Retailers: sale of agricultural products: grown in California requirement: exception.

Existing law requires all California state-owned or state-run institutions, except public universities and colleges and school districts, to purchase agricultural products grown in California when the bid or price of the California-grown agricultural product does not exceed by more than 5% the lowest bid or price for an agricultural product produced outside the state and the quality of the products are comparable. Existing law establishes within the Department of Food and Agriculture a public and private collaboration known as the "Buy California Program" to encourage consumer nutritional and food awareness and to foster purchases of high-quality California agricultural products. This bill would prohibit a retailer, as defined, from selling an agricultural product, as defined, to the general public unless the agricultural product is grown in the state. The bill would authorize a retailer to sell an agricultural product to the general public that is not grown in the state if the agricultural product is not available from farms located in the state. The bill would provide that a violation of these provisions is not subject to criminal penalty.