While the substance of the post below was correct, the web now seems to be saying that there is no injunction in place and thus we have reverted to the 1735 standard and are right back where we started. Stay tuned!
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Wow, what a strange week for raw milk. After the dust settled from our emergency mobilization, it appears that the Appropriations Committee never actually voted on 1604 on Thursday because its author, Nicole Parra, pulled it from the committee agenda on Wednesday night! There were conflicting views given out on whether it should have gone to that committee in the first place. Parra's office expressed surprise when informed the bill had been on the agenda. So 1604 has NOT been killed in committee, it wasn't even voted on. Full story after the jump!
After Ms. Parra pulled it from the committee, she called for the establishment of a commission to study the issue and recommend a coliform standard for raw milk. While that will be complicated and time-consuming, in the meantime, coliform testing is under injunction and will not be implemented (WRONG, SAYS THE WEB ON 1/26). So we still have access for now. At least, this is what we are hearing -- stay tuned!
Amanda Rose has posted an update here:
http://www.ethicurean.com/2008/01/24/california-raw-milk/
And I would like to paste in a comment from the Complete Patient, from Dave Hopton, which tells the story well. Thank God for the Complete Patient and thanks Dave!
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The bottom line from today’s Raw Milk Red Alert in California is that the Assembly Appropriations Committee did not even vote on AB 1604.
1. According to a representative in the office of Mark Leno (Chair of the Appropriations Committee), the passage of AB 1604 from the Agricultural Committee to the Appropriations Committee represented standard procedure. All bills and amendments, even if they save the state money, go through the Appropriations Committee as a matter of course.
How did it come to be, then, that today’s “vote” was the culmination of a dirty tricks campaign perpetrated by Big Dairy and the CDFA? Do the parties pursuing remedies to the iniquities of AB 1735 not fully understand the legislative process? Was the lady I spoke to lying?
2. Furthermore, according to the person I spoke to in Mark Leno’s office, AB 1604 was not voted on because it was taken off the agenda by the author (Nicole Parra).
3. The person that I next spoke to, in the office of Doug La Malfa (member of both the Appropriations Committee and the Agriculture Committee), confirmed that the Assembly Appropriations Committee did not vote on AB 1604 and the reason was that the author of the bill had taken it off the agenda last night (i.e., the evening of Wednesday, January 23, 2008) presumably before the e-mails from Organic Pastures and WAPF were sent out.
4. Both people I spoke to (above) told me that I could only get more information about where we stand with AB1604 by calling Nicole Parra’s office. So I did.
5. The person I first spoke to in Parra’s office told me that AB 1604 was never on the agenda for the Appropriations Committee in the first place and was surprised when I told him that Leno’s office were telling a different story. He then told me that the person we should address our questions to regarding AB1604 was Derek Chernow (sp?) who was handling the matter for Nicole Parra. I left a voicemail message for Derek asking where we stood today with the progress of AB 1604 and asking him to get back to me to let me know what the next step is, when that next step takes place and who is involved.
When I have not received a response by tomorrow I will call again to try to get the answers to these questions. You can also have a chat with Derek by calling (916) 319-2030.
January 24, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterDave Hopton