State Affairs - Federal Policy - Legal Services Advocacy in Action
New World screwworm The U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week that it plans to invest $25 million in a sterile fly facility in Douglas, Arizona, to help combat the threat of New World screwworm, or NWS. The announcement came after USDA’s decision last month to begin a phased reopening of southern ports for livestock imports. Douglas has historically served as the primary entry point into Arizona and the western U.S. for livestock arriving from Sonora, Mexico. Sonora remains free of any reported NWS cases and is expected to maintain high standards for livestock moving through the state. The new sterile fly facility is intended to provide an addi- tional layer of protection as livestock im- ports resume. All livestock entering through Douglas will also be subject to inspection and treat- ment to reduce the risk of NWS spreading from there. There have been 42 total NWS cases detected in the United States—near- ly all in Texas—since the first detection on June 3. The border has been closed to live- stock imports since last year, but several industry groups have expressed concerns that a prolonged closure could have long- term impacts on U.S. livestock processing and production. The phased reopening is scheduled to begin Aug. 24 but may be paused if additional risks are identified be- fore or after reopening. Food labeling California Farm Bureau joined more than 250 organizations and businesses last month in a letter urging Congress to establish a uniform federal standard for food ingredient labeling. The coalition ar- gues that the current patchwork of state and local labeling requirements creates unnecessary compliance challenges for food producers and manufacturers. The letter calls on Congress to establish consistent national labeling requirements, reaffirm the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis- tration’s role as the primary authority on food and ingredient safety and modern- ize the framework for the “generally rec- ognized as safe” designation. The issue
Commission as part of PG&E’s northern San Joaquin transmission line. In approving the transmission line, the CPUC considers the cost of the line, the route and the environmental impact report, which is developed under a separate track. Landline service AT&T is pursuing several regulatory ac- tions to reduce or eliminate its obligation to provide traditional copper landline ser- vice. The efforts are particularly concern- ing for rural Californians who lack reliable cellular or internet service and depend on landlines for emergency communications, including access to 911. The Federal Communications Commis- sion has tentatively approved AT&T’s re- quest to discontinue copper landline ser- vice for at least 184,000 California homes by July 2027. However, concerns remain about whether AT&T’s proposed replace- ment technology, known as AT&T Phone– Advanced, can provide dependable ser- vice in rural areas and during emergencies or power outages. Procedures remain available to modify the FCC’s approval. California Farm Bureau joined coalition comments arguing that al- lowing AT&T to discontinue service is pre- mature without stronger assurances that rural customers will retain access to reliable communications and emergency services. Endangered species The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in July finalized two additional revisions to regu- lations implementing the federal Endan- gered Species Act. The changes follow a recently finalized rule rescinding the regu- latory definition of “harm” under the ESA. One rule eliminates the option of au- tomatically extending most protections for endangered species to newly listed threatened species, commonly known as the “blanket rule.” Instead, protections for threatened species will be determined on a species-by-species basis. The second rule revises the process for designating critical habitat, allowing an area to be excluded when the benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of desig- nation, provided the exclusion would not result in the species’ extinction.
has received increased attention in recent years as states and local governments have pursued their own food ingredient labeling and regulatory requirements. Wildfire and forest health The California Wildfire and Forest Re- silience Task Force has released its draft Wildfire and Landscape Resilience Action Plan, outlining strategies to reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health across Cal- ifornia through 2031. California Farm Bureau submitted com- ments supporting the plan’s emphasis on expanding timber harvesting, prescribed grazing and biomass markets while recom- mending several improvements. Farm Bureau urged the task force to ensure the plan’s treatment acreage goals fully recognize the role of private timber- lands, establish firm timelines for stream- lining overlapping timber harvest plan re- views, recognize the Forest Practice Act as sufficient environmental review for timber operations and ensure private landowners have direct access to new block grant fund- ing programs. The public comment period closes Aug. 7. The draft plan is available for review at https://actionplan2026. wildfiretaskforce.org/. Conservation land management California Farm Bureau is closely track- ing Assembly Bill 53 by James Ramos, D-San Bernadino. The bill affects how conservation lands can be managed and transferred involving federally recognized tribes. Del Norte County Farm Bureau has been closely engaged on the issue and rais- ing awareness of its potential impacts. AB 53 started as an unrelated military tax exemption bill. In June, it was gutted and amended in the Senate into a new sub- ject matter entirely—tribal eligibility for state wildlife conservation programs and management of conservation lands. As amended, the bill added tribes as eligible recipients of state grants and loans for ri- parian and wetland habitat programs. The bill also added an exemption allowing con- servation lands to be sold or transferred to a tribe outside the standard restrictions
that normally govern disposal of conser- vation lands. California Farm Bureau sent a letter of concern on June 23 to the Senate Nat- ural Resources and Water Committee. The organization’s concern is narrow but significant: The land-transfer exemption could allow conservation land under an active agricultural lease—including rice and cattle operations—to be transferred to a tribe with no requirement to honor the existing lease or compensate the les- see for unrecovered capital investment in the land, including levees, water delivery infrastructure and land preparation. Farm Bureau raised the concern about the risk of a legal “taking” under the state’s just compensation clause and pointed to Assembly Bill 2356, which sought to transfer Tolowa Dunes State Park to the Tolowa Dee- ni’ Nation, as a precedent that Farm Bureau did not want repeated for leased farmland. Amendments taken ahead of the July 2 Senate Natural Resources and Water Com- mittee hearing addressed Farm Bureau’s concerns by removing the land-transfer exemption from the bill entirely. There is currently no mechanism in AB 53 for trans- ferring leased agricultural land to a tribe. The amendments did add nonoperative language saying the Legislature intends to pursue future legislation to create “a faster public process” for the California Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife to return quali- fying lands to tribes. The July 2 amendments resolved Farm Bureau’s immediate concern. But the new intent language suggests the underlying policy goal hasn’t disappeared as Ramos continues his efforts on the bill. At a min- imum, the policy will likely resurface in a future bill. AB 53 is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Farm Bu- reau continues to monitor the bill and is engaging with the committee, which has the heaviest influence on what could still happen to the policies stated in AB 53. Transmission line California Farm Bureau and San Joaquin County Farm Bureau worked with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to develop an agricultur- al communication plan that was adopted in July by the California Public Utilities
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August 5, 2026 Ag Alert 17
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