On Friday, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed into law legislation that allows the Arizona Department of Agriculture—rather than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—to oversee the FSMA Final Rule on Produce Safety in Arizona. The bill, SB 1063, was sponsored by Senator Gail Griffin.

The new law provides the Arizona Department of Agriculture the ability to enter into agreements with FDA, allowing audits done under the current Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement to be considered in compliance with the federal law. This would result in a reduction of duplicate inspections.