Existing law, the California Organic Food and Farming Act, requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, county agricultural commissioners, and the State Public Health Officer of the State Department of Public Health to enforce state and federal laws governing the production, labeling, and marketing of organic products, as specified. Existing federal law establishes the National Organic Program, which requires operations that produce or handle organic agricultural products to comply with federal organic standards and be certified by a certifying agent, as specified.

This bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture, contingent upon an appropriation of funds in the annual Budget Act or another statute, to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect certified organic operations, as specified. The bill would require the department, on or before one year after the date that the Legislature makes an appropriation for this purpose, to submit a report to the Legislature, including suggestions to amend or remove unnecessary reporting requirements in order to relieve regulatory burdens on certified organic operations.

Existing law establishes the Department of Food and Agriculture and charges it with various duties and obligations. law, the California Organic Food and Farming Act, requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, county agricultural commissioners, and the State Public Health Officer of the State Department of Public Health to enforce state and federal laws governing the production, labeling, and marketing of organic products, as specified. Existing federal law establishes the National Organic Program, which requires operations that produce or handle organic agricultural products to comply with federal organic standards and be certified by a certifying agent, as specified.

This bill would require the department Department of Food and Agriculture, contingent upon an appropriation of funds in the annual Budget Act or another statute, to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect small and mid-scale farmers and farming certified organic operations, as specified. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2025, one year after the date that the Legislature makes an appropriation for this purpose, to submit a report to the Legislature, including suggestions to amend or remove unnecessary reporting requirements in order to relieve regulatory burdens on small and mid-scale farmers and farming certified organic operations. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2026.

Existing law establishes the Department of Food and Agriculture and charges it with various duties and obligations.

This bill would require the department to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect small and mid-scale farmers and farming operations, as specified. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2025, to submit a report to the Legislature, including suggestions to amend or remove unnecessary reporting requirements in order to relieve regulatory burdens on small and mid-scale farmers and farming operations. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2026.

GOVERNOR'S VETO

GV Bill Id:AB 404

Author:(Connolly)

As Enrolled Ver:September 14, 2023

2/3 vote

SUMMARY

This bill would require the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect certified organic operations.

1. Requires CDFA to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that Certified Organic operations, including, but not limited to, reporting requirements related to the process of transitioning to organic farming and obtaining organic certification.
2. Requires CDFA, one year after the date the Legislature make an appropriation, to submit a report to the Legislature, including suggestions to amend or remove unnecessary reporting requirements in order to relieve regulatory burdens, as specified.

Governor's Veto Message

This bill requires the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), upon appropriation, to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect certified organic grower operations, and to submit a report to the Legislature on its findings.

While I support the author's goal to reduce regulatory burdens on certified organic operations, this bill is duplicative of existing efforts. CDFA, in collaboration with the California Environmental Protection Agency and State Water Resources Control Board, is currently conducting a project to evaluate reporting requirements on agricultural producers as part of an effort to streamline the administrative processes and optimize information collected by the state. Additionally, the 2023 Budget included resources to continue CDFA's efforts to streamline licensing, permitting, certification, and registration processes to further reduce the burden of regulatory compliance. The evaluation and reporting required by this bill, however, were not accounted for in the annual budget process and would thus result in additional cost pressures on the General Fund.

In partnership with the Legislature, we enacted a budget that closed a shortfall of more than $30 billion through balanced solutions that avoided deep program cuts and protected education, health care, climate, public safety, and social service programs that are relied on by millions of Californians. This year, however, the Legislature sent me bills outside of this budget process that, if all enacted, would add nearly $19 billion of unaccounted costs in the budget, of which $11 billion would be ongoing.

With our state facing continuing economic risk and revenue uncertainty, it is important to remain disciplined when considering bills with significant fiscal implications, such as this measure.

COMMENTS

In 2010, CDFA Ag Vision report stated "California agriculture is the most highly‐regulated in the nation and probably the world. Producers must comply with many different government regulations covering everything from environmental quality and food safety to farm labor standards. These regulations were adopted to protect our health, the environment and those who work in the fields; and the progress that producers have made in complying with them has resulted in improvements in each of these areas. However, the regulations are often duplicative, conflicting, uncoordinated, inflexible, inconsistently administered or needlessly burdensome. They can also stifle innovation that might better achieve the objectives of the regulations than the actions that are now required of producers."

