Bill Text: CA AB31 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 31 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Milk products: milk prices: dairy industry sustainability.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-02-03 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB31 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB31-Amended.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 31	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 7, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Pan

                        DECEMBER 3, 2012

   An act  to add Section 62076.1 to the Food and
Agricultural Code,  relating to milk products.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 31, as amended, Pan.  Stabilization and marketing plan
for market milk.   Milk products: milk prices: 
 dairy industry sustainability. 
   Existing law empowers the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to
formulate stabilization and marketing plans that establish the prices
to be paid by milk handlers for specified classes of market milk.
Existing law requires the secretary to take relevant economic factors
into consideration in establishing the price to be paid for class 4b
market milk, which comprises all market milk, market skim milk, or
market cream used in the manufacture of cheese other than cottage
cheese.
   This bill would  provide a specific formula that the
secretary would be required to use to establish the price for class
4b market milk that includes a dry whey value factor that is no less
than 80 percent of the dry whey value used in federal milk marketing
orders in establishing minimum producer prices. The bill would
authorize each handler's milk plant that purchases class 4b market
milk to deduct a dry whey credit, as specified   make
specified legislative findings and declarations regarding challenges
faced by the dairy industry and would state specified intents of the
Legislature  .
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  yes
  no  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    (a)     The
Legislature finds and declares both of the following:  
   (1) The California Dairy industry has been confronted with
numerous challenges in the past several years that have forced the
dairy producers to exit the industry and processors to face
heightened competition.  
   (2) The challenges include dramatic increase in the cost of corn
and other produce used to feed livestock, increasing environmental
and regulatory costs, and decreasing water availability.  
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide the Department
of Food and Agriculture with temporary authority to consider an
emergency milk price adjustment.  
   (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Secretary of Food
and Agriculture actively engage the Dairy Future Task Force to
assist in developing proposals intended to best position both dairy
producers and processors to achieve the goals of long-term success
and sustainability.  
   (d) Further, it is the intent of the Legislature to address
establishing a dry whey value factor in the computation of the value
of class 4b market milk and a dry whey credit for processors. 

  SECTION 1.    Section 62076.1 is added to the Food
and Agricultural Code, to read:
   62076.1.  (a) In establishing prices to be paid by handlers to
producers for class 4b market milk, the calculation shall include a
dry whey value factor, computed as the cheese hundredweight price, as
established under the applicable stabilization and marketing plan,
computed by using the dry whey price defined in the plan, less a
manufacturing cost allowance of nineteen and ninety-one hundredths
cents ($0.1991), multiplied by a factor of 4.69, provided that the
dry whey value factor shall be no less than 80 percent of the dry
whey value used in federal milk marketing orders to establish minimum
producer prices.
   (b) Each handler's plant in California that purchases milk for
class 4b utilization may deduct a dry whey credit for quantities of
solids-not-fat processed for up to 264,480 pounds solids-not-fat
produced per month. The dry whey credit shall be equal to the dry
whey factor established under the applicable stabilization and
marketing plan, divided by 8.7.