AB 454: California Rice Commission: board membership: referendum.
- Session Year: 2023-2024
- House: Assembly
- Latest Version Date: 2023-07-21
Current Status:
Passed
(2023-07-21: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 84, Statutes of 2023.)
Introduced
In Committee
First Chamber
In Committee
Second Chamber
Enacted
Existing law creates the California Rice Commission with a prescribed membership and authorizes the commission, among other things, to promote the sale of rice, educate and instruct the wholesale and retail trade with respect to proper methods of handling and selling rice, and conduct scientific research.
This bill would, before the beginning of each marketing season, authorize the commission to review drought conditions in the state and evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice. If the commission determines that the drought conditions had a detrimental impact upon the production and handling of rice, the bill would authorize the commission to issue a declaration that would require certain requirements pertaining to board membership, including expanded eligibility to serve on the commission, to be operative for the following marketing season, as specified.
Existing law requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to conduct a referendum every 5 years among handlers and producers to determine whether to continue the operations of the commission.
This bill would provide that, if the commission issues the drought declaration, a person who is eligible to serve on the commission as a handler member or a producer member under the expanded eligibility requirements is also eligible to vote in this referendum.
This bill would also make conforming and nonsubstantive changes.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law creates the California Rice Commission with a prescribed membership and authorizes the commission, among other things, to promote the sale of rice, educate and instruct the wholesale and retail trade with respect to proper methods of handling and selling rice, and conduct scientific research.
This bill would, before the beginning of each marketing season, authorize the commission to review drought conditions in the state and evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice. If the commission determines that the drought conditions had a detrimental impact upon the production and handling of rice, the bill would authorize the commission to issue a declaration that would require certain requirements pertaining to board membership, including expanded eligibility to serve on the commission, to be operative for the following marketing season, as specified.
Existing law requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to conduct a referendum every 5 years among handlers and producers to determine whether to continue the operations of the commission.
This bill would provide that, if the commission issues the drought declaration, a person who is eligible to serve on the commission as a handler member or a producer member under the expanded eligibility requirements is also eligible to vote in this referendum.
This bill would also make conforming and nonsubstantive changes.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law creates the California Rice Commission with a prescribed membership and authorizes the commission, among other things, to promote the sale of rice, educate and instruct the wholesale and retail trade with respect to proper methods of handling and selling rice, and conduct scientific research.
This bill would, before the beginning of each marketing season, authorize the commission to review drought conditions in the state and evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice. If the commission determines that the drought conditions had a detrimental impact upon the production and handling of rice, the bill would authorize the commission to issue a declaration that would require certain requirements pertaining to board membership membership, including expanded eligibility to serve on the commission, to be operative for the following marketing season, as specified. The bill would also make conforming and nonsubstantive changes.
Existing law requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to conduct a referendum every 5 years among handlers and producers to determine whether to continue the operations of the commission.
This bill would provide that, if the commission issues the drought declaration, a person who is eligible to serve on the commission as a handler member or a producer member under the expanded eligibility requirements is also eligible to vote in this referendum.
This bill would also make conforming and nonsubstantive changes.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law creates the California Rice Commission with a prescribed membership and authorizes the commission, among other things, to promote the sale of rice, educate and instruct the wholesale and retail trade with respect to proper methods of handling and selling rice, and conduct scientific research.
This bill would, before the beginning of each marketing season, require authorize the commission to review drought conditions in the state and evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice. If the commission determines that the drought conditions had a detrimental impact upon the production and handling of rice, the bill would authorize the commission to issue a declaration that would require certain requirements pertaining to board membership to be operative for the following marketing season, as specified. The bill would also make conforming and nonsubstantive changes.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law creates the California Rice Commission with a prescribed membership and authorizes the commission, among other things, to promote the sale of rice, educate and instruct the wholesale and retail trade with respect to proper methods of handling and selling rice, and conduct scientific research.
This bill would, before the beginning of each marketing season, require the commission to review drought conditions in the state and evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice. If the commission determines that the drought conditions had a detrimental impact upon the production and handling of rice, the bill would authorize the commission to issue a declaration that would require certain requirements pertaining to board membership to be operative for the following marketing season, as specified. The bill would also make conforming and nonsubstantive changes.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)The production of rice in California has been greatly curtailed due to extreme drought conditions that threaten the economy of communities in Northern California and along the Pacific Flyway. The future of the California Rice Commission and its many environmental, water quality, trade, and public education programs are also jeopardized.
(b)To protect communities and wildlife, board member eligibility and district representation for the California Rice Commission must be adaptive to current climate conditions.
SEC. 2.Section 71050 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read:71050.(a)There is in the state government the California Rice Commission. The commission is composed of equal numbers of handler members and producer members as set forth in this section and Section 71050.5. In addition, there may be one public member.
(b)Each eligible handler may appoint one member and one alternate member annually.
(c)Producer members and alternate members in a number equal to the number of appointed handler members shall be elected by district.
(d)The number of producers to be elected from each district shall be determined as follows:
(1)Each district shall have at least one representative.
(2)Except as provided in Section 71050.5, the allocation of any seats remaining after the allocation in paragraph (1) shall be made by dividing the total number of acres in the state planted in rice in the marketing season immediately preceding the determination by the total number of eligible handler members and dividing the acreage planted in rice in each district, starting with the district having the largest acreage planted in rice by the result and rounding to the nearest whole number.
(e)No handler who is more than 90 days delinquent in the payment of assessments or filing of reports required pursuant to this chapter is eligible to serve on the commission. If a handler is made ineligible to serve pursuant to this subdivision, the member representing District 1 who received the lowest vote total among members representing District 1 is also ineligible to serve by operation of law in order to maintain an equal number of eligible handler and producer members. Additional members are ineligible to serve by operation of law as needed in order to maintain an equal number of handler and producer members and shall be selected from the remaining districts in ascending order of the number of the district. No member who is the sole representative of a district is ineligible to serve as a result of the operation of this subdivision. Without regard to whether any ineligible producer member representing a district has been reinstated, no subsequent producer member is ineligible to serve by operation of law from any district until at least one member is ineligible to serve by operation of law from each district except those that have only one representative.
(f)(1)Members who are ineligible to serve by operation of law pursuant to subdivision (e) shall be immediately disqualified from voting on matters before the commission.
