Existing law establishes the Department of Food and Agriculture, under the control of the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, to promote and protect the agricultural industry of the state. Existing law authorizes the department to expend in accordance with law all money that is made available for its use.

This bill would require the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the Budget Act of 2023, to provide funding for research to investigate accurate measurement of smoke compounds in winegrapes and wine, methods to mitigate the damage to winegrapes and wine that can occur from exposure to smoke, and methods to prevent smoke damage to winegrapes and wine. The bill would require the department to establish an advisory committee of specified members appointed by the secretary to provide recommendations to the secretary for funding research proposals submitted to the department under these provisions. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on January 1, 2029, or when all funds appropriated by the Legislature pursuant to the Budget Act of 2023 for these provisions have been disbursed, whichever is later.

Date of Hearing: April 19, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Chris Holden, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 54

Author:(Aguiar-Curry) – As Introduced Ver:December 5, 2022

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

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), upon appropriation, to provide funding for research into the effects of wildfire smoke compounds on winegrapes and wine.

Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires CDFA, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the Budget Act of 2023, to provide funding for research to investigate wildfire smoke impacts on California winegrapes and wine, as specified.
2. States it is the intent of the Legislature that $5 million be appropriated in the Budget Act of 2023 for purposes of this bill.
3. Requires CDFA to create an advisory committee of nine people appointed by the secretary of CDFA, as specified.
4. Allows a qualified researcher to submit a proposal for funding research described in 1) to CDFA and requires the advisory committee to review research proposals submitted and provide recommendations to the secretary of CDFA for funding the research proposals.
5. Requires the secretary of CDFA to accept the recommendations of the advisory committee and disburse the funds for a research proposal recommended by the advisory committee unless the secretary determines that the research proposal is not practicable or in the interest of the industry or the public.
6. Requires, if the secretary does not accept a recommendation of the advisory committee, the secretary to provide the advisory committee with the reasons for that decision within 15 days.
7. Provides this section shall become inoperative on January 1, 2029, or when all funds appropriated for purposes of this bill have been disbursed, whichever is later, and requires the secretary, after all funds appropriated for purposes of this bill have been disbursed, to notify the Legislature of this fact, as specified.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1) CDFA estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $240,000 (General Fund) during the duration of the research program for one position to provide administrative support for the program, one-quarter of a position to evaluate the recommendations of the advisory board, and travel and per diem costs associated with the nine-member advisory committee, including two meetings per year.

2) Additional cost pressure of an unknown, but significant amount, likely in the low millions of dollars, to fund the research proposals. The author has requested $5 million in the fiscal year 2023-24 budget for this purpose.

COMMENTS:

1) Purpose. According to the author:

The 2020 grape crush declined by nearly 14 percent from 2019, due primarily to wildfire impacts, while wildfires in 2021 damaged winegrapes in the Sierra Nevada. The 2020 wildfires alone are estimated to have cost wineries and winegrape growers $3.7 billion both from immediate fire-caused losses as well as losses in future sales. The damage is widespread as the wine industry employs thousands of people - the growers, producers, farmworkers, and those who are trucking and shipping the products. This bill responds to the growing threat of wildfires to California’s wine industry by requiring the state Department of Food and Agriculture to provide funding for research to better understand smoke impacts and solutions to reduce losses for winegrape growers and vintners.

2) Wildfires and the Wine Industry. According to a coalition of organizations writing in support of the bill, California vineyards and wineries have been severely impacted by wildfires and smoke exposure in recent years. The coalition states:

The 2020 fires alone are expected to cost vineyards and wineries $3.7 billion. The grapes that weren’t harvested due to smoke exposure from the 2020 wildfires cost winegrape growers $601 million and are expected to result in lost wine sales of $2.8 billion. This has been repeated numerous times in recent years. California’s wineries and winegrape growers saw significant losses in many parts of the state, the North Coast and Central Coast have been particularly hard hit by smoke impacts. Wildfires in 2021 caused damage to winegrapes in the Sierra Foothills. Consumer perceptions of the potential impact to California wine quality due to smoke exposure led to further economic losses, particularly in important export markets.

The coalition contends that significant investment in research to measure, mitigate, and prevent impacts from smoke are needed to help ensure the continued success of California’s wine industry.

3) Parallel Efforts. UC Davis, Oregon State University (OSU), and University of Washington are recipients of a $7.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct a four-year study on the effects of wildfire smoke on grapes and wine. Collectively, these institutions are working to better understand how wildfire smoke compromises grapes, develop a grape smoke exposure risk management plan, and develop low-cost sensors and networks to provide real-time information, assess the effect of smoke on grapevines and grapes, and create a predictive model to estimate smoke risk. According to OSU, research scientists throughout the U.S. are conducting a range of research projects to address the impact of smoke on wine and grapes.

According to the sponsors of the bill, ongoing research in this field needs significantly more funding to ensure market-ready measurement, mitigation, and prevention solutions are available for use by commercial winegrape producers and winemakers.

4) Prior Legislation. AB 2213 (Aguiar-Curry), of the 2021-22 Legislative Session, was substantially similar to this bill. AB 2213 was held on this committee’s suspense file.

