Update to ENF 24-11 Food and Agricultural Code Section 13000(A) (Statute of Limitations)
Effective July 2, 2024, Assembly Bill (AB) 2113 (Chapter 60, Statutes of 2024) was signed into law. Among other things, AB 2113 amended Food & Agricultural Code (FAC) section 13000(a) to increase the statute of limitations for actions taken under FAC Division 7, Chapter 2, Article 12 (including those initiated pursuant to FAC section 12999.5) from two to three years from the occurrence of the violation. In ENF Letter 24-11, DPR provided that “[f]or all violations cited prior to July 2, 2024 the statute of limitations remains two years.”
Ventura County recently advised DPR of case law that provides a legal basis to extend the statute of limitations to three years for certain violations occurring prior to July 2, 2024. (Quarry v. Doe I (2012) 53 Cal.4th 945.) Based on that case, as long as the former limitations period (two years) has not expired, the enlarged limitations period (three years) applies to cases that are pending when, or instituted after, the enactment enlarging the applicable statute of limitations took place (July 2, 2024). This is true even though the underlying conduct that is the subject of a potential enforcement matter occurred prior to the new enactment.
Thus, for violations that occurred less than two years before July 2, 2024, the new three-year statute of limitations applies. Violations occurring more than two years before July 2, 2024 are considered lapsed and are not subject to the enlarged statute of limitations.
CACs are advised to proceed as follows.
For violations that occurred prior to July 2, 2024:
- Violations that occurred less than two years prior to AB 2113 (July 2, 2022 – July 2, 2024):
- CACs may use the new three-year statute of limitations.
- Violations that occurred more than two years prior to AB 2113 (prior to July 2, 2022):
- Violations have lapsed and are not actionable.
For violations occurring after July 2, 2024:
- New three-year statute of limitations in FAC section 13000(a) applies.
This letter supersedes ENF Letter 24-11 guidance on the applicable statute of limitations for violations occurring before July 2, 2024. Please contact the Enforcement Headquarters Branch with questions. We thank Ventura County for bringing this to DPR’s attention.
Sincerely,