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SACRAMENTO – The California Senate voted 32-0 earlier this month to approve SB 2, legislation by Senator Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) to extend the state’s Pierce’s Disease Control Program.
Assemblymembers Wes Chesbro (D- Arcata) and Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) are principal co-authors of the bill, which next moves to the Assembly for further consideration.
SB 2, extends from 2011 to 2016 the Pierce's Disease Control Program within the CDFA, and expands the program’s research component to include designated new pests and diseases affecting grapes grown in California. The research is paid for by funds which the winegrape growers assess upon themselves.
The Wiggins bill calls for a referendum of the state’s winegrape growers in order to continue the industry assessment.
In the late 1990s, Pierce's Disease, which has been present in California for more than 100 years, threatened to cause sizable damage to grapes due to the arrival of the glassy-winged sharpshooter.
The glassy-winged sharpshooter carries the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which causes Pierce's Disease in grapes, almonds, oleander and citrus fruits. The insect feeds on a plant's water producing elements. When a plant develops Pierce's Disease, its ability to draw in moisture is hindered and the plant will either die or become unproductive.
In response to this threat to the grape industry, the Legislature passed bills that eventually resulted in the creation of an advisory task force on the Pierce's Disease issue in 1999.
In 2000, the Pierce's Disease Control Program was created as a partnership between the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), county agriculture commissioners, United States Department of Agriculture, University of California, local agencies, industry and agriculture organizations to combat the spread and find solutions for Pierce's Disease and the glassy-winged sharpshooter.
According to Wiggins, the Pierce's Disease Control Program “has proven to be a very successful effort to control the spread of Pierce's Disease and the glassy-winged sharpshooter. While the program is due to sunset in 2011, the disease and the threat of its spread still remain. By extending the sunset date, the Pierce's Disease Control Program can continue to combat the spread of Pierce's Disease and the glassy-winged sharpshooter.”
Wiggins, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on California’s Wine Industry, represents the premium wine-growing counties of Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake.
Supporters of SB 2, including the California Association of Winegrape Growers, Family Winemakers of California and the Wine Institute, state that the great inter-governmental and industry coordination through the Pierce's Disease Control Program has proven an excellent model for pest control programs.
By extending the research funding of the program to include other significant pests and diseases threatening California grape growers, they assert, California will be able to build on the success of the Pierce's Disease Control Program to combat other significant pests to grapes grown in the state.
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California’s taxable sales totaled $139.9 billion in the second quarter of 2008, down $3.3 billion from the second quarter of 2007. This is the fourth straight quarter of declines in the state’s taxable sales. Taxable sales have not fallen in four consecutive quarters since 2002.
Income growth continued to be much stronger than taxable sales, a trend seen since early 2007. Income and sales were both boosted in the second quarter of 2008 by the federal Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, which provided income tax rebates for most households during this period.
While taxable sales in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area declined 0.8 percent in the second quarter of 2008, the city of San Francisco’s taxable sales increased 6.0 percent, the fastest growth rate of the ten most populous cities in California.
Some other Bay Area cities also increased taxable sales in the second quarter 2008, including 6.9 percent in Cupertino, 6.2 percent in Milpitas and 4.2 percent in Berkeley.
In constant dollar terms, taxable sales decreased by 5.4 percent in the second quarter 2008 over the same quarter a year ago.
The California Taxable Sales Deflator measured an inflation rate of 3.3 percent for the second quarter of 2008. In contrast, the California Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 4.0 percent. (The CPI includes services, whose prices tend to increase faster than those of most taxable goods.)
Taxable Sales in California is a quarterly report on retail sales activity in California, as measured by transactions subject to sales and use tax. It includes data about statewide taxable sales by type of business, as well as data about taxable sales in all California cities and counties from the first quarter of 2000 through the second quarter of 2008 and can be viewed on the BOE Web site at: www.boe.ca.gov/news/tsalescont.htm .
View all taxable sales in California for the 2nd Quarter of 2008 here: www.boe.ca.gov/news/tsalescont08.htm .
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The Agriculture Committee heard testimony from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and from representatives of conservation, energy and agriculture-related organizations.