(2)The eligibility of handler and producer members shall be reinstated at the first meeting after the handlers payments and reports are made current.
(g)The commission shall annually establish the number of eligible handler members of the commission based on the volume of rice handled in the immediately preceding marketing season, and, if necessary, adjust and reallocate the number of producer members. Any additional producer members shall be elected at the next regularly scheduled election of producer members. Any handler who does not appoint a member and alternate within 15 days of being notified of their eligibility shall be deemed to have waived their right to a seat for the then current marketing season and shall not be counted in the calculation of producer seats.
(h)The public member, if any, shall be appointed to the commission by the secretary from the nominees recommended by the commission.
SEC. 3.Section 71050.5 is added to the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:71050.5.(a)Before the beginning of each marketing season, the commission may review drought conditions in the state and evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice. If the commission determines that the drought conditions had a detrimental impact upon the production and handling of rice, the commission may issue a declaration that requires the following provisions to be operative for the next marketing season:
(1)(A)A person shall be eligible to serve on the commission as a producer member or alternate producer member if either or both of the following conditions are met:
(i)The person meets the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71032 and 71057 and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(ii)The person received an indemnity payment from the prevented planting program in the same calendar year that the declaration is issued or in one or more of the four calendar years before the issuance of the declaration and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(B)A person described in clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall not be eligible to serve on the commission pursuant to this paragraph if the person voluntarily sells or transfers water during the marketing season, that sale or transfer of water lasts for a period of time longer than one year, and that sale or transfer of water results in the person not producing rice on any portion of the field acreage under the control of that person that is not eligible for the prevented planting program.
(2)A person shall be eligible to serve on the commission as a handler member or alternate handler member if either or both of the following conditions are met:
(A)The person meets the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71026 and 71058 and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(B)The person has met the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71026 and 71058 in the same calendar year that the declaration is issued or in one or more of the four calendar years before the issuance of the declaration and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(3)For purposes of the calculation set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 71050, the total number of acres in the state planted in rice and the acreage planted in rice in each district shall include both of the following:
(A)The total number of acres planted in rice in the state or district, as applicable, in the immediately preceding marketing season.
(B)The total number of prevented planted acres of rice in the state or district, as applicable, in the immediately preceding marketing season.
(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for the 202223 marketing season, the commission may undertake the duties specified in subdivision (a) as soon as possible after the effective date of this section. If the commission issues the declaration for the 202223 marketing season, the provisions set forth in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a) shall be operative for the 202223 marketing season immediately upon the issuance of the declaration.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)Prevented planted acre means an acre of land that was not planted in rice for which a person received an indemnity payment as part of the prevented planting coverage program.
(2)Prevented planting program means the prevented planting coverage provisions administered by the Risk Management Agency within the United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency pursuant to the Federal Crop Insurance Act (Subchapter I (commencing with Section 1501) of Chapter 36 of Title 7 of the United States Code).
SEC. 4.Section 71135 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read:71135.(a)(1)Every five years, commencing with the fifth marketing season following the certification pursuant to Section 71104, the secretary shall conduct a referendum among handlers and producers. The operations of the commission shall continue unless the secretary determines from the referendum that a majority of the eligible handlers and a majority of the eligible producers voting in the referendum voted in favor of terminating the operations of this chapter.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the commission issues a declaration pursuant to Section 71050.5 and that declaration is in effect at the time that the secretary conducts a referendum pursuant to this section, a person shall be eligible to vote in the referendum conducted pursuant to this section if either of the following apply:
(A)The person is a producer or handler.
(B)The person is eligible to serve on the commission as a producer or handler member pursuant to clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of, or subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of, subdivision (a) of Section 71050.5.
(b)If the secretary finds that the vote favors continuation, the secretary shall so certify and this chapter shall remain operative. If the secretary finds that the vote favors termination, the secretary shall so certify and declare the operation of this chapter and the commission suspended upon the expiration of the then current marketing season. Thereupon, the operations of the commission shall be concluded and funds distributed as provided in Section 71137.
SEC. 5.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure the continuation of the membership of the California Rice Commission and by extension, the associated environmental, biodiversity, water quality, trade, and public benefits and education programs, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)The production of rice in California has been greatly curtailed due to extreme drought conditions that threaten the economy of communities in Northern California and along the Pacific Flyway. The future of the California Rice Commission and its many environmental, water quality, trade, and public education programs are also jeopardized.
(b)To protect communities and wildlife, board member eligibility and district representation for the California Rice Commission must be adaptive to current climate conditions.
SEC. 2.Section 71050 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read:71050.(a)There is in the state government the California Rice Commission. The commission is composed of equal numbers of handler members and producer members as set forth in this section and Section 71050.5. In addition, there may be one public member.
(b)Each eligible handler may appoint one member and one alternate member annually.
(c)Producer members and alternate members in a number equal to the number of appointed handler members shall be elected by district.
(d)The number of producers to be elected from each district shall be determined as follows:
(1)Each district shall have at least one representative.
(2)Except as provided in Section 71050.5, the allocation of any seats remaining after the allocation in paragraph (1) shall be made by dividing the total number of acres in the state planted in rice in the marketing season immediately preceding the determination by the total number of eligible handler members and dividing the acreage planted in rice in each district, starting with the district having the largest acreage planted in rice by the result and rounding to the nearest whole number.
(e)No handler who is more than 90 days delinquent in the payment of assessments or filing of reports required pursuant to this chapter is eligible to serve on the commission. If a handler is made ineligible to serve pursuant to this subdivision, the member representing District 1 who received the lowest vote total among members representing District 1 is also ineligible to serve by operation of law in order to maintain an equal number of eligible handler and producer members. Additional members are ineligible to serve by operation of law as needed in order to maintain an equal number of handler and producer members and shall be selected from the remaining districts in ascending order of the number of the district. No member who is the sole representative of a district is ineligible to serve as a result of the operation of this subdivision. Without regard to whether any ineligible producer member representing a district has been reinstated, no subsequent producer member is ineligible to serve by operation of law from any district until at least one member is ineligible to serve by operation of law from each district except those that have only one representative.
(f)(1)Members who are ineligible to serve by operation of law pursuant to subdivision (e) shall be immediately disqualified from voting on matters before the commission.
(2)The eligibility of handler and producer members shall be reinstated at the first meeting after the handlers payments and reports are made current.