In the intervening 12 years, the regulatory landscape for farmers and, all of Californians, have become more complicated. A Decade of Change: A Case Study of Regulatory Compliance Costs in the Produce Industry stated that there was a 1.26% of total production costs per acre of lettuce grown in California in 2006. 10 years later 8.90% of total production costs for that same acre of lettuce. While increases like these have an impact on California agriculture, hardest hit are smaller farmers, including many BIPOC farmers.

According to the Author

Duplicative reporting requirements are burdensome to Certified Organic farming operations, who must comply with regulations stemming from at least 28 different state and federal laws overseen by numerous regulatory agencies. The Governor's Office should enhance coordination across state agencies and allow information sharing to reduce redundant reporting requirements.

Arguments in Support

This bill supports the growth of the organic sector by reducing duplicative reporting requirements. In California, organic farmers are required to report to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Organic farmers that also process organic food – such as baked goods or frozen foods – may also report to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). USDA, CDFA, and CDPH have separate reporting processes and often collect redundant information from organic farmers, including basic identifying information, certifier, organic acreage, and crop or product types. These reporting requirements take time and money, impacting farmers' bottom line.

Arguments in Opposition

None on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill has cost pressure of an unknown but potentially significant amount, likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, in staff and contracting costs for CDFA to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect certified organic operations (General Fund or special fund). Implementation of this bill is contingent upon appropriation.

VOTES

ASM AGRICULTURE: 8-0-3

YES: Mathis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Connolly, Irwin, Soria, Villapudua, Wood

ABS, ABST OR NV: Flora, Jones-Sawyer, Robert Rivas

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-0-5

YES: Holden, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Hart, Lowenthal, Papan, Pellerin, Weber, Ortega

ABS, ABST OR NV: Megan Dahle, Dixon, Mathis, Robert Rivas, Sanchez

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0-4

YES: Addis, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Cervantes, Chen, Connolly, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Mike Fong, Vince Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Holden, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Jones‑Sawyer, Kalra, Lackey, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie‑Norris, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ta, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Wallis, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Rendon

ABS, ABST OR NV: Aguiar-Curry, Mathis, Papan, Quirk-Silva

SENATE FLOOR: 39-0-1

YES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk

ABS, ABST OR NV: Caballero

UPDATED

VERSION: September 14, 2023

CONSULTANT: Victor Francovich / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084 FN: 0002474

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 404

Author: Connolly (D)

Amended: 5/18/23 in Assembly

Vote: 21

SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE: 4-0, 6/19/23

AYES: Hurtado, Grove, Alvarado-Gil, Padilla

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 9/1/23

AYES: Portantino, Jones, Ashby, Bradford, Seyarto, Wahab, Wiener

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/25/23 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Department of Food and Agriculture: reporting requirements: certified organic operations

SOURCE: California Certified Organic Farmers

DIGEST:

This bill requires, upon appropriation of funds, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to evaluate reporting requirements affecting certified organic operations and remove any duplicative reporting requirements and submit a report to the legislature that includes suggestions to amend or remove unnecessary reporting requirements.

ANALYSIS: Existing federal law enacts the National Organic Program which is a federal regulatory program that develops and enforces consistent national standards for organically produced agricultural products sold in the United States.

Existing state law creates the California Organic Food and Farming Act (Act) to streamline the registration process by allowing USDA-accredited organic certifying agents to submit registration information for their clients directly to the state. The Act’s main focus is to support the National Organic Program.

This bill:

1. Requires the CDFA to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect certified organic operations, including but not limited to, reporting requirements related: to organic certification pursuant to the federal Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, registration with the department pursuant to Section 46013.1, and registration with the California Department of Public Health pursuant to Sections 110875 and 110958 of the Health and Safety Code.
2. Requires on or before one year after the date the legislature makes an appropriation for purposes of this section, the CDFA to submit a report to the legislature, which shall include suggestions to amend or remove unnecessary reporting requirements in order to relieve regulatory burdens on certified organic operations.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, CDFA indicates that it would incur annual General Fund costs of $188,000 for a two-year limited-term position to implement the provisions of the bill. In addition, the department would contract with a third-party consultant to conduct the required regulatory assessment. CDFA indicates that the cost for such workload, based on its historical experience, could potentially reach or exceed $2 million (General Fund).

