Sausha Racine, assistant manager for Scully Packing Co. of Finley, gives testimony on behalf of SB 319 before the Senate Labor & Industrial Relations Committee Wednesday. At right is Sen. Patricia Wiggins, who introduced the bill. Photo by Lorie Shelley, Senate photographer.

SACRAMENTO – A bill allowing Lake County teens to work longer hours in local pear sheds during the summer harvest passed an Assembly committee Wednesday.

In February Second District State Sen. Patricia Wiggins, who represents Lake and several other counties in the Senate, introduced SB 319. The bill was heard Wednesday by the Senate Labor & Industrial Relations Committee.

Existing law prohibits minors ages 16-17 from working more than eight hours per day and 48 hours per week. SB 319 authorizes the California labor commissioner to grant an exemption from this prohibition, which would allow Lake County youth to work up to 10 hours per day in agricultural packing plants during the peak summer harvest season.  

The law also requires the commissioner to inspect working conditions at the plants which hire minors and report back to the legislature, according to Wiggins' office.

In committee testimony, Wiggins explained that in 1996 Mike Thompson, then serving in the state legislature, first introduced the exemption.

Subsequent legislators, including Sen. Wes Chesbro, renewed the legislation, she reported, with the current exemption set to expire Jan. 1, 2008.

SB 319, Wiggins said, would reauthorize the exemption through Jan. 1, 2012. It also would allow the labor commissioner to permit the packing plants to employ minor students up to 60 hours per week with the Lake County Board of Education's written approval.   

Several Lake County residents went before the committee to testify about the importance of the legislation, including Lakeport Police Chief Kevin Burke, Lake County Superintendent of Schools David Geck, Toni Scully of Scully Packing Co. and Sausha Racine, who is assistant manager for Scully Packing.

Geck said LCOE provides annual inspections of the packing sheds' youth work stations, and issues special work permits for the employment of minors at the packing sheds.

“The Lake County Office of Education fully supports the Legislation,” he said. “We view the Legislation as supporting the minors and their families in our county.”

Racine told the committee that she worked seasonally for Scully Packing throughout her high school and college years before returning to work at the company as a full-time employee after she graduated from college.

“I applied for a job there when I was 16 because there were not a lot of summer jobs in my area available to teenagers, and there still aren’t,” she said. “I came back every summer because I loved working there.

“It was a great feeling to be needed and to count equally among my co-workers,” she said. “I learned how important each employee was and how critical it was to show up every day and on time. I think a kid’s first job truly does impact their future outlook toward work and I am thankful my first job was in the packing house.”

Following the testimony, the committee approved the bill 5-0 in its progress through the legislature.

There's no word yet on whether the bill will go to another committee, or when it might be sent to the full Senate for a vote.

In addition to those who spoke on the bill's behalf Wednesday, Wiggins' office reported the bill has the support of the Lake County Board of Supervisors, Lake County Sheriff's Office, the Lake County Administrative Office, Lake County Probation Department, Lakeport Unified School District, California Women for Agriculture, Employment Development Department, Grape & Tree Fruit League and Adobe Creek Packing.

For more information about Wiggins' legislation, visit her Web site at www.dist02.casen.govoffice.com.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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