Lawmakers dabble with price displays, state purchases

By WES SANDER
Capital Press

SACRAMENTO -- Several agriculture-related bills, covering topics ranging from water transfers and environmental rules to labor, licensing and product pricing, were introduced in the California Legislature by the Feb. 19 filing deadline.

A rundown:

* AB1960, by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, would require state agencies to purchase California-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables when the quality is comparable and the price matches produce grown elsewhere.

* SB1308, by Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, would require grocers who purchase products directly from producers to post the prices they paid. Prices would be displayed in grocery aisles, directly beneath retail prices.

* AB2695, by Assemblyman Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, would create a California Nursery Products Commission to run outreach, education, promotion, marketing and research regarding nursery products. The commission would be funded through an annual assessment on nursery producers.

* AB1910, by the Assembly agriculture committee, would add obstacles to the process by which the state pays into the milk pool, from its Milk Producers Security Trust Fund, to cover defaulting handlers. The bill would require the state to exhaust all legal and administrative avenues before covering a handler's missed payment.

* AB1977, by Assemblyman Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley, would create an ombudsman's position in the Department of Industrial Relations to facilitate resolution of labor law issues.

* AB2240, by the Assembly agriculture committee, would authorize the agriculture department to rework the schedule by which licensing fees are levied on processors of farm products. The restructuring would be based on current operating costs, and the agriculture secretary could appoint a committee, composed of producers and processors, to advise the process.

* AB2607, by Assemblyman Kevin De Leon, D-Los Angeles, would require the agriculture department to study the potential for wood shipping pallets to carry pests that pose a risk to the state's food supply.

* AB2049, by Assemblyman Juan Arambula, D-Fresno, would prohibit water transfers of greater than a 10-year duration from agricultural to urban use.

* SB1241, by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, would require the Department of Food and Agriculture to appropriate funds to help the agriculture sector reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions.

* SB1238, by Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, would require the state's Air Resources Board to consult with businesses, in addition to local districts and the general public, when it reviews diesel emission-control rules every three years.

* AB1891, by the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, would re-establish two University of California programs whose legislative backing expired on Jan. 1. The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program develops alternative farming practices through grants and educational efforts. The other program supports projects that educate and train farmers on biologically integrated farming systems.

* SB1303 by Wolk would extend indefinitely a provision under the California Endangered Species Act that exempts farmers from penalties if their normal agricultural activities kill protected species. The rule is set to expire Jan. 1m 2011.

* SB1153, by Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Oakland, would bind the legislature, through future legislation, to streamlining permitting processes and offering incentives for renewable-energy projects on agricultural land.