Governor vetoes two Florez bills on food safety and ag burning

Oct. 16, 2009 - - Gov. Schwarzenegger has vetoed two pieces of legislation authored by Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter). SB173 would have authorized the State Public Health Officer to adopt regulations regarding the voluntary recall of food that, without intervention, could transmit an illness that could kill or seriously affect the health of humans. In his veto message, the Governor said, “The Department of Public Health already has broad statutory and administrative authority to ensure contaminated food product is removed from commerce. This bill does not provide any additional improvements to the authority.”
The second bill, SB382, would have provided that an agricultural burn permit within the jurisdiction of the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District is invalid on days in which the district prohibits the use of wood burning fireplaces and heaters. The Governor’s veto message said: “This bill is unnecessary. The District has existing authority to regulate, as appropriate, both agricultural burning, through its California Air Resources Board-approved Smoke Management Program, and residential wood burning through existing District rules. Additionally, vegetation management projects play a significant role in preventing and reducing the spread of devastating wildfires. As written, this bill could constrain the ability of Cal Fire to perform critical vegetation management projects on State Responsibility Area lands located within the District. Burn activities should be judged both independently and in combination according to where the activities are occurring and the current air conditions. The District is the best entity to make this determination. For these reasons, I am unable to sign this bill.”