(g)The commission shall annually establish the number of eligible handler members of the commission based on the volume of rice handled in the immediately preceding marketing season, and, if necessary, adjust and reallocate the number of producer members. Any additional producer members shall be elected at the next regularly scheduled election of producer members. Any handler who does not appoint a member and alternate within 15 days of being notified of their eligibility shall be deemed to have waived their right to a seat for the then current marketing season and shall not be counted in the calculation of producer seats.
(h)The public member, if any, shall be appointed to the commission by the secretary from the nominees recommended by the commission.
SEC. 3.Section 71050.5 is added to the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:71050.5.(a)Before the beginning of each marketing season, the commission may review drought conditions in the state and evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice. If the commission determines that the drought conditions had a detrimental impact upon the production and handling of rice, the commission may issue a declaration that requires the following provisions to be operative for the next marketing season:
(1)(A)A person shall be eligible to serve on the commission as a producer member or alternate producer member if either or both of the following conditions are met:
(i)The person meets the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71032 and 71057 and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(ii)The person received an indemnity payment from the prevented planting program in the same calendar year that the declaration is issued or in one or more of the four calendar years before the issuance of the declaration and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(B)A person described in clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall not be eligible to serve on the commission pursuant to this paragraph if the person voluntarily sells or transfers water during the marketing season, that sale or transfer of water lasts for a period of time longer than one year, and that sale or transfer of water results in the person not producing rice on any portion of the field acreage under the control of that person that is not eligible for the prevented planting program.
(2)A person shall be eligible to serve on the commission as a handler member or alternate handler member if either or both of the following conditions are met:
(A)The person meets the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71026 and 71058 and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(B)The person has met the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71026 and 71058 in the same calendar year that the declaration is issued or in one or more of the four calendar years before the issuance of the declaration and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(3)For purposes of the calculation set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 71050, the total number of acres in the state planted in rice and the acreage planted in rice in each district shall include both of the following:
(A)The total number of acres planted in rice in the state or district, as applicable, in the immediately preceding marketing season.
(B)The total number of prevented planted acres of rice in the state or district, as applicable, in the immediately preceding marketing season.
(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for the 202223 marketing season, the commission may undertake the duties specified in subdivision (a) as soon as possible after the effective date of this section. If the commission issues the declaration for the 202223 marketing season, the provisions set forth in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a) shall be operative for the 202223 marketing season immediately upon the issuance of the declaration.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)Prevented planted acre means an acre of land that was not planted in rice for which a person received an indemnity payment as part of the prevented planting coverage program.
(2)Prevented planting program means the prevented planting coverage provisions administered by the Risk Management Agency within the United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency pursuant to the Federal Crop Insurance Act (Subchapter I (commencing with Section 1501) of Chapter 36 of Title 7 of the United States Code).
SEC. 4.Section 71135 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read:71135.(a)(1)Every five years, commencing with the fifth marketing season following the certification pursuant to Section 71104, the secretary shall conduct a referendum among handlers and producers. The operations of the commission shall continue unless the secretary determines from the referendum that a majority of the eligible handlers and a majority of the eligible producers voting in the referendum voted in favor of terminating the operations of this chapter.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the commission issues a declaration pursuant to Section 71050.5 and that declaration is in effect at the time that the secretary conducts a referendum pursuant to this section, a person shall be eligible to vote in the referendum conducted pursuant to this section if either of the following apply:
(A)The person is a producer or handler.
(B)The person is eligible to serve on the commission as a producer or handler member pursuant to clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of, or subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of, subdivision (a) of Section 71050.5.
(b)If the secretary finds that the vote favors continuation, the secretary shall so certify and this chapter shall remain operative. If the secretary finds that the vote favors termination, the secretary shall so certify and declare the operation of this chapter and the commission suspended upon the expiration of the then current marketing season. Thereupon, the operations of the commission shall be concluded and funds distributed as provided in Section 71137.
SEC. 5.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure the continuation of the membership of the California Rice Commission and by extension, the associated environmental, biodiversity, water quality, trade, and public benefits and education programs, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)The production of rice in California has been greatly curtailed due to extreme drought conditions that threaten the economy of communities in Northern California and along the Pacific Flyway. The future of the California Rice Commission and its many environmental, water quality, trade, and public education programs are also jeopardized.
(b)To protect communities and wildlife, board member eligibility and district representation for the California Rice Commission must be adaptive to current climate conditions.
SEC. 2.Section 71050 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read:71050.(a)There is in the state government the California Rice Commission. The commission is composed of equal numbers of handler members and producer members as set forth in this section and Section 71050.5. In addition, there may be one public member.
(b)Each eligible handler may appoint one member and one alternate member annually.
(c)Producer members and alternate members in a number equal to the number of appointed handler members shall be elected by district.
(d)The number of producers to be elected from each district shall be determined as follows:
(1)Each district shall have at least one representative.
(2)Except as provided in Section 71050.5, the allocation of any seats remaining after the allocation in paragraph (1) shall be made by dividing the total number of acres in the state planted in rice in the marketing season immediately preceding the determination by the total number of eligible handler members and dividing the acreage planted in rice in each district, starting with the district having the largest acreage planted in rice by the result and rounding to the nearest whole number.
(e)No handler who is more than 90 days delinquent in the payment of assessments or filing of reports required pursuant to this chapter is eligible to serve on the commission. If a handler is made ineligible to serve pursuant to this subdivision, the member representing District 1 who received the lowest vote total among members representing District 1 is also ineligible to serve by operation of law in order to maintain an equal number of eligible handler and producer members. Additional members are ineligible to serve by operation of law as needed in order to maintain an equal number of handler and producer members and shall be selected from the remaining districts in ascending order of the number of the district. No member who is the sole representative of a district is ineligible to serve as a result of the operation of this subdivision. Without regard to whether any ineligible producer member representing a district has been reinstated, no subsequent producer member is ineligible to serve by operation of law from any district until at least one member is ineligible to serve by operation of law from each district except those that have only one representative.
(f)(1)Members who are ineligible to serve by operation of law pursuant to subdivision (e) shall be immediately disqualified from voting on matters before the commission.
(2)The eligibility of handler and producer members shall be reinstated at the first meeting after the handlers payments and reports are made current.