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 54 (

Author:Aguiar-Curry) – As Introduced Ver:December 5, 2022

SUBJECT: Department of Food and Agriculture: research funding: winegrapes: smoke exposure

SUMMARY: This bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), upon appropriation by the Legislature in the Budget Act of 2023, to provide funding for research to investigate accurate measurement of smoke compounds in winegrapes and wine; methods to mitigate the damage to winegrapes and wine that can occur from exposure to smoke; and methods to prevent smoke damage to winegrapes and wine. Specifically, this bill:

1. Makes findings and declarations related to the wine industry in California, the impacts of wildfires and wildfire smoke on winegrapes and the need for research to better understand smoke impacts and solutions to reduce losses for winegrape growers and vintners.
   
2. Requires the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), upon appropriation by the Legislature in the Budget Act of 2023, to provide funding for research to investigate wildfire smoke impacts on California winegrapes, as specified.
   
3. Requires CDFA to create an advisory committee of nine people appointed by the secretary as follows:
   1. Four people representing winegrape growers.
   2. Four people representing vintners.
   3. One person representing a public California university with experience in smoke effects on winegrapes or wine.
      
4. Allows a qualified researcher to submit a proposal for funding wildfire smoke impacts on California winegrapes research.
   
5. Requires the advisory committee to review research proposals submitted and to provide recommendations to the secretary of CDFA (secretary) for funding the research proposals.
   
6. Requires the secretary to accept the recommendation of the advisory committee and disburse the funds for a research proposal recommended by the advisory committee unless the secretary determines that the research proposal is not practicable or in the interest of the industry or the public.

• 1. Requires, if the secretary does not accept a recommendation of the advisory committee, the secretary to provide the advisory committee with the reasons for that decision within 15 days.
     

1. Provides this section shall become inoperative on January 1, 2028, or when all funds appropriated for purposes of this section have been disbursed, whichever is later.
2. Requires the secretary, after all funds disbursed for purposes of this section, to notify the Legislature of this fact, as specified.
   

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the CDFA, under the control of the Secretary of CDFA (secretary), to promote and protect the agricultural industry of the state. (Food and Agriculture code (FAC) 100-105)
2. Allows CDFA to expend, in accordance with law, all money that is made available for its use. (FAC 201)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.

COMMENTS: Wildfires in California are continuing to increase in frequency and intensity, resulting in loss of life and damage to property, infrastructure, and ecosystems. In 2020 alone, wildfires burned more than 4.2 million acres. Thirteen of California’s 20 most destructive fires occurred in the last five years, several in or near California’s world-renowned winegrowing regions. While much of the Ag land in the Central Valley has seen a limited impact, the Coastal ranges and foothill communities on the edge of the Sierras have seen greater impact, especially for vineyards and grazing lands throughout the State. Altogether, the impact of recent wildfires on California’s agriculture has been catastrophic and unprecedented.

California winegrapes have been impacted significantly by repeated wildfires in recent years. The 2020 fires are expected to cost vineyards and wineries $3.7 billion. The grapes that weren’t harvested due to smoke exposure from the 2020 wildfires cost winegrape growers $601 million and are expected to result in lost wine sales of $2.8 billion.

According to the author, there is a significant need for research into measurement, mitigation, and prevention of damage to winegrapes and wine that can occur from exposure to smoke. The ability to quickly and accurately measure the key smoke compounds responsible for smoke damaged wines and make sound decisions concerning the disposition of grapes and wines is a high priority. There is currently an understanding of how to measure smoke compounds in winegrapes; however, there is a high priority need to establish baselines for the presence of naturally occurring levels of smoke exposure marker compounds in grapes by variety and region. More research is also needed to correlate sensory characteristics of wines with chemical analyses of smoke exposure marker compounds in grapes. There is a significant need for research into rapid methods to measure smoke exposure molecules in vineyards. If this research is successful, it could deliver large scale, commercially available analyses that would benefit vineyards and wineries making harvest and purchasing decisions.

Sponsors state, an investment of $5 million by the state of California to fund meaningful research into these important issues would help prevent repeated losses to California winegrape growers and wineries. This bill will help California’s wineries and winegrape growers by creating an advisory committee to advise CDFA how to distribute state funds for research into measurement, mitigation, and prevention of smoke damage to California winegrapes. Little is known about how current measurements for smoke compounds ultimately equate to sensory quality in wine and more research is needed in this area. Vintners are in need of better understanding of tools that could be used during the winemaking process to mitigate the impacts of smoke exposure in winegrapes. Finally, it would be valuable to investigate potential tools to prevent smoke damage.

Previous Legislation:

AB 2213 (Aguiar-Curry) 2021: This bill would have require the Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), upon appropriation by the Legislature in the Budget Act of 2022, to provide funding for research to investigate accurate measurement of smoke compounds in winegrapes and wine, methods to mitigate the damage to winegrapes and wine that can occur from exposure to smoke, and methods to prevent smoke damage to winegrapes and wine. Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Agricultural Council of California

California Association of Winegrape Growers

California Chamber of Commerce

California Farm Bureau Federation

Community Alliance With Family Farmers

Family Winemakers of California

Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC)

Wine Institute

Opposition

None on file

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