limited packaging permit may be issued by the secretary to a
semifrozen (soft-serve) milk products plant for on-premises
manufacture and packaging of hard frozen dairy products or hard
frozen dairy product novelties. The permit may only be issued after
the suitability of the facility for manufacture and packaging has
been determined by the secretary. An annual onsite evaluation of
compliance with the specific permit conditions shall be completed by
the secretary before renewal of the limited packaging permit. A
semifrozen milk products plant issued a limited packaging permit
shall meet all of the following standards:
(1) The hard frozen products shall only be sold to purchasers for
consumption. No hard frozen product manufactured pursuant to the
limited packaging permit shall be sold for resale.
(2) All frozen dairy product mixes used for the manufacture and
packaging of hard frozen dairy product novelties shall be dispensed
from single service containers sealed at the licensed milk products
plant where processed and pasteurized. Reconstitution of dry mix or
condensed mix is prohibited at a semifrozen milk products plant
issued a limited packaging permit.
(3) Adequate facilities, consistent with recognized good
manufacturing practices for the production and packaging of hard
frozen dairy products, as determined by the secretary, shall be
provided as a condition of the limited packaging permit. The
facilities shall include, but are not limited to, adequate utensil
and novelty mold washing, sterilization and storage, and sufficient
sanitary work area, including handwashing facilities, dedicated to
the manufacture and packaging of hard frozen dairy product novelties.
Sanitation guidelines consistent with good manufacturing and
handling practices for retail food establishments manufacturing and
packaging hard frozen dairy products in conformance with Part 110
(commencing with Section 110.3) of Title 21 of the Code of Federal
Regulations shall be utilized by the secretary as a condition for
issuance and renewal of the limited packaging permit.
(4) Each individually packaged hard frozen novelty shall be
labeled with the name of the product and the name and address of the
manufacturer.
(c) Nondairy frozen dessert mix shall be obtained from
manufacturers licensed pursuant to Sections 38931 and 38934. Any dry
or condensed mix to be reconstituted into freezable form shall be
reconstituted on the premises in containers or equipment that meet
the requirements of Sections 33763, 33764, 33765, and 33766. Any
water used for reconstitution shall be treated in a manner to ensure
a quality equal to potable pasteurized water. Upon reconstitution,
the product shall be poured directly into the freezing unit or
refrigerated at a temperature not to exceed 45 degrees Fahrenheit,
and so maintained until frozen, or both.
(d) Where any retail establishment manufactures two or more of the
products provided for under this section, each of those products
shall be processed in a separate freezing device, and that freezing
device shall be clearly identified as to the product being
manufactured therein.
(e) The secretary may, by agreement with any approved milk
inspection service, authorize the service to inspect and enforce
requirements of this code applicable to the establishments covered by
this section. Any agreement shall provide that the approved
inspection service shall collect the applicable license fee for those
establishments as provided in Sections 35221 and 38933. The fees
collected shall be retained by the approved service to cover its cost
of enforcement, but 15 percent of the fees collected shall be
remitted to the secretary to cover the cost of administration.
SEC. 2. Section 33704.5 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
repealed.
SEC. 3. Section 36806 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended
to read:
36806. Ice cream mix, frozen yogurt mix, frozen dairy dessert
mix, and frozen dessert mix are unfrozen products that are used in
the manufacture of ice cream, frozen yogurt, frozen dairy dessert, or
frozen dessert. They shall comply with all the requirements for ice
cream, frozen yogurt, frozen dairy dessert, or frozen dessert,
respectively.
SEC. 4. Section 48003 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended
to read:
48003. (a) Every person acting as a handler of commodities
subject to this chapter shall be personally liable for the payment of
assessments and inspection fees. Any handler who fails to file the
required assessment form or pay an assessment or inspection fee by
the last day of the month immediately following the month in which
the commodities were received shall pay to the secretary a penalty of
10 percent of the assessment, inspection fee, or the sum of both the
assessment fee and the inspection fee, owed and, in addition, 1.5
percent interest per month on the unpaid balance.
(b) It shall be unlawful for a handler to refuse to collect the
assessments or remit the assessments and the proper forms required by
this chapter.
(c) A handler shall not charge a producer an administrative fee
for collecting or remitting an assessment.
(d) A producer who disputes the amount of the assessment may file
a claim with the secretary. The producer shall prove his or her claim
by a preponderance of the evidence.
(e) A producer may not bring a claim against a handler for
damages, or otherwise, in connection with the assessment or the
required deduction by the handler of the moneys owed to the producer.