(g)The commission shall annually establish the number of eligible handler members of the commission based on the volume of rice handled in the immediately preceding marketing season, and, if necessary, adjust and reallocate the number of producer members. Any additional producer members shall be elected at the next regularly scheduled election of producer members. Any handler who does not appoint a member and alternate within 15 days of being notified of their eligibility shall be deemed to have waived their right to a seat for the then current marketing season and shall not be counted in the calculation of producer seats.
(h)The public member, if any, shall be appointed to the commission by the secretary from the nominees recommended by the commission.
SEC. 3.Section 71050.5 is added to the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:71050.5.(a)Before the beginning of each marketing season, the commission may review drought conditions in the state and evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice. If the commission determines that the drought conditions had a detrimental impact upon the production and handling of rice, the commission may issue a declaration that requires the following provisions to be operative for the next marketing season:
(1)(A)A person shall be eligible to serve on the commission as a producer member or alternate producer member if either or both of the following conditions are met:
(i)The person meets the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71032 and 71057 and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(ii)The person received an indemnity payment from the prevented planting program in the same calendar year that the declaration is issued or in one or more of the four calendar years before the issuance of the declaration and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(B)A person described in clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall not be eligible to serve on the commission pursuant to this paragraph if the person voluntarily sells or transfers water during the marketing season, that sale or transfer of water lasts for a period of time longer than one year, and that sale or transfer of water results in the person not producing rice on any portion of the field acreage under the control of that person that is not eligible for the prevented planting program.
(2)A person shall be eligible to serve on the commission as a handler member or alternate handler member if either or both of the following conditions are met:
(A)The person meets the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71026 and 71058 and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(B)The person has met the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71026 and 71058 in the same calendar year that the declaration is issued or in one or more of the four calendar years before the issuance of the declaration and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(3)For purposes of the calculation set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 71050, the total number of acres in the state planted in rice and the acreage planted in rice in each district shall include both of the following:
(A)The total number of acres planted in rice in the state or district, as applicable, in the immediately preceding marketing season.
(B)The total number of prevented planted acres of rice in the state or district, as applicable, in the immediately preceding marketing season.
(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for the 202223 marketing season, the commission may undertake the duties specified in subdivision (a) as soon as possible after the effective date of this section. If the commission issues the declaration for the 202223 marketing season, the provisions set forth in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a) shall be operative for the 202223 marketing season immediately upon the issuance of the declaration.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)Prevented planted acre means an acre of land that was not planted in rice for which a person received an indemnity payment as part of the prevented planting coverage program.
(2)Prevented planting program means the prevented planting coverage provisions administered by the Risk Management Agency within the United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency pursuant to the Federal Crop Insurance Act (Subchapter I (commencing with Section 1501) of Chapter 36 of Title 7 of the United States Code).
SEC. 4.Section 71135 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read:71135.(a)(1)Every five years, commencing with the fifth marketing season following the certification pursuant to Section 71104, the secretary shall conduct a referendum among handlers and producers. The operations of the commission shall continue unless the secretary determines from the referendum that a majority of the eligible handlers and a majority of the eligible producers voting in the referendum voted in favor of terminating the operations of this chapter.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the commission issues a declaration pursuant to Section 71050.5 and that declaration is in effect at the time that the secretary conducts a referendum pursuant to this section, a person shall be eligible to vote in the referendum conducted pursuant to this section if either of the following apply:
(A)The person is a producer or handler.
(B)The person is eligible to serve on the commission as a producer or handler member pursuant to clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of, or subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of, subdivision (a) of Section 71050.5.
(b)If the secretary finds that the vote favors continuation, he or she the secretary shall so certify and this chapter shall remain operative. If the secretary finds that the vote favors termination, he or she the secretary shall so certify and declare the operation of this chapter and the commission suspended upon the expiration of the then current marketing season. Thereupon, the operations of the commission shall be concluded and funds distributed as provided in Section 71137.
SEC. 4.SEC. 5.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure the continuation of the membership of the California Rice Commission and by extension, the associated environmental, biodiversity, water quality, trade, and public benefits and education programs, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)The production of rice in California has been greatly curtailed due to extreme drought conditions that threaten the economy of communities in Northern California and along the Pacific Flyway. The future of the California Rice Commission and its many environmental, water quality, trade, and public education programs are also jeopardized.
(b)To protect communities and wildlife, board member eligibility and district representation for the California Rice Commission must be adaptive to current climate conditions.
SEC. 2.Section 71050 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read:71050.(a)There is in the state government the California Rice Commission. The commission is composed of equal numbers of handler members and producer members as set forth in this section and Section 71050.5. In addition, there may be one public member.
(b)Each eligible handler may appoint one member and one alternate member annually.
(c)Producer members and alternate members in a number equal to the number of appointed handler members shall be elected by district.
(d)The number of producers to be elected from each district shall be determined as follows:
(1)Each district shall have at least one representative.
(2)Except as provided in Section 71050.5, the allocation of any seats remaining after the allocation in paragraph (1) shall be made by dividing the total number of acres in the state planted in rice in the marketing season immediately preceding the determination by the total number of eligible handler members and dividing the acreage planted in rice in each district, starting with the district having the largest acreage planted in rice by the result and rounding to the nearest whole number.
(e)No handler who is more than 90 days delinquent in the payment of assessments or filing of reports required pursuant to this chapter is eligible to serve on the commission. If a handler is made ineligible to serve pursuant to this subdivision, the member representing District 1 who received the lowest vote total among members representing District 1 is also ineligible to serve by operation of law in order to maintain an equal number of eligible handler and producer members. Additional members are ineligible to serve by operation of law as needed in order to maintain an equal number of handler and producer members and shall be selected from the remaining districts in ascending order of the number of the district. No member who is the sole representative of a district is ineligible to serve as a result of the operation of this subdivision. Without regard to whether any ineligible producer member representing a district has been reinstated, no subsequent producer member is ineligible to serve by operation of law from any district until at least one member is ineligible to serve by operation of law from each district except those that have only one representative.
(f)(1)Members who are ineligible to serve by operation of law pursuant to subdivision (e) shall be immediately disqualified from voting on matters before the commission.
(2)The eligibility of handler and producer members shall be reinstated at the first meeting after the handlers payments and reports are made current.
