BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
                          Senator Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:           AB 2716         Hearing Date: 6/21/16
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          |Author:    |Dodd                                                 |
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          |Version:   |3/10/16                                              |
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          |Urgency:   |No                    |Fiscal:    |Yes              |
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          |Consultant:|Anne Megaro                                          |
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              Subject:  Meat processing establishment, custom livestock  
            slaughterhouse, and poultry plants:  licensing and inspectors


           SUMMARY  :
          This bill would extend, until January 1, 2022, the licensing  
          fees for livestock and poultry meat inspectors, livestock meat  
          processing inspectors, and livestock processing facilities,  
          slaughterhouses, and poultry plants, as specified.


           BACKGROUND AND EXISTING  
          LAW  :
          The California Meat and Poultry Inspection Act is designed to  
          protect the health and welfare of consumers from unwholesome,  
          adulterated, or misbranded meat and poultry.  The inspection  
          programs enforce requirements that are at least equal to those  
          imposed and enforced under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and  
          the Federal Poultry Products Inspection Act in order to comply  
          with intrastate operations and commerce.

          The Meat, Poultry and Egg Safety Branch within the California  
          Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is responsible for  
          issuing licenses, training and evaluating inspectors, and  
          inspecting meat, poultry, and egg production facilities that are  
          exempt from USDA inspection.  These facilities include custom  
          livestock slaughterhouses, meat processors, and some poultry  
          plants, as specified.  

          Existing law:








          AB 2716 (Dodd)                                      Page 2 of ?
          
          
             1)   Authorizes the secretary of CDFA to adopt rules,  
               regulations, and standards regarding the inspection,  
               sanitation, preparation, processing, buying, selling,  
               transporting, storing, identifying, recordkeeping,  
               registration, and labeling of livestock and poultry  
               products (Food and Agricultural Code § 18650 et seq.; §  
               24501 et seq.).

             2)   Requires livestock meat inspectors and processing  
               inspectors to obtain a license and pay a $100 licensing fee  
               and a $25 penalty late fee, if applicable.

             3)   Requires meat processing and custom livestock  
               slaughterhouses to obtain a license and pay a $500  
               licensing fee, or more depending on number of animals  
               slaughtered, as specified.

             4)   Prohibits the operation of a slaughterhouse that is not  
               licensed, is not clean, does not meet building or equipment  
               sanitary standards, violates an order of a licensed  
               inspector, misbrands or mislabels livestock and poultry  
               products, or disposes of condemned and inedible carcasses  
               in a manner that violates law and/or regulations.

             5)   Requires poultry plants to obtain a license from CDFA  
               and pay a $500 licensing fee, or more depending on number  
               of animals slaughtered, as specified.

             6)   Requires poultry meat inspectors to obtain a license and  
               pay a $100 licensing fee and a $25 penalty late fee, if  
               applicable.


           PROPOSED  
          LAW  :

          This bill:

             1)   Extends to January 1, 2022, livestock meat inspector and  
               processing inspector licenses and fees.

             2)   Extends to January 1, 2022, meat processing and custom  
               livestock slaughterhouse licenses and fees.

             3)   Extends to January 1, 2022, poultry meat inspector and  








          AB 2716 (Dodd)                                      Page 3 of ?
          
          
               poultry plant licenses and fees.

             4)   Deletes an obsolete provision.


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
           According to the author, "Due to general fund (GF) budget  
          shortfalls in 2011, the Meat, Poultry and Egg Safety Branch  
          within the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA)  
          had their GF reduced by approximately $200,000, and then by  
          approximately $325,000 in 2012, which impacted several public  
          health and safety programs. Through discussions with the  
          affected industry and licensees, CDFA developed a new licensee  
          and renewal fee structure that was adopted in a Budget Trailer  
          Bill (AB 120; Statutes of 2011) which significantly increased  
          the fees while CDFA streamlined the administration of these  
          programs. These increased fees were given a five year sunset in  
          order to have both the fees and administration of the program  
          reviewed. The current fee structure and administrative changes  
          have worked well and their sunsets need to be extended."


           COMMENTS :

          Need for this bill.  CDFA's General Fund allocation was cut by  
          roughly $30 million, or one-third, during the 2011-2012 state  
          budget reductions.  Specifically, the Meat, Poultry and Egg  
          Safety Branch General Fund support was reduced by approximately  
          $200,000 in 2011 and $325,000 in 2012.  

          In response, the secretary was directed to convene meetings with  
          agricultural stakeholders to find solutions to limit the need  
          for state resources and improve fiscal responsibility.  Some of  
          the solutions that arose from these meetings included  
          establishing and raising fees.  In the case of livestock and  
          poultry licenses, fees were raised with the caveat that they be  
          reviewed every five years according to the sunset date.  The  
          increased license fees generate approximately $200,000 in annual  
          revenue.

           RELATED  
          LEGISLATION  :
          AB 120 (Budget) Chapter 113, Statutes of 2011.  Among other  
          provisions, authorizes CDFA, until January 1, 2017, to increase  
          the licensing fees for livestock and poultry meat inspectors,  








          AB 2716 (Dodd)                                      Page 4 of ?
          
          
          livestock meat processing inspectors, and livestock processing  
          facilities, slaughterhouses, and poultry plants.

           PRIOR  
          ACTIONS  :                        
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          |Assembly Floor:                       |79 - 0                     |
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          |Assembly Appropriations Committee:    |19 - 0                     |
          |--------------------------------------+---------------------------|
          |Assembly Agriculture Committee:       |10 - 0                     |
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           SUPPORT  :
          California Farm Bureau Federation (Sponsor)
          California Cattlemen's Association
          California Poultry Federation

           OPPOSITION  :
          None received

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