BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 689| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 689 Author: Dodd (D) Amended: 8/17/15 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE: 3-0, 6/30/15 AYES: Galgiani, Cannella, Pan NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Wolk SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 4/30/15 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Marketing of eggs: violations: administrative and civil penalties SOURCE: Association of California Egg Farmers Pacific Egg & Poultry Association DIGEST: This bill authorizes the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to refuse to issue, or suspend or revoke, an egg handler or egg producer certificate of registration, as specified; authorizes CDFA to adopt regulations to classify egg marketing violations and increase the maximum civil penalty from $1,000 to $10,000; and authorizes CDFA and county agricultural commissioners (commissioners), in lieu of prosecution, to levy an administrative penalty, as specified. Senate Floor Amendments of 8/17/15 are technical in nature and resolve contradicting language, correct a spelling error, and conform language to similar provisions in existing law, among AB 689 Page 2 other edits. ANALYSIS: Existing federal and state law provides for the regulation of eggs and egg products to assure that healthful, wholesome eggs of known quality are sold in California, to facilitate the orderly marketing of shell eggs in a uniform manner, and to prevent the marketing of deceptive, adulterated, or mislabeled containers of eggs (Food and Agriculture Code §27501 et seq.; Egg Products Inspection Act, 21 USC §1031 et seq.). Existing state law: 1)Authorizes CDFA, and the commissioners under the supervision of the Secretary of CDFA (Secretary), to enforce laws and regulations for eggs produced, shipped, or sold in California. The Egg Safety and Quality Management Program ensures that eggs sold in California are properly handled, transported, refrigerated, and labeled for quality, origin, grade and size. (Food and Agriculture Code §27501 et seq.). 2)Requires egg producers and egg handlers selling eggs in California to register with CDFA. 3)Establishes the Shell Egg Advisory Committee to advise the Secretary on all matters pertaining to standards for shell eggs, including quality, sampling, inspection, fees, budget, and components of the Egg Quality Assurance Plan. 4)Requires the Secretary to establish a policy manual describing the procedures for providing notice to a person charged with a violation and for conducting a hearing. 5)Authorizes the district attorney in the county where a violation occurs to prosecute a violator of egg marketing laws or regulations. 6)Authorizes CDFA, in lieu of prosecution, to bring civil action against any person in violation of egg marketing laws and regulations for a maximum penalty of $1,000 per violation. 7)Provides for criminal punishment and procedures for persons engaging in unlawful acts related to egg marketing, punishable as a misdemeanor. AB 689 Page 3 This bill: 1)Requires the Secretary to adopt regulations that would classify violations of egg marketing laws and regulations as minor, moderate, or serious and, subject to penalties from $50 to $10,000. 2)Authorizes CDFA to refuse to issue, or suspend or revoke, an egg producer's or egg handler's registration if the applicant fails to pay in full a fine, fee, assessment, or penalty or if the applicant has violated a provision of egg marketing laws or regulations. 3)Requires CDFA to adopt regulations to establish procedures for a hearing and appeals process and establish a maximum time period an applicant must wait before reapplying for registration. 4)Increases the civil penalty for violations up to $10,000. 5)Authorizes a commissioner to take an egg marketing violator to county court and deposit any money recovered into the county's general fund. 6)Authorizes the Secretary or a commissioner, in lieu of prosecution, to levy an administrative penalty against a violator in an amount according to the penalty schedule to be created by CDFA, not to exceed $10,000. 7)Provides the process for which an administrative penalty is levied by the Secretary or a commissioner, including notice of violation, hearing and appeals process, payment, and involvement of the county court in the event of nonpayment. Comments Penalty increase. This bill increases the maximum penalty for violations of egg marketing provisions from $1,000 to $10,000. Although this is a seemingly large increase, the low penalty of $1,000 has not been changed since 1990. A weak penalty could be construed as the "cost of doing business" and not serve as a strong incentive for egg producers and handlers to comply with state laws and regulations. AB 689 Page 4 Egg safety. CDFA developed regulations to reduce the risk of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) contamination, and these regulations went into full effect on January 1, 2015. These regulations implement a vaccination program to protect against SE; implement a chick-monitoring program for environmental SE; establish hen enclosure requirements; and require that every container of eggs sold in California include a new label statement indicating "California Shell Egg Food Safety Compliant" or "CA SEFS Compliant" (3 CCR 1350). FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified8/18/15) Association of California Egg Farmers (co-source) Pacific Egg & Poultry Association (co-source) OPPOSITION: (Verified8/18/15) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "Currently, violations of shell egg marketing regulations are under-enforced. District attorneys may hesitate to allocate limited resources to a commercial/agricultural issue that brings little return to the county due to caps on penalties. While the Secretary of Food and Agriculture can pursue civil penalties, using a statewide office to pursue local violations is cumbersome. [This] bill provides enforcement authority to local agricultural commissioners who have expertise in the issue. AB689 will weed out bad actors and ensure California's consumers are protected." ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 4/30/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau, AB 689 Page 5 Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Chávez, Gomez Prepared by:Anne Megaro / AGRI. / (916) 651-1508 8/18/15 17:03:40 **** END ****