(g)The commission shall annually establish the number of eligible handler members of the commission based on the volume of rice handled in the immediately preceding marketing season, and, if necessary, adjust and reallocate the number of producer members. Any additional producer members shall be elected at the next regularly scheduled election of producer members. Any handler who does not appoint a member and alternate within 15 days of being notified of their eligibility shall be deemed to have waived their right to a seat for the then current marketing season and shall not be counted in the calculation of producer seats.
(h)The public member, if any, shall be appointed to the commission by the secretary from the nominees recommended by the commission.
SEC. 3.Section 71050.5 is added to the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:71050.5.(a)Before the beginning of each marketing season, the commission shall may review drought conditions in the state and evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice. If the commission determines that the drought conditions had a detrimental impact upon the production and handling of rice, the commission may issue a declaration that requires the following provisions to be operative for the next marketing season:
(1)(A)A person shall be eligible to serve on the commission as a producer member or alternate producer member if either or both of the following conditions are met:
(A)(i)The person meets the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71032 and 71057 and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(B)(ii)The person received an indemnity payment from the prevented planting program in the same calendar year that the declaration is issued or in one or more of the four calendar years before the issuance of the declaration and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(B)A person described in clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall not be eligible to serve on the commission pursuant to this paragraph if the person voluntarily sells or transfers water during the marketing season, that sale or transfer of water lasts for a period of time longer than one year, and that sale or transfer of water results in the person not producing rice on any portion of the field acreage under the control of that person that is not eligible for the prevented planting program.
(2)A person shall be eligible to serve on the commission as a handler member or alternate handler member if either or both of the following conditions are met:
(A)The person meets the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71026 and 71058 and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(B)The person has met the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71026 and 71058 in the same calendar year that the declaration is issued or in one or more of the four calendar years before the issuance of the declaration and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) Section 71050.
(3)For purposes of the calculation set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 71050, the total number of acres in the state planted in rice and the acreage planted in rice in each district shall include both of the following:
(A)The total number of acres planted in rice in the state or district, as applicable, in the immediately preceding marketing season.
(B)The total number of prevented planted acres of rice in the state or district, as applicable, in the immediately preceding marketing season.
(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for the 202223 marketing season, the commission shall may undertake the duties specified in subdivision (a) as soon as possible after the effective date of this section. If the commission issues the declaration for the 202223 marketing season, the provisions set forth in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a) shall be operative for the 202223 marketing season immediately upon the issuance of the declaration.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)Prevented planted acre means an acre of land that was not planted in rice for which a person received an indemnity payment as part of the prevented planting coverage program.
(2)Prevented planting program means the prevented planting coverage provisions administered by the Risk Management Agency within the United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency pursuant to the Federal Crop Insurance Act (Subchapter I (commencing with Section 1501) of Chapter 36 of Title 7 of the United States Code).
SEC. 4.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure the continuation of the membership of the California Rice Commission and by extension, the associated environmental, biodiversity, water quality, trade, and public benefits and education programs, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)The production of rice in California has been greatly curtailed due to extreme drought conditions that threaten the economy of communities in Northern California and along the Pacific Flyway. The future of the California Rice Commission and its many environmental, water quality, trade, and public education programs are also jeopardized.
(b)To protect communities and wildlife, board member eligibility and district representation for the California Rice Commission must be adaptive to current climate conditions.
SEC. 2.Section 71050 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read:71050.(a)There is in the state government the California Rice Commission. The commission is composed of equal numbers of handler members and producer members as set forth in this section. section and Section 71050.5. In addition, there may be one public member.
(b)Each eligible handler may appoint one member and one alternate member annually.
(c)Producer members and alternate members in a number equal to the number of appointed handler members shall be elected by district.
(d)The number of producers to be elected from each district shall be determined as follows:
(1)Each district shall have at least one representative.
(2)The Except as provided in Section 71050.5, the allocation of any seats remaining after the allocation in paragraph (1) shall be made by dividing the total number of acres in the state planted in rice in the marketing season immediately preceding the determination by the total number of eligible handler members and dividing the acreage planted in rice in each district, starting with the district having the largest acreage planted in rice by the result and rounding to the nearest whole number.
(e)No handler who is more than 90 days delinquent in the payment of assessments or filing of reports required pursuant to this chapter is eligible to serve on the commission. If a handler is made ineligible to serve pursuant to this subdivision, the member representing District 1 who received the lowest vote total among members representing District 1 is also ineligible to serve by operation of law in order to maintain an equal number of eligible handler and producer members. Additional members are ineligible to serve by operation of law as needed in order to maintain an equal number of handler and producer members and shall be selected from the remaining districts in ascending order of the number of the district. No member who is the sole representative of a district is ineligible to serve as a result of the operation of this subdivision. Without regard to whether any ineligible producer member representing a district has been reinstated, no subsequent producer member is ineligible to serve by operation of law from any district until at least one member is ineligible to serve by operation of law from each district except those that have only one representative.
(f)(1)Members who are ineligible to serve by operation of law pursuant to subdivision (e) shall be immediately disqualified from voting on matters before the commission.
The(2)The eligibility of handler and producer members shall be reinstated at the first meeting after the handlers payments and reports are made current.
(g)The commission shall annually establish the number of eligible handler members of the commission based on the volume of rice handled in the immediately preceding marketing season, and, if necessary, adjust and reallocate the number of producer members. Any additional producer members shall be elected at the next regularly scheduled election of producer members. Any handler who does not appoint a member and alternate within 15 days of being notified of his or her their eligibility shall be deemed to have waived his or her their right to a seat for the then current marketing season and shall not be counted in the calculation of producer seats.
(h)The public member, if any, shall be appointed to the commission by the secretary from the nominees recommended by the commission.
SEC. 3.Section 71050.5 is added to the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:71050.5.(a)Before the beginning of each marketing season, the commission shall review drought conditions in the state and evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice. If the commission determines that the drought conditions had a detrimental impact upon the production and handling of rice, the commission may issue a declaration that requires the following provisions to be operative for the next marketing season:
(1)A person shall be eligible to serve on the commission as a producer member or alternate producer member if either or both of the following conditions are met:
(A)The person meets the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71032 and 71057 and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(B)The person received an indemnity payment from the prevented planting program in the same calendar year that the declaration is issued or in one or more of the four calendar years before the issuance of the declaration and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(2)A person shall be eligible to serve on the commission as a handler member or alternate handler member if either or both of the following conditions are met:
(A)The person meets the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71026 and 71058 and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 71050.
