CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2016, VOLUME NO. 36-Z
 1572REFERENCE
The Department proposes this action to implement,
interpret and make specific Sections 5301, 5302 and
5322 of the FAC.
CONTACT
The agency officer to whom written comments and
inquiries about the initial statement of reasons, pro-posed actions, location of the rulemaking files, and re-quest for a public hearing may be directed is: Sara
Khalid, Department of Food and Agriculture, Plant
Health and Pest Prevention Services, 1220 N Street,Room 210, Sacramento, California 95814, (916)
654−1017, FAX (916) 654−1018, E−mail: Sara.
Khalid@cdfa.ca.gov. In her absence, you may contactLaura Petro at (916) 654−1017. Questions regarding the
substance of the proposed regulation should be directed
to Sara Khalid.
INTERNET ACCESS
The Department has posted the information regard-
ing this proposed regulatory action on its Internet web-site (www .cdfa.ca.gov/plant/Regulations.html).
A V AILABILITY OF STATEMENT OF REASONS
AND TEXT OF PROPOSED  REGULATIONS
The Department has prepared an initial statement of
reasons for the proposed actions, has available all theinformation upon which its proposal is based, and has
available the express terms of the proposed action. A
copy of the initial statement of reasons and the proposed
regulations in underline and strikeout form may be ob-
tained upon request. The location of the information on
which the proposal is based may also be obtained upon
request. In addition, when completed, the final state-ment of reasons will be available upon request. Re-
quests should be directed to the contact named herein.
If the regulations adopted by the Department differ
from, but are suf ficiently related to the action proposed,
they will be available to the public for at least 15 days
prior to the date of adoption. Any person interested may
obtain a copy of said regulations prior to the date ofadoption by contacting the agency officer (contact)named herein.TITLE 3. DEPARTMENT OF FOOD
AND AGRICULTURE
Division 3. Economics
Chapter 1. Fruit and Vegetable Standardization
Subchapter 4. Fresh Fruits, Nuts and Vegetables
Articles 4 Containers and 11 Avocados
§ 1380.19(e) Standard Containers; 1408.2
Avocados, Maturity, Sampling and Testing
Procedures; 1408.9 Avocados, Marking
Requirements; 1408.10 Avocados, Marking
Requirements for Irregular Containers; 1408.11
Avocados, Consumer−Type Package; 1408.13
Avocados, Packing, Sizing, and Standard
Container Requirements; 1408.14 Avocados,
Weight Requirements for Packed Containers;
1408.16 Avocados, Net Weight Tolerance; and
1408.17 Avocados, Sampling Procedure for
Weight Requirement.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the California
Department of Food and Agriculture (Department) pro-
poses to amend the proposed regulations described be-low after considering all comments, objections, andrecommendations regarding the proposed actions.
PUBLIC HEARING
The Department has not scheduled a public hearing
on this proposed action. However, the Department will
hold a hearing if it receives a written request for a public
hearing from any interested person, or his or her autho-
rized representative, no later than 15 days before theclose of the written comment period.
WRITTEN COMMENT PERIOD
Any interested person, or his or her authorized repre-
sentative, may submit written comments relevant to the
proposed regulatory action to the Department. Com-
ments may also be submitted via facsimile (FAX) at
(916) 900−5345 or by e−mail to steve.
patton@cdfa.ca.gov . The written comment period clos-
es at 5:00 p.m. on October 17, 2016. The Department
will consider only comments received at the Depart-
ment by that time. Submit comments to:
Steve Patton, Branch Chief
Inspection and Compliance BranchCalifornia Department of Food and Agriculture 
1220 N Street,
Sacramento, CA 95814 Telephone: (916) 900−5030; Fax: (916) 900−5345CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2016, VOLUME NO. 36-Z
 1573AUTHORITY AND REFERENCE
Sections 14, 407, 42681, 42682, and 42941 of the
Food and Agricultural Code authorize the Department
to adopt these proposed regulations. The proposed reg-
ulations implement, interpret, and make specific Sec-tions 42681, 42682, and 42941 of the Food and Agricul-
tural Code.
INFORMATIVE DIGEST/POLICY STATEMENT
OVERVIEW
This rulemaking action amends California Code of
Regulations (CCR) Title 3, Division 3, Chapter 1, Sub-
chapter 4, Articles 4 and 11, § 1380.19(e), 1408.2,
1408.9, 1408.10, 1408.11, 1408.13, 1408.14, 1408.16,and 1408.17.
Section 14 of the Food and Agricultural Code autho-
rizes the Department to adopt rules and regulations in
accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. Ad-
ditional authority vested in this section grants the Cali-
fornia Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary
the authority to amend or repeal rules and regulations.
Section 407 of the Food and Agricultural Code autho-
rizes the Secretary of the Department to adopt such reg-
ulations as are reasonably necessary to carry out the
provisions of the Food and Agricultural Code that theSecretary is directed or authorized to administer orenforce.
