AB 239

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law establishes fruit, nut, and vegetable standards and requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and county agricultural commissioners to enforce those provisions. As part of these standards, existing law authorizes the secretary to adopt various regulations, including, among other things, to prescribe methods of selecting samples of lots or containers of fruits, nuts, and vegetables on a basis of size or other specific classification, which are reasonably calculated to produce by such sampling fair representations of the entire lots or containers which are sampled. Existing law provides that a violation of these provisions is an infraction, and a 2nd or subsequent violation is a misdemeanor. This bill would require the secretary to, no later than January 1, 2025, promulgate regulations to adopt standards of identity for avocado oil, including, but not limited to, the quality and purity of the oil, requirements for labeling and packaging, and a method of measurement and analysis to ensure these standards are met. By expanding the scope of a crime, and to the extent this bill would expand the duties of county agricultural commissioners, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.