SEC. 5. Section 61306.5 is added to the Food and Agricultural
Code, to read:
61306.5. "Educational and research activities" means any effort
to develop and improve the management practices of dairy producers
and processors, including, but not limited to, practices associated
with the environmental sustainability of land, air quality, and water
quality.
SEC. 6. Section 61345 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended
to read:
61345. (a) Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 61801), Chapter 2.5
(commencing with Section 62500), and Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 62700) shall be liberally construed as being complementary
of, and supplemental to, this chapter, and these chapters shall
constitute a single comprehensive scheme for the regulation of the
production and handling of milk and related educational and research
activities. However, each of the chapters, and each article, section,
subdivision, sentence, clause, and phrase of each chapter is
severable.
(b) If one of the chapters or any article, section, subdivision,
sentence, clause, or phrase of any one of the chapters is for any
reason held void, invalid, or unconstitutional, the decision shall
not affect the validity of any other chapter or any of its articles,
sections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses, or phrases.
SEC. 7. Section 61412 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended
to read:
61412. (a) (1) Every milk handler who receives manufacturing milk
subject to this article shall deduct as an assessment from payments
made to producers for manufacturing milk the sum of one and
two-tenths cents ($0.012) per hundredweight of manufacturing milk.
(2) The amount of the assessments deducted pursuant to paragraph
(1) shall be paid to the secretary on or before the 45th day
following the last day of the month during which the manufacturing
milk was received.
(b) (1) Every milk handler who receives manufacturing milk subject
to this article that purchases or handles manufacturing milk from
producers shall pay a fee of six-tenths of one cent ($0.006) per
hundredweight of manufacturing milk.
(2) The amount of the fee shall be paid to the secretary on or
before the 45th day following the last day of the month in which the
manufacturing milk was received.
(c) Moneys from the amounts paid to the secretary pursuant to
subdivisions (a) and (b) may be used to administer and enforce this
chapter.
SEC. 8. Section 61805 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended
to read:
61805. The purposes of this chapter are to do all of the
following:
(a) Provide funds for administration and enforcement of this
chapter, by assessments to be paid by producers and handlers of
market milk in the manner prescribed in this chapter.
(b) Authorize and enable the secretary to prescribe marketing
areas and to determine minimum prices to be paid to producers by
handlers for market milk that are necessary due to varying factors of
costs of production, health regulations, transportation, and other
factors in the marketing areas of this state. In determining minimum
prices to be paid producers by handlers, the secretary shall endeavor
under like conditions to achieve uniformity of cost to handlers for
market milk within any marketing area. However, no minimum prices
established or determined under this chapter shall be invalid because
uniformity of cost to handlers for market milk in any marketing area
is not achieved as a result of the minimum producer prices so
established or determined.
(c) Authorize and enable the secretary to formulate stabilization
and marketing plans, subject to the limitations prescribed in this
chapter with respect to the contents of the stabilization and
marketing plans, and to declare the plans in effect for any marketing
area.
(d) Enable the dairy industry, with the aid of the state, to
develop and maintain satisfactory marketing conditions, bring about
and maintain a reasonable amount of stability and prosperity in the
production of market milk, and provide means for conducting
educational and research activities.
SEC. 9. Section 62211 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended
to read:
62211. (a) (1) Every handler subject to the provisions of any
stabilization and marketing plan, including a producer-handler, shall
deduct as an assessment from payments made to producers for market
milk, including the handler's own production, the sum of one and
six-tenths cents ($0.016) per hundredweight of market milk.
(2) The amount of the assessments so deducted shall be paid to the
secretary on or before the 45th day following the last day of the
month during which such market milk was received.
(b) (1) Every handler subject to the provisions of any
stabilization and marketing plan that purchases or handles market
milk from producers, including the handler's own production, if any,
shall pay a fee of eight-tenths of one cent ($0.008) per
hundredweight of market milk.
(2) The amount of such fee shall be paid to the secretary on or
before the 45th day following the last day of the month in which that
market milk was received.
(c) Moneys from the amounts paid to the secretary pursuant to
subdivisions (a) and (b) may be used to administer and enforce this
chapter.
SEC. 10. Section 76259 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
amended to read:
76259. The term of office of all members of the commission,
except ex officio members, shall be two years from the date of their
election and until their successors are qualified. However, of the
first members of the commission, one-half of the producers shall
serve for one year, and one-half of the producers shall serve for two
years, with the determination of the term of each such member made
by lot at the time of the election.
