AB 240

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law establishes the Pure Pet Food Act of 1969, which is administered by the State Department of Public Health. Under the act, every person who manufactures a processed pet food, as defined, in California is required to first obtain a license from, and every person who manufactures a processed pet food for import into California from another state is required to first obtain a registration certificate from, the State Department of Public Health. Existing law excludes from the definition of "processed pet food" fresh or frozen pet foods subject to the control of the Department of Food and Agriculture. Under existing law, an annual license or registration certificate shall only be issued when certain conditions are met, including, among others, when the applicant submits to the State Department of Public Health the label that would be attached to the container of each type of processed pet food. Existing law also provides that, unless a different penalty is expressly provided, a violation of any provision of the Food and Agricultural Code is a misdemeanor. This bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture to collect, on an annual basis, a charge of $200 from a manufacturer of dog and cat food, as defined, for each label submitted by the manufacturer to the State Department of Public Health for dog and cat food, as provided. The bill would require the State Department of Public Health to, at the request of the Department of Food and Agriculture, provide the Department of Food and Agriculture with the information necessary to administer the above-mentioned provision. The bill would require a manufacturer of dog and cat food that has less than $75,000 in verifiable gross annual sales to instead only pay a single annual charge of $200 to the Department of Food and Agriculture. The bill would establish the California Spay-Neuter Fund in the State Treasury and would require these moneys to be transferred into the fund. The bill would continuously appropriate all moneys in the fund to the Department of Food and Agriculture without regard to fiscal years, as provided, thereby making an appropriation. (2) Existing law prohibits a public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group from selling or giving away any cat or dog that has not been spayed or neutered, except as provided. Existing law also requires the owner of a nonspayed or unneutered cat or dog that is impounded by a city or county animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or humane society to receive a specified fine. This bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture to undertake certain actions in administering and overseeing the California Spay-Neuter Fund, including, among others, offering competitive grants or set allocations, or both, to public animal shelters, private animal shelters with public contracts, or nonprofits for whom spay-neuter is a primary activity and requiring these competitive grants and set allocations to primarily be used to fund spay-neuter services. The bill would prohibit the department's expenses in administering the fund from exceeding 5% of the moneys deposited into the fund in any fiscal year. The bill would also require the department to promulgate certain rules, including, among others, by establishing administrative, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements related to the receipt of fund moneys, as specified. The bill would also make related findings and declarations. (3) This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. (4) Because the provisions of this bill would be located in the Food and Agricultural Code and the violation of these provisions would be a crime, the 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.