(B)The person has met the eligibility requirements set forth in Sections 71026 and 71058 in the same calendar year that the declaration is issued or in one or more of the four calendar years before the issuance of the declaration and is not ineligible to serve pursuant to subdivision (e) Section 71050.
(3)For purposes of the calculation set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 71050, the total number of acres in the state planted in rice and the acreage planted in rice in each district shall include both of the following:
(A)The total number of acres planted in rice in the state or district, as applicable, in the immediately preceding marketing season.
(B)The total number of prevented planted acres of rice in the state or district, as applicable, in the immediately preceding marketing season.
(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for the 202223 marketing season, the commission shall undertake the duties specified in subdivision (a) as soon as possible after the effective date of this section. If the commission issues the declaration for the 202223 marketing season, the provisions set forth in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a) shall be operative for the 202223 marketing season immediately upon the issuance of the declaration.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)Prevented planted acre means an acre of land that was not planted in rice for which a person received an indemnity payment as part of the prevented planting coverage program.
(2)Prevented planting program means the prevented planting coverage provisions administered by the Risk Management Agency within the United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency pursuant to the Federal Crop Insurance Act (Subchapter I (commencing with Section 1501) of Chapter 36 of Title 7 of the United States Code).
SEC. 4.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure the continuation of the membership of the California Rice Commission and by extension, the associated environmental, biodiversity, water quality, trade, and public benefits and education programs, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| Jul 21, 2023 | Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 84, Statutes of 2023. |
| Jul 21, 2023 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Jul 14, 2023 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11:30 a.m. |
| Jul 6, 2023 | In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling. |
| Jul 6, 2023 | Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 1915.). |
| Jul 5, 2023 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Jul 3, 2023 | From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8. |
| Jun 20, 2023 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 3. Noes 0.) (June 19). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| May 31, 2023 | In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. |
| May 3, 2023 | Referred to Com. on AGRI. |
| Apr 18, 2023 | In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. |
| Apr 17, 2023 | Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 1178.). |
| Mar 30, 2023 | Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar. |
| Mar 29, 2023 | From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (March 29). |
| Mar 21, 2023 | Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Mar 20, 2023 | Read second time and amended. |
| Mar 16, 2023 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (March 15). |
| Mar 9, 2023 | Re-referred to Com. on AGRI. |
| Mar 8, 2023 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on AGRI. Read second time and amended. |
| Feb 17, 2023 | Referred to Com. on AGRI. |
| Feb 7, 2023 | From printer. May be heard in committee March 9. |
| Feb 6, 2023 | Read first time. To print. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 2023 | Assembly 3rd Reading AB454 Aguiar-Curry By Dahle Urgency Clause | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Jun 19, 2023 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture |
Passed |
|
| Apr 17, 2023 | AB 454 Aguiar-Curry Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| Mar 29, 2023 | Do pass. To Consent Calendar. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Mar 15, 2023 | Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Assembly Standing Committee on Agriculture |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| California Rice Commission | ** Support | |
| California Warehouse Association | ** Support |
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | AB 454 |
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 454
Author: Aguiar-Curry (D)
Amended: 3/20/23 in Assembly
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE: 3-0, 6/19/23
AYES: Grove, Alvarado-Gil, Padilla
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hurtado
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/17/23 (Consent) - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: California Rice Commission: board membership: referendum
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST:
This bill authorizes the California Rice Commission (Commission) to review drought conditions in the state, evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice, and issue a drought declaration. The bill would allow a Commission member who is a rice producer or handler to continue serving on the Commission and vote to issue a declaration even if they did not handle or produce rice within the prior four years due to drought conditions.
ANALYSIS: Existing federal law establishes the Prevented Planting program offered by USDA’s Risk Management Agency, which provides financial assistance to farmers who are unable to plant crops due to natural disasters or other extreme weather conditions (https://rma.usda.gov/en/topics/%20prevented-planting).
Existing state law:
- Establishes the California Rice Commission which supports growers and handlers of rice in California and provides consumers with the nutritional value and the quality of rice produced and milled in the state.
- Establishes that the Commission is composed of equal numbers of handlers and producers of rice.
- States no handler who is more than 90 days delinquent in the payment of assessments or filing of reports is eligible to serve on the Commission.
This bill:
- Authorizes the Commission to review drought conditions in the state and evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice. If the commission determines that drought conditions have impacted the production and handling of rice, the commission may issue a declaration.
- Allows Commission members to remain on the Commission and vote to issue the declaration of drought conditions even if they haven’t produced or handled rice as a result of being impacted by drought conditions and water shortages.
- Amends Section 71050.5 of the Food and Agricultural Code to state that a person shall be eligible to vote to issue a declaration if either applies.
- They are a handler or producer;
- They are a producer or handler and they received an indemnity payment from the Prevented Planting program through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the same calendar year that the declaration is issued or in one of the four calendar years prior to the issuance of the declaration, if all other conditions are met.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No
SUPPORT: (Verified 7/5/23)
California Rice Commission
California Warehouse Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified 7/5/23)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author:
Year-over-year catastrophic drought conditions and water shortages have severely constrained rice production in the Sacramento Valley, with growers planting less than half of their typical acreage. However, currently only farmers who are actively growing rice can serve on the California Rice Commission—excluding farmers who cannot plant due to drought. AB 454 will provide greater flexibility to enable the Rice Commission to maintain representation of all rice farmers and handlers, including those impacted by difficult drought periods.
The Rice Commission, sponsors of the bill, state AB 454 would allow, in the instance that a drought declaration has been made, that members who did not produce or handle rice in the year prior due to drought remain eligible to serve on the Commission, so long as they demonstrate their eligibility “in this circumstance” by participation in the Prevented Planting coverage program through USDA. This would allow some flexibility for the Commission to adapt to climatic weather events and provide representation of California rice fields, regardless of catastrophic events, as long as all other eligibility conditions are met.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/17/23
AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner Horvath, 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, Hart, Holden, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lackey, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mathis, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, 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: Haney
Prepared by: Reichel Everhart / AGRI. /(916) 651-1508
7/5/23 14:55:51
SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Senator Melissa Hurtado, Chair
2023 - 2024 Regular
Bill No: AB 454 Hearing Date: 6/19/23
Author: | Aguiar-Curry | ||
Version: | 3/20/23 | ||
Urgency: | Yes | Fiscal: | Yes |
Consultant: | Reichel Everhart | ||
Subject: California Rice Commission: board membership: referendum
SUMMARY
:
This bill would authorize the California Rice Commission (The Commission) to review drought conditions in the state, evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice, and issue a drought declaration that would allow a Commission member who is a rice producer or handler to continue serving on the Commission even if they did not handle or produce rice within the prior four years due to drought conditions.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
:
- The California Rice Commission: The Commission supports 2,500 growers and handlers of rice in California. The Commission’s role is to represent the interests of the entire rice industry, including growers and handlers, and provide consumers with the nutritional value of rice and information on the high quality of rice produced and milled in the state. The Commission is fully funded by the industry and operates through oversight by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) (Food and Agricultural Code Section 71000-71008).
