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The $50 million national effort is part of the 2008 Farm Bill.
“As the nation’s leading agricultural state, California is the first line of defense for our country’s food supply,” said Secretary Ross. “USDA’s announcement of more than $14 million for projects in California – as well as a number of multistate and national projects that include the Golden State – means the protective system can extend and improve its ability to detect, analyze, contain and eradicate high-priority pests and diseases.
“California’s food supply system is a marvel of variety, ingenuity, productivity and safety. These projects are part of an ongoing federal-state partnership that helps generate the research, strategies and tools that help protect our system.”
The projects include surveys for exotic pests and crop diseases; improved technology to identify suspect insects; “detector dog” teams that sniff out smuggled/concealed produce; and development of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) tools.
Several of the projects are focused on particular pests or diseases such as Plum Pox Virus, Sudden Oak Death, fruit flies or the European grapevine moth; others address general needs such as surveys to detect exotic pests or improved strategies for early detection of invasive species.
The list of projects, shown below, is organized by sections: survey and analysis, domestic inspection, pest identification and technology, safeguarding nursery systems, outreach and education, and enhanced mitigation.
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“I am pleased to welcome Erika Sperbeck, a seasoned veteran of state government operations, to our team,” said Commissioner Jones. “We are fortunate to have Erika on the Executive Management team. The California Department of Insurance (CDI) and the consumers we protect stand to benefit tremendously from her extensive fiscal and policy expertise.”
Sperbeck comes to CDI from the California Health and Human Services Agency, where she has served as the assistant secretary with responsibility for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) implementation, and was also responsible for program and fiscal oversight for the Departments of Mental Health and Community Services and Development.
Sperbeck has over 19 years of service with the State of California. For a decade, she worked with the Department of Finance in various capacities, including oversight of the Performance Review Unit, as well as serving as the principal analyst with overall responsibility for the development, enactment, and administration of various departments’ budgets.
She also served as the Chief Financial Officer for the Department of General Services.
This appointment fills a vacancy created by the retirement of Robin E. Baker, who has served as the deputy commissioner of the Administration and Licensing Services Branch since February 2010.
She has over 33 years of experience in a variety of roles in state government, including two prior appointments as chief of administration. She also spent 16 years at the Department of Finance, working primarily as a Principal Program Budget Analyst.
“Robin Baker has been an extraordinary leader of CDI’s Administrative and Licensing Services Branch. Her high standard of professionalism and years of experience will be sorely missed,” said Commissioner Jones. “Robin has played an integral role in keeping CDI running and her ‘second to none’ experience and knowledge went a long way toward achieving a successful transition from the previous Administration to this one. My staff and I will miss her and wish her the very best in life and a well-earned retirement.”
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California taxable sales totaled $108.6 billion in the first quarter, up $1.4 billion (or 1.3 percent) from the first quarter of 2009.
The last quarter of positive growth in year-over-year taxable sales was the second quarter of 2007, when such sales rose 0.9 percent.
Additionally, more recent data indicate that a more pronounced recovery in taxable sales has occurred since then.
Specifically, Board of Equalization staff has developed an estimate of statewide taxable sales for the first quarter of 2011, based on cash receipts.
Taxable sales are estimated to have risen 8.5 percent in the first quarter of 2011 over the same period a year earlier, the best showing since the 3rd quarter of 2005 (when taxable sales rose 10.1 percent). The estimated level of statewide taxable sales for the first quarter of 2011 is $117.8 billion.
“The beginning of positive growth in retail sales is indeed a welcome indicator of our state’s continued economic recovery,” said First District Board Member Betty T. Yee. “Nevertheless, for those Californians who are not yet experiencing the signs of positive economic growth, the Board of Equalization continues to provide assistance to taxpayers and small businesses wherever we can.”
The first quarter 2010 report shows regionally, the counties in the San Francisco Bay Area had the strongest growth, rising 2.6 percent (twice the statewide total), while those in Southern California rose 0.9 percent.
Growth was generally weaker in the interior counties of the state; taxable sales in the San Joaquin Valley declined 0.5 percent (the only region to experience a decrease).
First quarter 2010 taxable sales in the nine-county Bay Area region’s major cities varied widely. For instance, taxable sales in San Jose increased by 8.5 percent, but those in San Francisco rose only 0.1 percent, and taxable sales in Oakland declined by 1.7 percent.
Taxable sales in most of the counties in the First Equalization District increased in the first quarter of 2010 on a year-over-year basis, including the following counties: Humboldt (+20.4%), Santa Clara (+7.6%), Marin (+3.7%), Trinity (+6.3%), San Benito (+2.1%), San Luis Obispo (+1.7%), Del Norte (+2.3%), Napa (+1.9%), Santa Barbara (+1.5%), Mendocino (+0.8%), San Francisco (+0.1%), Sonoma (+0.5%), Alameda (+3.3%), San Mateo (+1.6%), Santa Cruz (+3.6%) and Monterey (+3.2%).
