California Legislative Report by CWA

Update: Key Ag Bills Action by the Governor

Below is a list of the key agriculture bills that the Governor has acted upon to date. The Governor has until Sunday, October 10th at midnight to act on the remaining bills on his desk.

AB 73 (Rivas) Employment safety: agricultural workers: wildfire smoke.
This bill expands the definition of essential workers to include agricultural workers for the purpose of accessing the personal protective equipment stockpile for emergencies established by the State Department of Public Health and the Office of Emergency Services. This bill also directs the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to review and update the content of wildfire smoke training in existing regulations. And lastly the bill requires training provided by employers to be in a language and manner readily understandable by employees.
Status: This bill was signed by the Governor.

AB 616 (Stone) Labor representative elections: representation ballot card election.
This bill permits agricultural employees to select their collective bargaining representative through a representation ballot card election by mailing or directly delivering their sealed ballot to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB).
Status: This bill was vetoed by the Governor.

SB 539 (Hertzberg) Property taxation: taxable value transfers.
This bill implements the constitutional provisions adopted as Proposition 19 by the voters at the November 3, 2020 General Election. Proposition 19 left several unanswered questions critical to its proper implementation and administration. This bill makes several clarifying changes in relevant statutory provisions to eliminate confusion and ensure proper implementation.
Status: This bill was signed by the Governor.

SB 626 (Dodd) Construction Manager/General Contractor Procurement Method: Department of Water Resources.
This bill would give Department of Water Resources the ability to use Design Build and Construction Manager/ General Contractor (CM/GC) procurement processes for construction contracts. This authority would accelerate project delivery and allow DWR to advance critical public safety, infrastructure, and habitat restoration projects in a more expeditious and efficient manner.
Status: This bill was signed by the Governor.

SB 27 (Skinner) State goals: natural and working lands: registry of projects.
This bill creates the California Carbon Sequestration and Climate Resilience Project Registry, to maintain a list of eligible but unfunded projects, which then may be funded by public or private entities to mitigate California’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve climate resilience. This bill also directs relevant state agencies to establish the Natural and Working Lands (NWL) Climate Smart Strategy to increase adoption of NWL based carbon sequestration that advances the state’s climate goals and requires the Air Resources Board to add carbon sequestration targets to the state’s climate change scoping plan.
Status: This bill was signed by the Governor.

CA Top Utility Regulator Resigns From Administration

Marybel Batjer, who steered the California Public Utilities Commission through a brief but tumultuous era of wildfires, bankruptcy, and blackouts, announced her resignation Tuesday. Batjer, in a letter to the commission’s staff, said she will end her tenure at the end of December, just two years after she was appointed by Governor Newsom. Her term wasn’t due to expire until 2027. Batjer is the latest top official to depart the administration.

Since August 2020, the Governor has lost his Director of Public Health, the head of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Director of the State Unemployment Department, the leader of the state’s Department of General Services, his communications director (twice), and his chief of staff and three top aides.

Proposed Initiative Would Strip Attorney General of Ballot and Title & Summary Duties

California’s Attorney General would lose the power to write official ballot initiative descriptions under a newly proposed constitutional amendment. Former Republican state lawmaker Sam Blakeslee is spearheading an effort to put the idea before voters in 2022. If the measure qualifies for the ballot and wins voter approval, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office would assume responsibility for writing the titles and summaries of ballot initiatives.

The Attorney General’s authority to write the title and summary for ballot measures — the official descriptions that appear on voters’ ballots — has long been a point of contention. Because the California Attorney General is a partisan elected official — the last five have been Democrats, dating back to 1999 — critics contend they skew ballot descriptions in a way that influences the outcome. Every cycle, initiative campaigns battle in court over the official synopses because the wording can shape voter behavior. Blakeslee and allies will need to secure roughly a million signatures to put the measure on the ballot.

No deep-pocketed donors have yet announced they’ll support the measure and help fund signature gathering. But when Blakeslee previously championed a successful measure requiring increasing legislative transparency, including a requirement that bills be in print for 72 hours, he drew the support of affluent political player Charles Munger Jr.

Political Notes

• San Francisco Mayor London Breed tapped Assembly Member David Chiu on Wednesday to be San Francisco’s new City Attorney, setting off a cascade of changes at the city and state level. Both David Campos, Chief of Staff to District Attorney Chesa Boudin and a former progressive supervisor, said he would run the “the moment there is a vacancy.” Chiu narrowly beat Campos for the seat in 2014. And, Supervisor Matt Haney, who was elected to the board in 2018, confirmed his run to the SF Chronicle on Wednesday. If Haney wins, Breed will get to pick his replacement.

