AB 239: Avocado oil: regulations: standards of identity.

Session Year: 2023-2024
House: Assembly

Current Status:

Failed

(2024-02-01: From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.)

Introduced

First Committee Review

First Chamber

Second Committee Review

Second Chamber

Enacted

Version:

Existing law establishes fruit, nut, and vegetable standards and requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and county agricultural commissioners to enforce those provisions. As part of these standards, existing law authorizes the secretary to adopt various regulations, including, among other things, to prescribe methods of selecting samples of lots or containers of fruits, nuts, and vegetables on a basis of size or other specific classification, which are reasonably calculated to produce by such sampling fair representations of the entire lots or containers which are sampled. Existing law provides that a violation of these provisions is an infraction, and a 2nd or subsequent violation is a misdemeanor.

This bill would require the secretary to, no later than January 1, 2025, promulgate regulations to adopt standards of identity for avocado oil, including, but not limited to, the quality and purity of the oil, requirements for labeling and packaging, and a method of measurement and analysis to ensure these standards are met. By expanding the scope of a crime, and to the extent this bill would expand the duties of county agricultural commissioners, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Under existing law, the Legislature finds and declares that the agricultural and seafood industries are vitally important elements of the states economy. Existing law provides for various commissions and councils to promote the marketing and production of agricultural or seafood commodities.This bill would create the Avocado Oil Commission of California in the state government with a prescribed board of directors, relating to the production of avocados for processing into avocado oil and the marketing of avocado oil, and would specify the powers, duties, and responsibilities of the board of directors. The board of directors would be authorized to, among other things, conduct research for specified purposes and recommend to the Secretary of Food and Agriculture avocado oil grades and labeling standards. The bill would authorize the commission to levy an annual assessment, not to exceed a specified amount or the reasonable costs of achieving the purposes of these provisions, on producers, as defined, and would authorize the commission to expend those funds for purposes of implementing the bill, thereby making an appropriation.The bill, except as necessary to conduct an election, would not become operative until the producers of avocado oil vote in favor of the bills provisions, as prescribed. The bill would also provide for the suspension of the operation of its provisions and for concluding the operations of the commission under certain circumstances. The bill would authorize the commission to levy a civil penalty, as specified, on a person for willfully rendering or furnishing false reports, secreting, destroying, or altering records, failing to furnish a report, or failing or refusing to furnish to the commission information concerning the name and address of persons from whom avocado oil is received. The bill would authorize the commission to bring certain civil actions to enforce the bills provisions.Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Discussed in Hearing

Assembly Standing Committee on Agriculture

6MIN

Mar 29, 2023

Assembly Standing Committee on Agriculture

View Older Hearings

Bill Author

Lori Wilson

AB 239: Avocado oil: regulations: standards of identity.

Current Status:

Assembly Standing Committee on Agriculture

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