Section 42681 of the Food and Agriculture Code au-
thorizes that the director [Secretary] by regulation may
prescribe methods of selecting samples of lots or con-tainers of fruits, nuts, and vegetables on a basis of size or
other specific classification, which are reasonably cal-
culated to produce by such sampling fair representa-tions of the entire lots or containers which are sampled,
and make such other regulations as are reasonably nec-
essary to secure uniformity in the enforcement of thisdivision.
Section 42682 of the Food and Agricultural Code au-
thorizes that the director [Secretary] may upon petition
of a person that the director [Secretary] finds has a sub-stantial interest in the growing or handling of the partic-
ular fruit, nut, or vegetable involved, establish, modify,
or rescind by the regulation which initially took effect
January 1, 1971, standard container, lid, marking, siz-ing requirements for commodities, and packing ar-
rangements for any fruits, nuts, or vegetables, for which
specific quality standards have otherwise been provid-ed by law or regulation.
The director [Secretary] shall not, by regulation,
adopt any new container or packing requirement, unless
the new container or packing requirement has previous-ly been authorized by regulation of the director [Secre-tary] as an experimental container pack or container.Section 42941 of the Food and Agricultural Code
mandates that it is unlawful for any person to prepare,
pack, place, deliver for shipment, deliver for sale, load,
ship, transport, cause to be transported, or sell any
fruits, nuts, and vegetables in bulk, or in any container
or subcontainer, unless such fruits, nuts, and vegeta-bles, and their containers, conform to the provisions ofthis division or the regulations promulgated thereunder.
The requested regulatory amendments will simplify
and modernize regulations applicable to the packingand shipment of avocados produced in California.These amendments will also benefit California avocado
growers and handlers by eliminating a long−standing
disparity that disadvantages California avocados incomparison to avocados that are imported into the state.
Specifically, the Avocado Inspection Committee’s
(AIC) requested regulatory modifications leave intactthe Department’s robust quality inspection programand maintain existing consumer protections. Accord-
ingly, AIC submits that the requested changes are bene-
ficial for the Department, the California avocado indus-
try, and California consumers.
Consumer demands have increased the need to use
nonstandard type containers when packing avocados.
Current regulations state that avocados are to be packed
in three standard containers, in rows and layers. Thisproposed regulation action will allow handlers to pack
in any type consumer and nonconsumer containers and
not be restricted to the standard container and labelingrequirements that cause confusion and misperception
among consumers and retailers.
Eliminating the standard container requirement for
avocados and the requirements to use the term “irregu-
lar container” when using a nonstandard container, will
allow flexibility in the use of other comparable contain-
ers without compromising consumer safety or the eco-nomic interests of the industry. Additionally, thesechanges will allow producers and handlers of California
avocados to be competitive with foreign markets.
Benefits of the Proposed Action: The proposed regu-
latory action will benefit California producers and
packers of avocados. A vocado packers will no longer be
required to pack in standard containers, and this will al-
low California handlers to simplify and modernize thepacking of avocados. The changes will help California
avocado growers and handlers by eliminating a long−
standing disparity that disadvantages California avoca-
dos in comparison to avocados that are imported intothe state.
CONSISTENCY EV ALUATION
During the process of developing these regulations
and amendments, the Department has conducted asearch of any similar regulations on this topic and hasCALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2016, VOLUME NO. 36-Z
 1574concluded that these regulations are neither inconsis-
tent nor incompatible with existing state regulations.
DISCLOSURES REGARDING THE
PROPOSED ACTION
The Department has made the following initial
determinations:
Mandate on local agencies and school districts: None.
Cost or savings to any state agency: None.
Cost to any local agency or school district which must
be reimbursed in accordance with Government Codesections 17500 through 17630: None.
Other nondiscretionary cost or savings imposed on
local agencies: None.
Cost or savings in federal funding to the state: None.
Significant, statewide adverse economic impact di-
rectly affecting business including the ability of Cali-fornia businesses to compete with businesses in otherstates: None.
Cost impacts on a representative private person or
business: The Department is not aware of any cost im-
pacts that a representative private person or businesswould necessarily incur in reasonable compliance with
the proposed action.
RESULTS OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT
ASSESSMENT/ANALYSIS
The Department concludes that it is (1) unlikely that
the proposal will eliminate/create any jobs and/or elimi-
nate existing business; (2) likely that this proposal may
create new business or expand current business oppor-
tunities for producers and packers of avocados; (3) like-
ly that this proposal may create new businesses for avo-cado handlers; lastly, the proposed rulemaking will cre-
ate an indirect impact to the protection of public health
and safety.
Benefits of the Proposed Action: The proposed regu-
lation will benefit California producers, and packers.
Avocado packers will no longer be required to pack in
standard containers or mark nonstandard containers as“irregular container.” This will allow California han-
dlers to be more competitive in today’ s global economy
by using any type consumer and nonconsumercontainers.
Significant ef fect on housing costs: None.
SMALL BUSINESS DETERMINATION
The Department has initially determined that the pro-
posed changes to the regulations would result in noadded costs to small businesses affected by these pro-
posed changes. This proposed regulatory action would
eliminate standard containers for avocados and allowhandlers to pack in any type consumer and noncon-
sumer containers which would reduce costs and provide
additional marketing opportunities for the avocado in-dustry. In addition, the proposed regulatory actionswere initiated at the request of the impacted industry.
CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES
In accordance with Government Code section
11346.5, subdivision (a)(13), the Department must de-termine that no reasonable alternative it considered or
that has otherwise been identified and brought to the at-
tention of the Department would be more effective incarrying out the purpose for which the action is pro-posed or would be as effective and less burdensome to
affected private persons than the proposed action or
would be more cost−effective to affected private per-sons and equally effective in implementing the statuto-
ry policy or other provision of law.
The Department invites interested persons to present
statements or arguments with respect to alternatives tothe proposed regulations at the scheduled hearing or
during the written comment period.
CONTACT PERSONS
Inquiries concerning the proposed administrative ac-
tion may be directed to:
Steve Patton, Branch Chief
Inspection and Compliance Branch
California Department of Food and Agriculture 
1220 N StreetSacramento, CA 95814 Telephone: (916) 900−5030; 
Fax: (916) 900−5345
The backup contact person for these inquiries is:
Laurel Rudolph, SSA
Inspection and Compliance Branch
California Department of Food and Agriculture 
1220 N StreetSacramento, CA 95814 Telephone: (916) 900−5233; 
Fax: (916) 900−5345
Please direct requests for copies of the proposed text
of the regulations, the initial statement of reasons, the
modified text of the regulation, if any, or other informa-
tion upon which the rulemaking is based to LaurelRudolph at the above address.CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2016, VOLUME NO. 36-Z
 1575A V AILABILITY OF STATEMENT OF REASONS
AND TEXT OF PROPOSED REGULATIONS
The Department will have the rulemaking file avail-
able for inspection and copying throughout the rule-making process at its office at: 2800 Gateway OaksDrive, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95833. As of the date
this notice is published in the Notice Register, the rule-
making file consists of this notice; the proposed text ofthe regulations; the initial statement of reasons; and pe-
titions received from industry. Copies may be obtained
by contacting Laurel Rudolph at the address or phone
number listed above.
A V AILABILITY OF CHANGED OR
MODIFIED TEXT
After considering all timely and relevant comments
received, the Department may amend the proposed reg-
ulations substantially as described in this notice. If the
Department makes modifications, which are suf ficient-
ly related to the originally proposed text, it will makethe modified text (with the changes clearly indicated)
available to the public for at least 15 days before the De-
partment adopts the regulations as revised. Please send
requests for copies of any modified regulations to the at-
tention of Laurel Rudolph at the address listed above.
The Department will accept written comments on the
modified regulations for 15 days after the date on which
they are made available.
A V AILABILITY OF FINAL STATEMENT
OF REASONS
Upon its completion, copies of the Final Statement of
Reasons may be obtained by contacting Laurel Rudolph
at the address listed above.
A V AILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS ON
THE INTERNET
Copies of the Notice of Proposed Action, the Initial
Statement of Reasons, and the text of the regulations in
underline and strikeout can be accessed through the De-
partment’s website at http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/
Regulations.html .
TITLE 12. DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the California
Department of V eterans Affairs (“CalV et”) is proposing
to take the action described in the Informative Digest af-ter considering all comments, objections, and recom-
mendations regarding the proposed action.
PUBLIC HEARING
CalVet will hold a public hearing starting at 10:00
a.m. on October 19, 2016, at the Medal of Honor Hall(“MOH”), on the first floor of CalVet’s HeadquartersBuilding located at 1227 O  Street, Sacramento, Califor-
nia 95814. The MOH is wheelchair accessible. At the
hearing, any person may present statements or argu-ments orally or in writing relevant to the proposed ac-
tion described in the Informative Digest. CalVet re-
quests, but does not require, that persons who make oral
comments at the hearing also submit a written copy oftheir testimony at the hearing.
WRITTEN COMMENT PERIOD
Any interested person, or his or her authorized repre-
sentative, may submit written comments relevant to the
proposed regulatory action to CalVet. Comments mayalso be submitted by facsimile (FAX) at (916)653−2456 or by e−mail to phil.mcallister@calvet.
ca.gov. The written comment period closes at 5:00 p.m.
on October 17, 2016. CalVet will consider only com-
ments received at CalVet offices by that time. Submitcomments to:
Phil McAllister, Regulatory Actions Coordinator 
California Department of Veterans Af fairs
227 O Street, Suite 300 Sacramento, California 95814
AUTHORITY AND REFERENCE
Military and Veterans Code sections 74(a), 79.2(a),
79.2(c) and 1014 authorize CalVet to adopt this pro-
posed regulation. The proposed regulation implements,
interprets, and makes specific Health and Safety Codesections and 38 CFR section 51.210.
INFORMATIVE DIGEST/ POLICY STATEMENT
OVERVIEW
A. Informative Digest
Military and V eterans Code section 74(a) provides, in
part, that the Secretary is the “chief administrative offi-
cer” of CalV et.
Military and Veterans Code section 1014 provides
that the Veterans Homes of California (Homes) “shall
be under the management and control of [CalVet] andsubject to the policies adopted by the California Veter-
ans Board.”