SEC. 11. Section 51203 of the Government Code is amended to read:
51203. (a) The assessor shall determine the current fair market
value of the land as if it were free of the contractual restriction
pursuant to Section 51283. The Department of Conservation or the
landowner, also referred to in this section as "parties," may provide
information to assist the assessor to determine the value. Any
information provided to the assessor shall be served on the other
party, unless the information was provided at the request of the
assessor, and would be confidential under law if required of an
assessee.
(b) Within 45 days of receiving the assessor's notice pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 51283 or Section 51283.4, if the
Department of Conservation or the landowner believes that the current
fair market valuation certified pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 51283 or Section 51283.4 is not accurate, the department or
the landowner may request formal review from the county assessor in
the county considering the petition to cancel the contract. The
department or the landowner shall submit to the assessor and the
other party the reasons for believing the valuation is not accurate
and the additional information the requesting party believes may
substantiate a recalculation of the property valuation. The assessor
may recover his or her reasonable costs of the formal review from the
party requesting the review, and may provide an estimate of those
costs to the requesting party. The recovery of these costs from the
department may be deducted by the city or county from cancellation
fees received pursuant to this chapter before transmittal to the
Controller for deposit in the Soil Conservation Fund. The assessor
may require a deposit from the landowner to cover the contingency
that payment of a cancellation fee will not necessarily result from
the completion of a formal review. This subdivision shall not be
construed as a limitation on the authority provided in Section 51287
for cities or counties to recover their costs in the cancellation
process, except that the assessor's costs of conducting a formal
review shall not be borne by the nonrequesting party.
(1) If no request is made within 45 days of receiving notice by
certified mail of the valuation, the assessor's valuation shall be
used to calculate the fee.
(2) Upon receiving a request for formal review, the assessor shall
formally review his or her valuation if, based on the determination
of the assessor, the information may have a material effect on
valuation of the property. The assessor shall notify the parties that
the formal review is being undertaken and that information to aid
the assessor's review shall be submitted within 30 days of the date
of the notice to the parties. Any information submitted to the
assessor shall be served on the other party who shall have 30 days to
respond to that information to the assessor. If the response to the
assessor contains new information, the party receiving that response
shall have 20 days to respond to the assessor as to the new
information. All submittals and responses to the assessor shall be
served on the other party by personal service or an affidavit of
mailing. The assessor shall avoid ex parte contacts during the formal
review and shall report any such contacts to the department and the
landowner at the same time the review is complete. The assessor shall
complete the review no later than 120 days of receiving the request.
(3) At the conclusion of the formal review, the assessor shall
either revise the cancellation valuation or determine that the
original cancellation valuation is accurate. The assessor shall send
the revised valuation or notice of the determination that the
valuation is accurate to the department, the landowner, and the board
or council considering the petition to cancel the contract. The
assessor shall include a brief narrative of what consideration was
given to the items of information and responses directly relating to
the cancellation value submitted by the parties. The assessor shall
give no consideration to a party's information or response that was
not served on the other party. If the assessor denies a formal
review, a brief narrative shall be provided to the parties indicating
the basis for the denial, if requested.
(c) For purposes of this section, the valuation date of any
revised valuation pursuant to formal review or following judicial
challenge shall remain the date of the assessor's initial valuation,
or his or her initial recomputation pursuant to Section 51283.4. For
purposes of cancellation fee calculation in a tentative cancellation
as provided in Section 51283, or in a recomputation for final
cancellation as provided in Section 51283.4, a cancellation value
shall be considered current for one year after its determination and
certification by the assessor.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
department and the landowner may agree on a cancellation valuation of
the land. The agreed valuation shall serve as the cancellation
valuation pursuant to Section 51283 or Section 51283.4. The agreement
shall be transmitted to the board or council considering the
petition to cancel the contract.
(e) If the department and landowner agree upon a cancellation
value pursuant to subdivision (d) on a contract with a city or county
that includes an additional cancellation fee pursuant to Section
51240, the department shall provide a preliminary valuation to the
county assessor of the county in which the land is located and the
board of supervisors or the city council at least 60 days before the
effective date of the final cancellation valuation. The preliminary
valuation shall include a description of the rationale and facts
considered by the department in determining the cancellation value.
The assessor may provide comments on the preliminary valuation to the
board of supervisors or city council. The board of supervisors or
city council may provide comments on the preliminary valuation and
cancellation value, if submitted, to the department. Before
determining the final cancellation valuation, the department shall
consider the comments of the board or council concerning the
preliminary valuation and cancellation valuation, if submitted.
(f) This section represents the exclusive administrative procedure
for appealing a cancellation valuation calculated pursuant to this
section. The Department of Conservation shall represent the interests
of the state in the administrative and judicial remedies for
challenging the determination of a cancellation valuation or
cancellation fee.
