Agriculture.

(1) Existing law establishes the Sixth District Agricultural Association, which is known as the California Science Center, and authorizes it to establish a space age museum at its building in Exposition Park in the City of Los Angeles. This bill would instead authorize the California Science Center to establish an air and space center at that location. (2) Existing law imposes an annual assessment of 1% on the gross sales of all deciduous pome and stone fruit trees, nut trees, olive trees, and grapevines, including seeds, seedlings, rootstocks, and topstock, including ornamental varieties of apple, apricot, crabapple, cherry, nectarine, peach, pear, and plum, produced and sold within the state or produced within and shipped from the state by any licensed nursery dealer. Existing law provides that the Secretary of Food and Agriculture may exempt from the assessment certain species of pome and stone fruit, nut trees, olive trees, grapevines, or ornamental varieties of apple, apricot, crabapple, cherry, nectarine, olive, peach, pear, and plum if it can be demonstrated that no benefit is derived by these species from specified programs established by existing law concerning pome and stone fruit trees, nut trees, olive trees, and grapevines, as provided. This bill would remove species of olive trees from the plants that the secretary may exempt from the assessment and instead allow the secretary to exempt certain varieties of olive trees from the assessment. The bill would also make a clarifying change. (3) Existing law requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to require inspections at least quarterly of all milk products plants that pasteurize milk or milk products, manufacture cheese, or manufacture raw milk cheese, and requires that the inspection procedures include specified elements, including a review of all pasteurization records. Existing law defines "milk products plant" and excludes from that definition a retail establishment that packages dairy products in the presence of the consumer. This bill would exclude from the definition of "milk products plant" a properly licensed retail food facility that cuts, wraps, and packages cheese, excluding cottage cheese, purchased from a licensed manufacturer of milk products, labels the products pursuant to all applicable state and federal laws, and sells the product only to consumers on the premises of the retail food facility. (4) Existing law empowers the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to formulate a stabilization and marketing plan which includes, among other things, establishing the price to be paid by milk handlers for various classes of market milk. Class 2 market milk consists of, among other milk products, any market milk, market skim milk, or market cream used in the manufacture of market cream, homogenized market cream, sour cream, sour cream dressing, sour half-and-half or light sour cream, uncreamed, creamed, or partially creamed cottage cheese, soft fresh cheese (fromage frais) , buttermilk, and yogurt. A violation of any provision regarding the stabilization and marketing of market milk, or any provision of any stabilization and marketing plan, is a misdemeanor. This bill would add kefir to those products that are class 2 market milk. Because this bill would expand the scope of a crime, it would create a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law, the Dairy Council of California Law, establishes the Dairy Council of California within state government, comprised of 12 producer members, 12 handlers or producer handlers, and one member who is neither a producer, handler, or producer handler of milk. Existing law requires the secretary to prepare and mail nomination forms to all producers, producer handlers, and handlers of milk for the purpose of receiving nominations of members of the council, and to fill vacancies in the council pursuant to the council's nominees. Existing law provides that the 12 producer members of the council may include persons that represent producers. Under existing law, the dairy council is financed through fees paid by producers, producer-handlers, and handlers. Existing law authorizes the secretary to collect these fees and to add a penalty of 10% to unpaid fees. This bill would require all members of the council to be appointed by the secretary and would specify that the members hold office at the pleasure of the secretary. The bill would delete the provisions providing for the nomination of members of the council by producers, producer handlers, and handlers of milk and instead would require members of the council to be nominated and appointed pursuant to procedures recommended by the council and approved by the secretary. The bill would authorize the secretary to consider recommendations from the remaining members of the council to fill vacancies. The bill would delete the provision allowing for representatives of producers to be appointed as producer members of the council. The bill would define "handler" to include persons who secure custom processing services on an ongoing basis. The bill would also authorize the secretary to enforce as well as collect the fees and to assess interest of 1% of the unpaid balance for each 30 days the fees are unpaid. (6) Existing law establishes the California Walnut Commission, and requires that the commission become inoperative at the end of any marketing year in which targeted export assistance funds provided by the federal government have been permanently terminated, unless a referendum vote conducted among walnut producers approves the continuation of the commission. Existing law provides that funds are considered to be permanently terminated when the federal government does not provide targeted export assistance funds in 2 consecutive budget years. This bill would change when funds are considered to be permanently terminated to when the federal government does not provide targeted export assistance funds in 3 consecutive budget years. (7) 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.