SUPPORT: (Verified 9/1/23)

California Certified Organic Farmers (source)

Agricultural Institute of Marin

All STAR Organics

Blue Beautifly

Cafe Altura

California Alliance with Family Farmers

California Certified Organic Farmers

California Citrus Mutual

California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association

California Food and Farming Network

California Food Producers

Ceres Community Project

Eckert Frozen Foods

Health Care Without Harm

Kinetic Koffee

Larocca Vineyards

Lucero Organic Farms

Mandela Partners

Manzanita Manor Organics

Oro De Sonora Pure Jojoba Family Farms

Pesticide Action Network North America

Peterson Family

Schellenberg Farms

Seffon Farms Organic

Sunblaze Ranch

Taylor Farms

Traditional Medicinals

Western Agricultural Processors Association

OPPOSITION: (Verified 9/1/23)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, “This bill will make it easier for farmers and farming operations to fulfill their reporting requirements by eliminating duplicative requirements. This process can be time consuming and expensive, and it is an unfair burden upon farmers and farming operations, and there needs to be better coordination across state and federal agencies.”

A coalition letter signed by businesses and organizations, including the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) write in support of this bill stating, “USDA, CDFA, and CDPH have separate reporting processes and often collect redundant information from organic farmers, including basic identifying information, certifier, organic acreage, and crop or product types. These reporting requirements take time and money, impacting farmers’ bottom line.”

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/25/23

AYES: Addis, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Cervantes, Chen, Connolly, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Mike Fong, Vince Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Holden, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lackey, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ta, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Wallis, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Aguiar-Curry, Mathis, Papan, Quirk-Silva

Prepared by: Reichel Everhart / AGRI. /(916) 651-1508

9/2/23 14:58:39

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular Session

AB 404 (Connolly) - Department of Food and Agriculture: reporting requirements: certified organic operations

Bill Summary:

AB 404 would, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, (1) require the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to evaluate reporting requirements affecting certified organic operations, and (2) submit a report to the Legislature that includes suggestions to amend or remove unnecessary reporting requirements.

Fiscal Impact:

CDFA indicates that it would incur annual General Fund costs of $188,000 for a two-year limited-term position to implement the provisions of the bill. In addition, the department would contract with a third-party consultant to conduct the required regulatory assessment. CDFA indicates that the cost for such workload, based on its historical experience, could potentially reach or exceed $2 million (General Fund).

Background:

Under current state law, the California Organic Food and Farming Act streamlines the registration process by allowing USDA-accredited organic certifying agents to submit registration information for their clients directly to the state. The Act’s main focus is to support the National Organic Program, a federal regulatory program that develops and enforces consistent national standards for organically produced agricultural products sold in the United States.

Proposed Law:

This bill would require CDFA, contingent upon an appropriation, to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect certified organic operations, as specified. Additionally, the bill would require CDFA, on or before one year after the date that the Legislature makes an appropriation for this purpose, to submit a report to the Legislature, including suggestions to amend or remove unnecessary reporting requirements in order to relieve regulatory burdens on certified organic operations.

Staff Comments:

As noted above, this bill would require CDFA to produce a regulatory assessment report that evaluates duplicative reporting requirements that affect certified organic operations. The department indicates that the scope of the statutes and regulations that would be evaluated in the assessment would encompass federal and state departments’ regulations and reporting requirements. Additionally, evaluation would extend to the reporting requirements and processes of non-governmental accredited certifying agencies.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

Senator Melissa Hurtado, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: AB 404 Hearing Date: 6/19/23

Subject: Department of Food and Agriculture: reporting requirements: certified organic operations

SUMMARY

:

This bill would require, once funds are appropriated for this purpose, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to evaluate reporting requirements affecting certified organic operations and remove any duplicative reporting requirements and submit a report to the legislature that includes suggestions to amend or remove unnecessary reporting requirements.

BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW

:

Existing state law:

1. The California Organic Food and Farming Act (The Act) streamlines the registration process by allowing USDA-accredited organic certifying agents to submit registration information for their clients directly to the state. The Act’s main focus is to support the National Organic Program.

Existing federal law:

1. National Organic Program is a federal regulatory program that develops and enforces consistent national standards for organically produced agricultural products sold in the United States.

PROPOSED LAW

:

This bill:

1. Requires the CDFA to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect certified organic operations, including but not limited to, reporting requirements related: to organic certification pursuant to the federal Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, registration with the department pursuant to Section 46013.1, and registration with the California Department of Public Health pursuant to Sections 110875 and 110958 of the Health and Safety Code.
2. Requires on or before one year after the date the legislature makes an appropriation for purposes of this section, the CDFA to submit a report to the legislature, which shall include suggestions to amend or remove unnecessary reporting requirements in order to relieve regulatory burdens on certified organic operations.