Conversely, taxable sales in the first quarter of 2010 decreased in some counties in the First Equalization District, including: Solano (-4.6%), Yolo (-3.2%), Lake (-2.2%) and Contra Costa (-1.5%).
The Board of Equalization has now completed its process of converting business codes of sales and use tax permit holders to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, and the first quarter of 2010 is the first time that year-over-year percentage changes are available by industry.
Gasoline station sales in the first quarter of 2010 increased over 30 percent, the largest gain of any major category.
Taxable sales made by gasoline stations were $10.3 billion. The average price of gasoline at the pump increased 40 percent during the first quarter of 2010, which lifted total taxable sales made by service stations. Gallons of gasoline purchased in the first quarter of 2010 actually decreased slightly, dropping 1.0 percent from the first quarter of 2009.
Clothing and clothing accessory stores had the next largest increase, 7.9 percent, followed by general merchandise stores (which rose 4.5 percent) in the first quarter of 2010.
Taxable sales at general merchandise stores represent the largest nondurable retail category, and totaled $10.2 billion in the first quarter of 2010.
First quarter 2010 taxable sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers were essentially flat, rising 0.7 percent. Within this category, taxable sales of used car dealers rose 10.4 percent, while those of new car dealers were much more muted, rising only 0.4 percent.
Taxable sales in the first quarter of 2010 made by building materials dealers and gardeners slipped 0.1 percent, while those of furniture and home furnishing stores declined by 0.5 percent. Electronics and appliance stores saw taxable sales decline by 5.5 percent.
Sales from “all other outlets” (comprised primarily of manufacturing and wholesale businesses) in the first quarter of 2010 were down 4.8 percent, to $33.6 billion.
Taxable Sales in California is a quarterly report on retail sales activity in California, as measured by transactions subject to sales and use tax. It includes data about statewide taxable sales by type of business, as well as data about taxable sales in all California cities and counties.
To view all taxable sales in California, visit: www.boe.ca.gov/news/tsalescont.htm.
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California gasoline consumption remained flat, while diesel fuel consumption in California declined.
“California’s gasoline consumption remained flat as gas prices have risen more than 59 cents per gallon,” said First District Member Betty T. Yee. “However, there has been more recent variation in diesel consumption.”
California’s gasoline consumption remained flat in February with 1.131 billion gallons of gasoline, compared to 1.131 billion gallons in February 2010.
In February 2011, the average price of gasoline at the pump in California was up 59 cents to $3.58 a gallon, a 20 percent increase, compared to California’s average price of $2.99 per gallon of gasoline in February 2010.
The U.S. average price of gasoline in February 2011 was up 56 cents to $3.26 per gallon, a 21 percent increase, compared the U.S. average price of $2.70 per gallon of gasoline in February 2010.
In February 2011, California’s diesel consumption totaled 176.5 million gallons, which is 19.1 million gallons less than February 2010 when diesel consumption totaled 195.6 million gallons, a decrease of 9.8 percent.
However, the February 2010 figures include an additional 11.3 million gallons of diesel fuel due to an audit assessment of prior monthly reporting periods.
If the audit assessment of 11.3 million gallons in February 2010 are excluded from the calculations, diesel consumption still decreased by 4.2 percent in February 2011.
California’s diesel fuel figures are net consumption that includes the State Board of Equalization’s audit assessments, refunds, amended and late tax returns, and the California State Controller’s Office refunds.
The average price of diesel in California rose 86 cents to $3.80 per gallon in February 2011, a 29 percent increase compared to February 2010’s average price of $2.94 per gallon of diesel fuel in California.
The U.S. average price for diesel rose 28 percent in February 2011 to $3.58 per gallon, up 79 cents compared to last year in February when the U.S. average price for diesel was $2.79.
The State Board of Equalization is able to monitor gallons through tax receipts paid by fuel distributors in California.
Consumption figures for March 2011 are scheduled to be available at the end of June.
All monthly, quarterly, and annual figures can be viewed at www.boe.ca.gov/sptaxprog/spftrpts.htm.
The five-member California State Board of Equalization is a publicly elected tax board.
The BOE collects more than $48 billion annually in taxes and fees supporting state and local government services.
It hears business tax appeals, acts as the appellate body for franchise and personal income tax appeals, and serves a significant role in the assessment and administration of property taxes.
For more information on other taxes and fees in California, visit www.taxes.ca.gov.