Farm animals: egg-laying hens: confinement.

(1) Existing law, enacted by Proposition 2, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the November 4, 2008, statewide general election, prohibits a person from tethering or confining a calf raised for veal, a pregnant pig, or an egg-laying hen on a farm in a manner that prevents the animal from lying down, standing up, fully extending its limbs, or turning around freely, except under specified circumstances. Existing statutory law prohibits a shelled egg from being sold or contracted for sale for human consumption in California if the seller knows or should have known that the egg is the product of an egg-laying hen that was confined on a farm or place that is not in compliance with the above-specified animal care standards. This bill would also prohibit a farm owner or operator in California from confining an egg-laying hen in an enclosure that is not in compliance with specified standards, except as provided. The bill would prohibit a person from selling or contracting to sell shell eggs or liquid eggs in California from an egg-laying hen that was in an enclosure not in compliance with the specified standards. The bill would make a violation of the bill's provisions a misdemeanor, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture to promulgate regulations for the implementation of those provisions on or before September 1, 2019. (2) Existing law requires California and out-of-state egg handlers and producers to pay to the Secretary of Food and Agriculture a maximum fee of $0.15 for each 30 dozen eggs sold in this state, as provided. Existing law requires the fees paid to the secretary under these provisions to be deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, a continuously appropriated fund for these purposes. Existing law requires the secretary to establish a lower rate for these fees if the funds derived from the assessment are more than reasonably necessary to cover the cost of administration and enforcement of the preparation for market and marketing of eggs, as specified. This bill would additionally authorize these fees to be used for the administration and enforcement of the provisions described in paragraph (1) and would make a conforming change. By expanding the purposes of a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. (3) 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.