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:

According to the author:

“This bill will make it easier for farmers and farming operations to fulfill their reporting requirements by eliminating duplicative requirements. This process can be time consuming and expensive, and it is an unfair burden upon farmers and farming operations, and there needs to be better coordination across state and federal agencies.”

A coalition letter signed by businesses and organizations, including the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) write in support of the bill stating, “USDA, CDFA, and CDPH have separate reporting processes and often collect redundant information from organic farmers, including basic identifying information, certifier, organic acreage, and crop or product types. These reporting requirements take time and money, impacting farmers’ bottom line.”

The California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations also wrote in support of the bill stating, “California is by far the most burdensome state in the country when considering regulatory requirements,” and went on to write any efforts to reduce, minimize, or eliminate reporting requirements for small to mid-sized farmers transitioning to organic farming or obtaining organic certification would “allow for more efficient allocation of limited and costly resources.”

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:

None received.

PRIOR ACTIONS

:

SUPPORT

:

Agricultural Institute of Marin
All STAR Organics
Blue Beautifly
Cafe Altura
California Alliance With Family Farmers
California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) - Sponsor
California Citrus Mutual
California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association
California Food and Farming Network
California Food Producers
Ceres Community Project
Eckert Frozen Foods
Health Care Without Harm
Kinetic Koffee
Larocca Vineyards
Lucero Organic Farms
Mandela Partners
Manzanita Manor Organics
Oro De Sonora Pure Jojoba Family Farms
Pesticide Action Network North America
Peterson Family
Schellenberg Farms
Seffon Farms Organic
Sunblaze Ranch
Taylor Farms
Traditional Medicinals
Western Agricultural Processors Association

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 404

Author:(Connolly)

As Amended Ver:May 18, 2023

Majority vote

SUMMARY

This bill would require the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect Certified Organic operations.

Major Provisions

1. Requires CDFA to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that Certified Organic operations, including, but not limited to, reporting requirements related to the process of transitioning to organic farming and obtaining organic certification.
2. Requires CDFA, one year after the date the Legislature make an appropriation, to submit a report to the Legislature, including suggestions to amend or remove unnecessary reporting requirements in order to relieve regulatory burdens, as specified.

COMMENTS

In 2010, CDFA Ag Vision report stated "California agriculture is the most highly‐regulated in the nation and probably the world. Producers must comply with many different government regulations covering everything from environmental quality and food safety to farm labor standards. These regulations were adopted to protect our health, the environment and those who work in the fields; and the progress that producers have made in complying with them has resulted in improvements in each of these areas. However, the regulations are often duplicative, conflicting, uncoordinated, inflexible, inconsistently administered or needlessly burdensome. They can also stifle innovation that might better achieve the objectives of the regulations than the actions that are now required of producers."

In the intervening 12 years, the regulatory landscape for farmers and, all of Californians, have become more complicated. A Decade of Change: A Case Study of Regulatory Compliance Costs in the Produce Industry stated that there was a 1.26% of total production costs per acre of lettuce grown in California in 2006. 10 years later 8.90% of total production costs for that same acre of lettuce. While increases like these have an impact on California agriculture, hardest hit are smaller farmers, including many BIPOC farmers.

According to the Author

Duplicative reporting requirements are burdensome to Certified Organic farming operations, who must comply with regulations stemming from at least 28 different state and federal laws overseen by numerous regulatory agencies. The Governor's Office should enhance coordination across state agencies and allow information sharing to reduce redundant reporting requirements.

Arguments in Support

This bill supports the growth of the organic sector by reducing duplicative reporting requirements. In California, organic farmers are required to report to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Organic farmers that also process organic food – such as baked goods or frozen foods – may also report to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). USDA, CDFA, and CDPH have separate reporting processes and often collect redundant information from organic farmers, including basic identifying information, certifier, organic acreage, and crop or product types. These reporting requirements take time and money, impacting farmers’ bottom line.

Arguments in Opposition

None on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, this bill has cost pressure of an unknown but potentially significant amount, likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, in staff and contracting costs for CDFA to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect certified organic operations (General Fund or special fund). Implementation of this bill is contingent upon appropriation.

