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Victory! SB 1056 Fails to Pass California Senate
SB 1056 was introduced last year in response to the passage of county and city bans on genetically engineered (GE) crops. These local governments felt the need to step in due to the absence of statewide regulations to protect consumers, farmers, and the environment from the serious risks of GE crops. SB 1056's main goal was to strip the rights of local governments who chose to impose these bans, and thus turn all authority on GE crops over to the state. Although SB 1056 did get painfully close to passage, in the end it failed to make it out of committee in the California Senate and died with the close of the legislative year on August 31, 2006. CCOF Executive Director Peggy Miars spent numerous hours strategizing with allies, writing opposition letters, recruiting farmers to speak to elected officials, and pounding the halls of the Capitol to discuss the bill with (sometimes uninformed) Senators and their staff. CCOF also sent an email Action Alert to over 5,000 subscribers in hopes of generating attention, advocacy, and opposition to this bill. We want to thank every organization and each individual who made efforts on behalf of the opposition of SB 1056.
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Introduced by Senator Dean Florez last year, Senate Bill 1056 (SB 1056) intended to amend state law so that all decisions pertaining to the regulation of seeds and nursery plants are made at the state level, excluding local government's authority.
SB 1056 would have gone against the California Constitution, which clearly guarantees the right of cities and counties to "make and enforce within its limits all local, police, sanitary and other ordinances and regulations not in conflict with general laws" (Article XI, Sec. 7).
CCOF opposed SB 1056 because:
- If passed, SB 1056 would have superseded all future local regulations that restrict GE agriculture.
- The bill would have given all authority on GE crops to the state, yet the state of California has no laws or regulations governing GE crops.
- The federal government does not have mandatory environmental or human safety testing requirements for any GE crops, and does not require the labeling of products that contain them either.
- Local legislations that regulate GE issues address this crucial gap in federal and state policy.
- SB 1056 was part of a worldwide campaign to silence the many issues related to unregulated GE crop production, and with California being the nation's agricultural leader, this bill affects us all.
Read CCOF's letter to Senator Florez
Read Senate Bill 1056 Text
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