BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE
Senator Abel Maldonado, Chairman
BILL NO: SB 556 HEARING: 5/15/07
AUTHOR: Wiggins FISCAL: Yes
VERSION: 5/9/07 CONSULTANT: John Chandler
Light Brown Apple Moth Advisory Task Force. URGENCY
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is
charged with control and eradication of invasive pests and
diseases. As part of that authority, CDFA may institute
quarantines within the state to control the movement of
potential host plants to limit the spread of an invasive pest.
Most invasive pest control and eradication efforts by CDFA are
implemented by or with County Agriculture Commissioners in
affected counties.
The Light Brown Apple Moth was detected in the Bay Area on
February 27, 2007. Since then, moths have been detected in
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz,
San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties.
Recently, CDFA established a quarantine of at least 182 square
miles, including portions of Alameda, Contra Costa, San
Francisco, Marin and Santa Clara counties, and expected to
expand soon due to recent detections of the pest in Monterey,
Santa Cruz, and San Mateo counties. The United State Department
of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection, implemented
a Federal Order restricting the interstate movement of certain
regulated articles, including nursery stock, cut flowers, and
greenery, from several counties in California and the entire
state of Hawaii to prevent the spread of the Light Brown Apple
Moth.
The Light Brown Apple Moth is native to Australia and is found
in New Zealand, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Hawaii. The
range of host plants is broad with more than 250 plant species
known to be susceptible to attack by this pest. Major domestic
hosts of concern are stone fruit (peaches, plums, nectarines,
cherries and apricots), apples, pears, grapes, and citrus.
PROPOSED LAW
SB 556 would create the Light Brown Apple Moth Advisory Task
Force. The task force would advise the Secretary of CDFA on the
environmental and economic impact of the spread of the Light
SB 556 - Page 2
Brown Apple Moth in California and shall report their findings
to the secretary on or before September 1, 2007. The bill
further specifies that appointments to the task force shall be
made by the secretary.
COMMENTS
1.According to the author's office, this bill is a work in
progress. Discovering the Light Brown Apple Moth in
California poses a significant threat California's agriculture
industry. Understanding the impacts and aggressively
controlling the spread and eradicating the existing pests are
key to protecting our agriculture economy. Since the
discovery of the Light Brown Apple Moth a few months ago, the
area of infestation has grown to at least eight counties.
This urgency bill will help CDFA swiftly address this invasive
pest.
2.The bill states that the task force would advise CDFA on the
environmental and economic impacts of spreading the Light
Brown Apple Moth. This charge may be too broad and does not
give clear direction on the role of the task force. The
committee may want to amend the bill to further specify what
the role of this task force would be to help understand and
combat the current Light Brown Apple Moth infestation.
3.SB 556 specifies that the task force shall report its findings
to the secretary on or before September 1, 2007. Given that
this bill has to become law before the creation of the task
force, the committee may want to consider if the timeframe of
only four months would be sufficient for the task force to
generate findings.
4.Appointments to the task force will be made by the secretary
of CDFA. However, the bill does not specify any direction for
the makeup or the size of the task force. The committee may
want to consider if it would be beneficial to specify the
makeup and size of the task force.
5.In order to operate a task force, funding is required. This
bill does not specify any source of funding for the task
force. The committee may want to consider if the bill should
reference how the task force would be financed.
PRIOR ACTIONS
Not relevant to the current version to the bill.
SB 556 - Page 3
SUPPORT
Family Winemakers of California
OPPOSITION
None received