Organic products.

(1) Existing law, the California Organic Food and Farming Act, requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and county agricultural commissioners to enforce state and federal laws governing the production, labeling, and marketing of organic products, as specified. Existing law authorizes, to the extent that funds are available, the secretary, in consultation with the California Organic Products Advisory Committee, to establish procedures for and conduct specified activities, including conducting periodic spot inspections and conducting periodic prohibited substance testing on products labeled as organic. Existing law also authorizes the secretary and county agricultural commissioners to conduct a program of spot inspections to determine compliance with the act. This bill would authorize the secretary to establish procedures for and conduct announced and unannounced periodic spot inspections and collect samples to conduct periodic substance testing on products labeled as organic and would prohibit any charge to the inspector or investigator for the samples taken. The bill would authorize the secretary and county agricultural commissioners to conduct a program of announced and unannounced spot inspections. (2) Existing law requires every person engaged in the state in the processing or handling of specified products for human consumption that are sold as organic to register with the secretary or the State Public Health Officer and to pay a registration fee pursuant to a fee schedule based on total gross sales by the registrant of the product, as specified. Existing law authorizes the secretary to lower the amounts specified in the fee schedule by regulation. Existing law makes it unlawful for a person to produce or handle a product sold as organic unless duly registered. Existing law makes a violation of the provisions relating to organic products a crime. This bill would also require a person who takes title of an organic product that is outside the jurisdiction of the State Public Health Officer, packs, repacks, labels, sorts, or otherwise handles the product, and provides only handling services for the product, to register and pay a fee according to the fee schedule, as specified. The bill would instead make it unlawful for a person to sell, advertise, label, or otherwise represent any product as organic unless duly registered. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires a registrant to notify the secretary of a change of information reported on the registration form within a reasonable time and requires the secretary, to the extent funds are available, to establish procedures for handling complaints. Existing law authorizes a person to appeal to the secretary for a hearing for the denial or revocation of any registration. Existing law requires an appeal to be submitted to the secretary in writing within 30 days from the date of the action or the letter proposing the action. This bill would change the time frames for the above-described procedures and appeals, as specified. The bill would also authorize a person to appeal to the secretary for a hearing under specified federal regulations and for the suspension of any registration. The bill would provide that an adverse action becomes final and nonappealable unless an appeal is timely filed. (4) Existing law authorizes, in lieu of prosecution, the secretary or a county agricultural commissioner to levy a civil penalty in a specified amount of not more than $5,000 against a person under the secretary's enforcement jurisdiction who violates this act or implementing regulations. This bill would authorize, notwithstanding these penalties, the secretary or county agricultural commissioner to levy a civil penalty in an amount not more than an amount specified under federal law, if they find that a person or responsibly connected person knowingly sells or labels a product as organic in violation of the act or implementing regulations. The bill would provide that a person who makes a false statement under the act to the secretary, a state organic program governing official, or an accredited certifying agent is subject to specified fines or imprisonment under federal law. (5) Existing law, unless a different penalty is expressly provided, makes a violation of any provision of the Food and Agricultural Code a misdemeanor. Because the above provisions would be part of that code, the violation of which 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.