- Composition of the Commission: The Commission is composed of equal numbers of handler members and producer members, and there may be one public member (Food and Agricultural Code Section 71050).
- Ineligibility to Serve on the Commission: No handler who is more than 90 days delinquent in the payment of assessments or filing of reports required pursuant to this chapter is eligible to serve on the Commission (Food and Agricultural Code Section 71050, subdivision (e)).
PROPOSED LAW
:
This bill:
- Would authorize the California Rice Commission, before the beginning of each marketing season, to review drought conditions in the state and evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice and issue a declaration that would state a member may continue to serve if they received an indemnity payment from the Prevented Planting Program in the same calendar year the declaration is issued, or in one or more of the four calendar years before the issuance of the declaration, and is eligible to serve pursuant to Food and Agricultural Code Section 71050, subdivision (e).
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
According to the author:
“Year-over-year catastrophic drought conditions and water shortages have severely constrained rice production in the Sacramento Valley, with growers planting less than half of their typical acreage. However, currently only farmers who are actively growing rice can serve on the California Rice Commission—excluding farmers who cannot plant due to drought. AB 454 will provide greater flexibility to the Rice Commission to maintain representation of all rice farmers and handlers, including those impacted by difficult drought periods.”
Tim Johnson, the CEO of the California Rice Commission, the sponsor of the bill, writes on behalf of the Commission stating that, farmers are confronted with a third year of catastrophic drought impacts which has led to the fallowing of acres and less rice produced and handled. As a result, some commissioners may have not produced or handled rice making them ineligible to continue serving on the Commission. He states this bill provides flexibility to allow the Commission to “adapt to climatic weather events.”
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:
None received.
RELATED LEGISLATION
:
- AB 623 (Chapter 89, Statutes of 1998): Created the California Rice Commission for the purposes of engaging in research and market expansion activities and established the membership and duties of the Commission.
PRIOR ACTIONS
:
Assembly Floor: | 79 - 0 |
Assembly Appropriations Committee: | 14 - 0 |
Assembly Agriculture Committee: | 8 - 0 |
SUPPORT
:
California Rice Commission (Sponsors)
California Warehouse Association
-- END --
Date of Hearing: March 29, 2023
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Chris Holden, Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:AB 454
Author:(Aguiar-Curry) – As Amended Ver:March 20, 2023
Policy Committee: | Agriculture | Vote: | 8 - 0 |
|
| ||
|
|
Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill authorizes the California Rice Commission (Commission) to issue a drought declaration, which would allow a Commission member who is a rice producer or handler to continue to serve on the Commission, even if they did not handle or produce rice recently due to drought conditions.
Specifically, this bill, among other things:
1) Allows the Commission, before the beginning of each marketing season, to review drought conditions in the state and evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice. Allows the Commission, if it determines that the drought conditions had a detrimental impact upon the production and handling of rice, to issue a declaration that requires specified provisions to be operative for the next marketing season.
2) Provides that a person is eligible to serve on the Commission as a producer member, alternate producer member, handler member, or alternate handler member if specified conditions and eligibility requirements are met.
3) If the Commission issues a drought declaration and that declaration is in effect at the time that the secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) conducts a referendum, as specified, a person shall be eligible to vote in the referendum if specified conditions apply.
FISCAL EFFECT:
CDFA anticipates no costs to the department as a result of this bill. Mandatory assessments levied on rice producers and handlers are used to fund the operations of the Commission. CDFA is reimbursed for all direct and indirect expenses it incurs in providing statutory oversight to the Commission.
COMMENTS:
1) Purpose. According to the author:
Year-over-year catastrophic drought conditions and water shortages have severely constrained rice production in the Sacramento Valley, with growers planting less than half of their typical acreage. However, currently only farmers who are actively growing rice can serve on the California Rice Commission—excluding farmers who cannot plant due to drought. AB 454 will provide greater flexibility to enable the Rice Commission to maintain representation of all rice farmers and handlers, including those impacted by difficult drought periods.
2) California Rice Commission (Commission). The Commission, which functions as a quasi-governmental entity, is a state agricultural marketing program that supports the 2,500 growers and handlers of rice in California by conducting promotion, education, research, and issues management activities to enhance the market for California rice. CDFA oversees the Commission and is reimbursed for all direct and indirect expenses it incurs in overseeing the Commission. The Commission’s activities are fully funded by a mandatory assessment of 20 cents per hundredweight of rice, split evenly between rice producers and handlers. The Commission is comprised of rice producers and handlers. To be eligible to serve on the Commission, producers and handlers must actively produce or handle rice. The number of producer and handler representatives on the Commission is dependent upon the total number of acres planted in any given district.
3) Drought Conditions and Commission Membership Eligibility. Chronic drought conditions and water shortages have severely constrained rice production in the Sacramento Valley, with growers planting less than half of their typical acreage. For this reason, many producers and handlers are no longer eligible to serve on the Commission, even though they are actively participating in the Prevented Planting Program managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which provides producers protection in the event they are unable to plant an insured crop by the final planting date or during the late planting period due to an insured cause of loss. Likewise, because of reduced acreage in production, the allocation of Commission seats by district would be dramatically impacted during periods of drought. This bill provides greater flexibility regarding eligibility to serve on the Commission during drought periods to maintain representation of all rice producers and handlers, including those impacted by drought.
