In 2017 CAFF & The Farmers Guild is working with state agencies to make sure important recently-enacted laws, including the Healthy Soils Act and laws to promote compost, are effectively implemented. But the annual legislative process is inexorable, and it is now in full swing. Here are some of the recently introduced bills we are working on this year on behalf of our members and broader community:
Water
SB 252 (Dodd) – CAFF was the first agricultural organization to support the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which gave local agencies up to seven years to prepare groundwater management plans that will prevent continued overdraft. In the interim, there has been a rush of applications for new deep wells, often opening up new lands to groundwater irrigation and exacerbating overdraft problems. SB 252 requires applicants for new wells in the 21 groundwater basins found by the Department of Water Resources to be “critically overdrafted” to make public key information about the well, such as its location, depth, and extraction rate. CAFF Supports
AB 1420 (Aguiar-Curry) – CAFF has worked with North Coast farmers and water agencies to make it easier for farmers to store water in small ponds during high river flows in order to reduce dependence on streams during the dry summer months. AB 1420 seeks to implement this concept statewide, by allowing increased water diversion during high stream flows for small domestic, irrigation and stock pond use, in exchange for reduced diversions during low stream flows. CAFF Supports
AB 277 (Mathis) – California helps fund drinking water infrastructure improvements by offering grants and low-interest loans to local governments and water agencies, usually through state clean drinking water bonds. But those programs do not include privately owned residences and small water systems with deficient wells, which is a growing problem, particularly in the San Joaquin Valley. AB 277 would expand the State Drinking Water Revolving Fund to include grants and low-interest loans to improve water delivery systems for households and small water systems with less than 15 service connections. AB 277 received bi-partisan support in policy committee but now faces fiscal scrutiny in the Appropriations Committee. CAFF Supports
Food
AB 822 (Caballero) – This Buy California-grown proposal would require all state-owned and state-run institutions, except public school districts, colleges and universities, to accept a bid for a food product when it is grown in California and does not exceed the lowest bid by an out-of-state producer by more than 5%. When out-of-state bids are chosen, the 5% preference also applies to food products packed or processed in-state. CAFF Supports
SB 782 (Skinner) – CAFF has been a state leader in creating Farm to School programs for two decades. SB 782 would significantly expand the state’s support for Farm to School by requiring CDFA, with the Departments of Education and Public Health, to create a program to provide direct grants to school districts for the purchase of California-grown food products. CAFF strongly supports the concept, but seeks amendments to ensure the funds are most effectively used and locally-produced foods are emphasized. CAFF Supports if Amended
AB 1219 (Eggman) – Food donations to the needy are undeniably worthwhile, and state law encourages donations by giving limited immunity from liability for organizations that make or receive such donations. AB 1219 expands this concept by extending liability immunity to individuals who donate food and applying the immunity for businesses and organizations that donate directly to individual end-users. CAFF Supports
Farmland and farmers
AB 18 (E. Garcia) and SB 5 (De Leon) – These bills are very similar and would place a $3 billion ($3.1 billion in AB 18) bond measure on the June 2018 ballot to improve drinking water, protect natural resources and habitat, fight drought and climate change, and ensure public access to parks and public lands. Prior natural resources bond measures have included funding for the state Farmland Conservancy Program. CAFF and its coalition partner CalCAN are seeking an amendment to include FCP funding. CAFF Supports if Amended
AB 472 (Frazier) – In recent years the state has taken small steps to encourage farmers, when they fallow land as a result of a water transfer, to voluntarily retain a cover crop or leave natural cover for waterfowl and game bird nesting purposes. But farmers still fear they will be penalized by the Dept. of Water Resources if they fail to remove vegetative cover. AB 472 will require DWR to allow vegetative cover to remain on idled land unless it finds that other water users would be harmed; the bill also requires DWR to establish a financial incentive program to encourage landowners to voluntarily manage such lands for bird and wildlife habitat.
CAFF Supports
AB 1433 (Wood) – The state’s cap and trade program generates $1-$2 billion annually to fund the state’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. AB 1433 would create a new account in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, to protect and improve the resilience of natural and working lands, including farmland and rangeland, and to enhance habitat while reducing GHG emissions and increasing carbon sequestration. AB 1433 is consistent with CAFF’s support for the Healthy Soils Initiative and other efforts to reduce climate change impacts through agricultural practices. CAFF Supports
AB 1348 (Aguiar-Curry) – Seeks to address the historical barriers faced by socially disadvantaged farmers in California, including ethnic minorities and women, by requiring CDFA to include socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers when the state develops, implements and enforces its food and agriculture laws. Also requires the Secretary of Agriculture to create a position in the department’s executive office to support socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. CAFF Supports
RSS Feed