"Many Members of the House Agriculture Committee have serious concerns about how climate change legislation being considered in Congress will affect the people living in their districts," Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson said. "This hearing has helped us better understand what is being proposed and what can be done to improve the legislation."
Written testimony provided by the witnesses is available on the Committee Web site: http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/index.html .
A full transcript of the hearing will be posted on the Committee website at a later date.
Witnesses
Panel I
· The Honorable Tom Vilsack, Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
Panel II
· Mr. Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Washington, D.C.
· Mr. Steve Ruddell, Senior Associate, First Environment, Washington, D.C.
· Mr. Earl Garber, Second Vice President, National Association of Conservation Districts, Basile, Louisiana
· Mr. Fred Yoder, Past President and Climate Change Task Force Member, National Association of Corn Growers, Plain City, Ohio
· Mr. Roger Johnson, President, National Farmers Union, Washington, D.C.
· Mr. Ken Nobis, Treasurer, National Milk Producers Federation, St. Johns, Michigan
Panel III
· Mr. Ford West, President, The Fertilizer Institute, Washington, D.C.
· Mr. Glenn English, Chief Executive Officer, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Arlington, Virginia
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The settlement also applies to Longs Drug Stores California, which CVS purchased in late 2008.
"CVS Pharmacy routinely sold expired baby formula, over-the-counter medication and dairy products long after the expiration date," Brown said. "This agreement forces the company to give customers a $2 dollar coupon if they find expired products in CVS or Longs Drug Stores."
In March 2008, Brown launched an investigation which revealed that CVS Stores in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties had regularly sold expired baby food, baby formula, over-the-counter medications and dairy products to consumers.
Expired products found include:
Gerber's Vanilla Custard, 11 months expired, at a Huntington Beach store;
Bright Beginnings Ultra Baby Formula 31.7 oz., three months expired, at a Fullerton store;
Bonine for Kids (children's motion sickness medication), five months expired, at a Buena Park store;
Gerber Baby Food Oatmeal with Applesauce and Bananas, two months expired, at an El Cajon store.
The investigation also confirmed that five CVS Pharmacies had improperly discarded more than 500 documents and prescription bottles containing confidential medical information in dumpsters outside of its stores. This discarded information included patient names, addresses, birthdates and prescription medications.
In June 2008, Brown called on CVS Pharmacy to immediately end the sale of expired products and mishandling of confidential customer information across all CVS Pharmacy stores.
Brown today filed a civil suit and a stipulated judgment in San Diego County Superior Court.
The suit contends that CVS Pharmacy violated Business and Professions Code 17200 and Civil Code 1798.81, by misleading customers about CVS' standards to insure that products would not be sold after the expiration of the "sell buy" or "best by" date and by failing to preserve the confidentiality of customers' personal medical records. In entering into the settlement, CVS denied any wrong-doing.
The stipulated judgment resolves the suit and forces CVS to:
Stop the sale of expired products in CVS Pharmacy and Longs Drug stores in California;
Implement a first-of-its-kind coupon program whereby consumers who find an expired item on store shelves are entitled to a coupon worth $2.00 which can be used in any future purchase at a CVS Store in California for any product;
Revise existing policies regarding the sale of expired products and require employees to check at least twice a month that sell-by dates have not passed on infant formula, baby food, eggs, dairy products and over-the-counter medications;
Revise existing policies regarding the disposal of confidential waste so that they include proper shredding policies and require written certification that all records containing personal information have been properly disposed of;
Review and revise these updated policies annually and provide employees with written training in these new policies;
Provide the Attorney General's Office with sworn statements certifying that it has complied with all aspects of the Judgment;
Perform random audits in its California stores twice a year to make certain that expired products aren't being sold and that confidential medical information is safeguarded and disposed of properly: if CVS fails to meet these new conditions, audits will continue until these new requirements are met for two consecutive years; and
Designate a toll-free number for employees and customers to report expired products and each store must submit reports to its corporate headquarters regarding these incidents at least twice a month.
CVS will pay $975,000 in civil penalties, attorney fees and costs.