4) Lower Rice Production and CDFA’s Costs. According to CDFA, the department’s cost to oversee the Commission is relatively small compared to the Commission’s overall budget. For the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the Commission collected $5.3 million in assessment revenue and CDFA’s expenses were around $70,000. For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the Commission anticipates collecting $3.9 million in assessment revenue (based on a higher assessment rate and lower production due to drought) and CDFA’s expenses are budgeted at $80,000. Thus, in years of lower rice production, the level of program activities funded by the Commission will be reduced but the Commission’s ability to reimburse CDFA and pay other necessary administrative costs will not.
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 454
Author:Aguiar-Curry – As Amended Ver:March 8, 2023
SUBJECT: California Rice Commission: board membership
SUMMARY: The bill would authorize the California Rice Commission (CRC) to issue a drought declaration that would allow a board member who is a rice producer or handler to continue on the board, even if they did not hand or produce rice recently due to drought conditions. Specifically, this bill:
- Makes legislative findings related to rice production in California has been greatly curtailed due to extreme drought. This has an impact on future of the California Rice Commission and its many environmental, water quality, trade, and public education programs are also jeopardized.
- Declares that to protect communities and wildlife, board member eligibility and district representation for CRC must be adaptive to current climate conditions.
- Allows CRC, before the beginning of each marketing season, to review drought conditions in the state and evaluate the impact of these conditions on the production and handling of rice.
- Allows, If the CRC determines that the drought conditions had a detrimental impact upon the production and handling of rice, CRC to issue a declaration that requires the following provisions to be operative for the next marketing season:
- Requires a person be eligible to serve on CRC as a producer member or alternate producer member if either or both of the following conditions are met:
- The person meets the eligibility requirements as a producer or their alternative and is not ineligible to serve due being 90 days or more delinquent in the payment of assessments, as specified.
- The person received an indemnity payment from the prevented planting program as specified, and is not ineligible to serve due being 90 days or more delinquent in the payment of assessments, as specified.
- A person received an indemnity payment from the prevented planting program is not eligible to serve on the CRC if the person voluntarily sells or transfers water during the marketing season that results in the person not producing rice on any portion of the field acreage, as specified.
- Requires a person be eligible to serve on CRC as a handler member or alternate handler member if either or both of the following conditions are met:
- The person meets the eligibility requirements as a handler or their alternate and is not ineligible to serve due being 90 days or more delinquent in the payment of assessments, as specified.
- The person has met the eligibility requirements as a handler or their alternate in the same calendar year that the declaration is issued or in one or more of the four calendar years before the issuance of the declaration and is not ineligible to serve due being 90 days or more delinquent in the payment of assessments, as specified.
- Requires a person be eligible to serve on CRC as a producer member or alternate producer member if either or both of the following conditions are met:
- For purposes of the calculation related to members per district, the “total number of acres in the state planted in rice” and the “acreage planted in rice in each district” shall include both of the following:
- The total number of acres planted in rice in the state or district, as applicable, in the immediately preceding marketing season.
- The total number of prevented planted acres of rice in the state or district, as applicable, in the immediately preceding marketing season.
- Requires CRC to undertake reviewing the need for a declaration as soon as possible after this bill is enacted.
- Requires CRC, if a declaration is enacted, to address issues related to board member and growing survey quickly
- Requires CRC, if a declaration is enacted, to address issues related to board member and growing survey quickly
- Defines the following:
- “Prevented planted acre” means an acre of land that was not planted in rice for which a person received an indemnity payment as part of the prevented planting coverage program.
- “Prevented planting program” means the prevented planting coverage provisions administered by the Risk Management Agency within the United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency pursuant to the Federal Crop Insurance Act (Subchapter I (commencing with Section 1501) of Chapter 36 of Title 7 of the United States Code).
- “Prevented planted acre” means an acre of land that was not planted in rice for which a person received an indemnity payment as part of the prevented planting coverage program.
- Adds an urgency statute clause that is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.
- Make conforming and technical changes.
EXISTING LAW: Creates the CRC with a prescribed membership and authorizes the commission, among other things, to promote the sale of rice, educate and instruct the wholesale and retail trade with respect to proper methods of handling and selling rice, and conduct scientific research. Food and Ag Code 71000 - 71138
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: The CRC, established in 1999, functions as a quasi-governmental entity within CDFA, providing for the orderly production, milling, and marketing of California rice and the associated environmental benefits. CRC’s board is comprised of rice producers and handlers. To be eligible to serve on the CRC, producers and handlers must actively produce or handle rice. The number of producer/handler board representatives is dependent upon the total number of acres planted in that district.
Year-over-year catastrophic drought conditions and water shortages have severely constrained rice production in the Sacramento Valley, with growers planting less than half of their typical acreage. For this reason, many producers and handlers would no longer be eligible to serve on CRC’s board, even though they are actively participating in the Prevented Planting Program managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Likewise, because of reduced acreage in production, the allocation of CRC board seats by district would be dramatically impacted.
This bill would provide greater flexibility regarding CRC eligibility during drought periods to maintain representation of all rice farmers and handlers, including those impacted by drought.
This bill would allow CRC to annually review and evaluate state drought conditions and make a determination as to whether drought conditions have had a detrimental impact to the production and handling of rice. If warranted, CRC would have authority to issue a drought declaration. Under a drought declaration, the commission would be able to authorize a handler or producer to serve on CRC board if they historically produced or handled rice, or if they participated in the Prevented Planting program at USDA.
In addition, this bill would allow the number of handler and producer representatives on the Commission to be calculated based on both acres of rice produced and acres planted but claimed as prevented plantings, per the Prevented Planting Program at USDA.
Committee recommend amendment:
Every five years CDFA is required to conduct a referendum of eligible handlers and processors to determine the future of CRC. Eligible member of CRC vote to either continue or disband the CRC. The next referendum must be held before August 2024. Under the current law, those producers and handlers afflicted by drought circumstances may be ineligible to vote in the referendum. To address this issue, the committee may wish to consider the following amendment:
FAC 71135. (a) Every five years, commencing with the fifth marketing season following the certification pursuant to Section 71104, the secretary shall conduct a referendum among handlers and producers, as defined in Article 2 or who are eligible pursuant to section 71050.5. The operations of the commission shall continue unless the secretary determines from the referendum that a majority of the eligible handlers and a majority of the eligible producers voting in the referendum voted in favor of terminating the operations of this chapter.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by: Victor Francovich / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084
Discussed in Hearing
48SEC
Assembly Floor
1MIN
Senate Floor
15MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture
7MIN
Assembly Standing Committee on Agriculture
Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):