VOTES

ASM AGRICULTURE: 8-0-3

YES: Mathis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Connolly, Irwin, Soria, Villapudua, Wood

ABS, ABST OR NV: Flora, Jones-Sawyer, Robert Rivas

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-0-5

YES: Holden, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Hart, Lowenthal, Papan, Pellerin, Weber, Ortega

ABS, ABST OR NV: Megan Dahle, Dixon, Mathis, Robert Rivas, Sanchez

UPDATED

VERSION: May 18, 2023

CONSULTANT: Victor Francovich / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084 FN: 0000567

Date of Hearing: March 29, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Chris Holden, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 404

Author:(Connolly) – As Introduced Ver:February 2, 2023

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect small- and mid-scale farmers and farming operations, including reporting requirements related to the process of transitioning to organic farming and obtaining organic certification. The bill further requires CDFA, on or before January 1, 2025, to submit a report to the Legislature, including suggestions to amend or remove unnecessary reporting requirements to relieve regulatory burdens on small- and mid-scale farmers and farming operations.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Due to the general nature of the assessment and report required by this bill, CDFA notes it would be most feasible for the department to contract with a third-party consultant to conduct the evaluation. CDFA estimates annual costs of $188,000 (General Fund), until this bill sunsets on January 1, 2026, for one new position to work with the third-party consultant to conduct the evaluation and produce the required report to the Legislature. Additional contracting costs of an unknown but significant amount, likely in the low millions of the dollars, given the broad scope of the evaluation. See the comments section below for more information.

COMMENTS:

1) Purpose. According to the author:

This bill will make it easier for farmers and farming operations to fulfill their reporting requirements by eliminating duplicative requirements. This process can be time consuming and expensive, and it is an unfair burden upon farmers and farming operations, and there needs to be better coordination across state and federal agencies.

2) Ongoing and Related Efforts. CDFA is currently working with a third-party contractor to implement a budget change proposal (BCP) to conduct an impact assessment and alignment of regulatory reporting requirements for the agricultural sector. CDFA received $2 million (General Fund) in fiscal year 2020-21 and $2 million (General Fund) in fiscal year 2021-22 to evaluate the alignment of regulatory activities across state agencies to reduce unnecessary burdens to farmers and ranchers in their efforts to comply with regulations and recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agricultural industry. In its BCP, CDFA noted:

Approximately 20 percent of California’s farmers are socially disadvantaged according to the USDA Census of Agriculture. This growing number of small farm business owners disproportionately feel the administrative burden of regulatory compliance, licensing, and payment. They are more likely to face challenges navigating regulatory programs designed to fit larger farm operations or operations with a single crop and are less likely to have dedicated staff to handle regulatory reporting and compliance. It is also important to note that the administrative burden of regulatory compliance and licensing is disproportionately felt by small-scale, mid-sized, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.

CDFA is working with the third-party contractor to finalize the schedule and implementation timeline for this project. The department anticipates initial outreach to begin in the first quarter of 2023.

Along with funding for the regulatory alignment evaluation, CDFA also received $2 million (General Fund) in fiscal year 2021-22 to assess the scope, feasibility, and level of effort required to create and implement a single licensing and payment portal to eliminate potentially repetitive data input, streamline interactions between agricultural businesses and CDFA, enhance the public’s ability to find information on all CDFA’s licenses, permits, certifications, and registrations issued to individuals and businesses, and allow individuals and businesses to apply and pay, by credit card and e-check, online for licenses managed and administered by CDFA through a single sign-on web accessible portal. CDFA is requesting $1.5 million in the fiscal year 2023-24 budget for the next stage of this project.

The author may wish to coordinate with CDFA to ensure this bill is not creating work that is potentially duplicative, redundant, or in conflict with ongoing efforts at the department.

3) Scope of Proposed Evaluation. Writing in support, a coalition of agricultural businesses and organizations states:

AB 404 supports the growth of the organic sector by reducing duplicative reporting requirements. In California, organic farmers are required to report to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Organic farmers that also process organic food – such as baked goods or frozen foods – may also report to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). USDA, CDFA, and CDPH have separate reporting processes and often collect redundant information from organic farmers, including basic identifying information, certifier, organic acreage, and crop or product types. These reporting requirements take time and money, impacting farmers’ bottom line.

