Bill Text: CA AB865 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Sale of agricultural products: requirements for sale.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2024-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB865 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB865-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Sale of agricultural products: requirements for sale.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2024-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB865 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB865-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 865
| Introduced by Assembly Member Garcia |
February 14, 2023 |
An act to add Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 58597) to Part 1 of Division 21 of the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to agricultural products.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 865, as introduced, Garcia.
Sale of agricultural products: requirements for sale.
(1) Existing law, effective January 1, 2023, requires all California state-owned or state-run institutions, except segments of public postsecondary education or local educational agencies, as defined, that purchases agricultural food products to implement necessary practices to achieve a goal of ensuring that at least 60% of the agricultural food products that it purchases in a calendar year are grown or produced in the state by December 31, 2025. Existing law establishes within the Department of Food and Agriculture a public and private collaboration known as the “Buy California Program” to encourage consumer nutritional and food awareness and to foster purchases of high-quality California agricultural products.
This bill would require a grower or producer that sells an agricultural product to a distributor, as defined, to
attest to the distributor under penalty of perjury, using a self-attestation form developed by the department, whether the agricultural product was produced in compliance with specified California health and environmental protection laws and specified California labor laws, as defined. By expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would require a distributor that sells an agricultural product to a retailer to provide to the retailer the self-attestation form received from a grower or producer.
The bill would require the department to adopt regulations to administer and enforce these requirements, as specified. The bill would prohibit the department from imposing additional fees on growers or producers to meet the requirements of this bill.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school
districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 58597) is added to Part 1 of Division 21 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:CHAPTER 9. Sale of Agricultural Products
58597.
(a) A grower or producer that sells an agricultural product to a distributor shall attest to the distributor under penalty of perjury, using a self-attestation form developed by the department pursuant to subdivision (d), whether the agricultural product was produced in compliance with specified California health and environmental protection laws and specified California labor laws.(b) A distributor that sells an agricultural product to a retailer shall provide to the retailer the self-attestation form received from a grower or producer pursuant to subdivision (a).
(c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not become operative until the department adopts regulations pursuant to
subdivision (d).
(d) (1) The department shall develop and adopt regulations to administer and enforce the requirements of this section. As part of the regulations, the department shall develop a self-attestation form for a grower or producer to verify that an agricultural product was produced in compliance with specified California health and environmental protection laws and specified California labor laws.
(2) The department shall not impose additional fees on growers or producers to meet the requirements of this section.
(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Agricultural product” means any fresh food product including, but not limited to, fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, dairy, shell
eggs, honey, pollen, grains, poultry meats, rabbit meats, and fish, including shellfish.
(2) “Compliance with specified California health and environmental protection laws” means the use of only pesticides registered with the Department of Pesticide Regulation pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 12751) of Division 7.
(3) “Compliance with specified California labor laws” means compliance with all of the following:
(A) Child labor regulations established by the Department of Industrial Relations.
(B) The minimum wage established pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1171) of Part 4 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.
(C) Overtime requirements established pursuant to Chapter
6 (commencing with Section 857) of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.
(4) “Distributor” means a person who sells, supplies, or otherwise provides an agricultural product from a grower or producer to a retailer.
(5) “Retailer” means a retailer, as described in Section 6015 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, that has gross sales receipts of more than _____ dollars ($____) in the prior year.