• Democratic Congresswoman Karen Bass formally stepped into the 2022 Los Angeles Mayor contest Monday, hoping to become the first female and the second Black mayor. Tom Bradley, the first Black mayor, held the post from 1973 to 1993.

Appointments

The Governor made the following appointments this week:

• Jemahl Ämen, 50, of Sacramento, has been reappointed Deputy Director of the Facility Management Division at the California Department of General Services, where he has served in that position since 2016. He has held multiple positions at the California Department of General Services, including Deputy Director for Legislative Affairs from 2013 to 2015 and Acting Deputy Director for the Real Estate Services Division from 2015 to 2016. Ämen was California Director of Outreach at the Center for Responsible Lending from 2008 to 2013, Northern California Program Director at American Sunrise Communities from 2007 to 2008 and a Consultant for California State Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez from 2004 to 2007. Ämen served as a Special Assistant in the Office of California State Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson from 2001 to 2004, where he served as a Legislative Assistant from 1998 to 2001. He was a Consultant for the California State Assembly Governmental Organization Committee from 2000 to 2001.
• Monica Hassan, 38, of Sacramento, has been reappointed Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the California Department of General Services, where she has served in that position since 2017. Hassan was Director of External Affairs at California Volunteers from 2014 to 2017. She held several positions at the California Department of General Services from 2012 to 2014, including Information Officer I and Staff Services Manager I. Hassan was an Associate Governmental Program Analyst at the California Employment Development Department from 2009 to 2012, where she served as Research Analyst in 2009. Hassan held several positions at the California Department of Justice from 2001 to 2008, including Research Analyst and Staff Services Analyst.

CDFA Accepting Public Comments on the Draft Request for Applications for the New Water Efficiency Technical Assistance Program

CDFA’S Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation (OEFI) is accepting public comments on the draft Request for Applications for a new program, the Water Efficiency Technical Assistance (WETA) program.

The Budget Act of 2021 allocated $5 million to CDFA to support water efficiency technical assistance to California farmers. Resource Conservation Districts, non-profit organizations, universities, and California and federally recognized Tribes will be eligible to receive funding to provide the technical assistance. Supported activities will include providing one-on-one, on-site pump and irrigation system evaluations and providing training regarding water efficiency and nutrient management.

Stakeholders are encouraged to review the Draft Request for Applications for the Water Efficiency Technical Assistance Program and estimated program timeline on the Technical Assistance website and submit comments by October 15, 2021, 5:00PM to cdfa.oefi@cdfa.ca.gov.

State Board of Food & Ag to Celebrate Farmer & Farmworker Month at Upcoming Meeting

The California State Board of Food and Agriculture will celebrate “Farmer and Farmworker Month” with perspectives and presentations from the agricultural community. The Board will also hear updates on federal and state disaster assistance programs related to drought and wildfires.

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 from 10:00am – 2:00pm via GoToWebinar.

Meeting Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar. com/register/4232674882293680908
Webinar ID: 959-249-291

Invited speakers include: Cherie Watte, Buy California Marketing Agreement (CAGROWN); Cole and Veronica Mazariegos-Anastassiou, Brisa Ranch; Cristóbal Cruz Hernández, Brisa Ranch; Chris Maher, Briar Patch Food Co-op; Blake and Stephanie Alexandre, Alexandre Family Farm; David Villarino Gonzalez, Farmworker Institute of Education and Leadership Development (FIELD); Hernan Hernandez, California Farmworker Foundation; Ryan Buras, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES); Jacque Johnson, USDA Farm Service Agency; Carlos Suarez, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Jeff Yasui, USDA Risk Management Agency and other invited speakers. This meeting will have simultaneous audio translation in Spanish and can be accessed at (844) 460-0074 at the start of the meeting.

Virtual Workgroup to Discuss the High Priority Fleet Requirements of the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation

The California Air Resources Board invites you to participate in a virtual workgroup meeting focused on the high priority fleet requirements of the proposed Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation. This meeting will continue the discussion on topics raised by high priority fleet stakeholders during the September 9, 2021 workshop.

The ACF rulemaking is part of a comprehensive strategy to achieve a zero-emission truck and bus fleet by 2045 everywhere feasible and significantly earlier for market segments such as last mile delivery, public fleets, and drayage applications.

This High Priority Fleet Workgroup meeting will be held via Zoom at the following date and time. Interested parties must register to participate. This meeting will be recorded.

Date: Wednesday, October 13, 2021
Time: 09:00am – 12:00pm
Location: Zoom
Register: Here

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Source: California Women for Agriculture

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