Reducing duplicative reporting requirements and ensuring better coordination across state and federal agencies might help the state’s small-scale, mid-scale, socially disadvantaged, and organic farmers. CDFA notes it is difficult to estimate an exact cost to conduct the proposed evaluation given its broad scope. The evaluation envisioned in this bill encompasses numerous federal and state departments’ regulations and reporting requirements, including, but not limited to, the California Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board, Department of Water Resources, Department of Public Health, Department of Pesticide Regulation, United States Department of Agriculture, and others. Additionally, regulations can vary between farmers and their growing region and, thus, any unknown complexities with statewide regulations affecting farmers may require a further time and cost commitment to evaluate. The comprehensive evaluation would likely necessitate sister agency cooperation and staff time.

A 2018 study conducted by Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (Hamilton & McCullough, 2018), found that water quality and food safety regulations accounted for 20% of regulatory compliance costs for a selected case study farmer. The study conducted by Cal Poly cost $4 million. Scaling up an assessment to include the 80% of additional statewide and federal regulatory costs for a farmer could potentially cost up to $16 million.

Analysis Prepared by: Nikita Koraddi / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: March 15, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

Robert Rivas, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 404

Author:(Connolly) – As Introduced Ver:February 2, 2023

SUBJECT: Department of Food and Agriculture: reporting requirements: small and mid-scale farmers

SUMMARY: This bill would require the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect small and mid-scale farmers and farming operations, as specified. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires CDFA to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect small and mid-scale farmers and farming operations, including, but not limited to, reporting requirements related to the process of transitioning to organic farming and obtaining organic certification.
2. Requires CDFA, on or before January 1, 2025, to submit a report to the Legislature, including suggestions to amend or remove unnecessary reporting requirements in order to relieve regulatory burdens, as specified.
3. Repeals the above requirements on January 1, 2026.

EXISTING LAW: Establishes CDFA and charges it with various duties and obligations. (Food and Agriculture code 101-105)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS: In 2010, CDFA Ag Vision report stated “California agriculture is the most highly‐regulated in the nation and probably the world. Producers must comply with many different government regulations covering everything from environmental quality and food safety to farm labor standards. These regulations were adopted to protect our health, the environment and those who work in the fields; and the progress that producers have made in complying with them has resulted in improvements in each of these areas. However, the regulations are often duplicative, conflicting, uncoordinated, inflexible, inconsistently administered or needlessly burdensome. They can also stifle innovation that might better achieve the objectives of the regulations than the actions that are now required of producers.”

In the intervening 12 years, the regulatory landscape for farmers and, all of Californians, have become more complicated. A Decade of Change: A Case Study of Regulatory Compliance Costs in the Produce Industry stated that there was a 1.26% of total production costs per acre of lettuce grown in California in 2006. 10 years later 8.90% of total production costs for that same acre of lettuce. While increases like these have an impact on California agriculture, hardest hit are smaller farmers, including many BIPOC farmers.

According to the author, duplicative reporting requirements are burdensome to farming operations, who must comply with regulations stemming from at least 28 different state and federal laws overseen by numerous regulatory agencies. The Governor’s Office should enhance coordination across state agencies and allow information sharing to reduce redundant reporting requirements.

Supporter’s state that this supports the growth of the organic sector by reducing duplicative reporting requirements. In California, organic farmers are required to report to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Organic farmers that also process organic food – such as baked goods or frozen foods – may also report to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). USDA, CDFA, and CDPH have separate reporting processes and often collect redundant information from organic farmers, including basic identifying information, certifier, organic acreage, and crop or product types. These reporting requirements take time and money, impacting farmers’ bottom line.

Based on past, recent and current woes in the State of California information technology, fulfilling this legislation may face some technology issues. Many state agencies do not have compatible information systems and when adding local and Federal government systems mix, the issues become more complicated. Having CDFA review duplicative regulatory reporting requirement and make suggestion to the Legislature to will have positive impact on small and medium sized farms.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Agricultural Institute of Marin

All STAR Organics

Blue Beautifly

Cafe Altura

California Alliance With Family Farmers

California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF)

California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association

California Food Producers

Ceres Community Project

Eckert Frozen Foods

Health Care Without Harm

Kinetic Koffee

Larocca Vineyards

Lucero Organic Farms

Mandela Partners

Manzanita Manor Organics

Oro De Sonora Pure Jojoba Family Farms

Pesticide Action Network North America

Peterson Family

Schellenberg Farms

Seffon Farms Organic

Sunblaze Ranch

Taylor Farms

Traditional Medicinals

Western Agricultural Processors Association

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Victor Francovich / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084