---
type: "Bill"
title: "Fertilizing material: organic input material."
description: "Existing law generally regulates fertilizing materials, as defined, and provides for the licensure of individuals who manufacture or distribute fertilizing materials."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20092010"
identifier: "AB 856"
citation: "California AB 856 (20092010)"
classification: ["bill", "appropriation"]
subjects: ["Fertilizing material: organic input material."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Caballero"]
version_count: 9
action_count: 30
vote_count: 8
first_action: "2009-02-26"
last_action: "2009-10-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/9c372d24-3850-4f3c-afb2-1e773f0279ec"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB856"
source_hash: "5d2bb8443f84d43a7fb75a7e762e422158baf8e0962b623dc951ad6c85a89939"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California AB 856 (20092010) — Fertilizing material: organic input material.

Existing law generally regulates fertilizing materials, as defined, and provides for the licensure of individuals who manufacture or distribute fertilizing materials.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **02/26/09 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB856&version=20090AB85699INT)
2. **04/15/09 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB856&version=20090AB85698AMD)
3. **04/27/09 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB856&version=20090AB85697AMD)
4. **07/01/09 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB856&version=20090AB85696AMD)
5. **08/19/09 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB856&version=20090AB85695AMD)
6. **09/01/09 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB856&version=20090AB85694AMD)
7. **10/11/09 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB856&version=20090AB85692CHP)
8. **AB856** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB856)
9. **09/21/09 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB856&version=20090AB85693ENR)

## Votes

- Do pass. — **pass** (pass) · lower
- Do pass, but re-refer to the Committee on Food and Agriculture. — **pass** (pass) · upper
- Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations. — **pass** (pass) · lower
- Assembly 3rd Reading AB856 Caballero By Maldonado — **pass** (pass) · upper
- Do pass as amended. — **pass** (pass) · upper
- AB 856 CABALLERO Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **pass** (pass) · lower
- Do pass, but re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations. — **pass** (pass) · upper
- AB 856 CABALLERO Assembly Third Reading — **pass** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Caballero — primary (person)
- Tom Berryhill — coauthor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2009-02-26** Read first time. To print. `reading-1`
- **2009-02-27** From printer. May be heard in committee March 29.
- **2009-04-13** Referred to Coms. on AGRI. and PUB. S. `referral-committee`
- **2009-04-15** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on AGRI. Read second time and amended. `amendment-introduction, reading-2, amendment-passage, reading-1`
- **2009-04-16** Re-referred to Com. on AGRI. `referral-committee`
- **2009-04-27** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on AGRI. Read second time and amended. `amendment-introduction, reading-2, amendment-passage, reading-1`
- **2009-04-28** Re-referred to Com. on AGRI. `referral-committee`
- **2009-04-30** From committee: Do pass, and re-refer to Com. on APPR. Re-referred. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (April 29). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2009-05-13** In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. `referral-committee`
- **2009-05-29** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (May 28). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2009-05-29** Read second time. To third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2009-06-01** Read third time, passed, and to Senate. (Ayes 76. Noes 0. Page 1883.) `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2009-06-02** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2009-06-11** Referred to Coms. on EQ. and F. & A. `referral-committee`
- **2009-06-23** In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
- **2009-07-01** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on EQ. `amendment-introduction, reading-2, amendment-passage, referral-committee, reading-1`
- **2009-07-06** From committee: Do pass, and re-refer to Com. on F. & A. Re-referred. (Ayes 4. Noes 1.) (July 6). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2009-07-07** From committee: Do pass, and re-refer to Com. on APPR. Re-referred. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (July 7). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2009-07-20** In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
- **2009-08-17** In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
- **2009-08-19** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on APPR. `amendment-introduction, reading-2, amendment-passage, referral-committee, reading-1`
- **2009-08-19** (Corrected September 1.)
- **2009-08-31** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (August 24). `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, committee-passage`
- **2009-09-01** Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading. `amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-1`
- **2009-09-03** Read third time, passed, and to Assembly. (Ayes 34. Noes 0. Page 2161.) `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2009-09-08** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after September 10 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.
- **2009-09-11** Senate amendments concurred in. To enrollment. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 3348.) `amendment-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2009-09-28** Enrolled and to the Governor at 11:30 a.m.
- **2009-10-11** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2009-10-11** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 257, Statutes of 2009.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/9c372d24-3850-4f3c-afb2-1e773f0279ec`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).