Farm Bureau at work California Farm Bureau’s government affairs team is at the Capitol, advocating for farmers, ranchers and agriculture’s future. Here are some key issues Farm Bureau is focused on this week.
State budget Gov. Gavin Newsom has released his revised state budget, which is customarily issued in May of each year based on up- dated revenue. The May revision identified a budget shortfall of $44.9 billion, $7 billion more than the deficit projection offered in January.
The administration and the California Legislature passed an early-action budget package in April, which included $17.3 billion in budget cuts. Under the budget revision, the state must still resolve a re- maining $27.6 billion deficit. Another neg- ative budget balance—projected at $33.1 billion—looms for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
The May revise included a $500 mil- lion cut in discretionary spending to sup- port the Sites Reservoir project north of Sacramento, a project strongly supported by the California Farm Bureau. However, the funding cut would not impact the proj- ect’s funding under the 2014 Proposition 1 ballot initiative.
“We are grateful that state funding awarded to Sites under Proposition 1 remains in place,” said California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass. “We urge the administration to restore the $500 million as soon as possible to ensure mini- mal delays on this generational investment in water resilience.” In presenting the budget plan, includ- ing proposed spending cuts, Newsom said California should live within its means and avoid raising taxes. Yet the governor’s plan includes an in- crease in the mill tax levied on pesticides to address the budget deficit of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. The plan calls for raising the mill tax from 21 mills to 28.6 mills during a three-year peri- od. That would amount to a $33 million tax increase for California agriculture. “We agree with Gov. Newsom that there should be no new tax increases,” Douglass said. “That is why we oppose any move by the Department of Pesticide Regulation to increase the mill tax. “This tax increase directly impacts farm- ers and ranchers who purchase crop pro- tection materials,” she added. “Raising the mill tax would also increase costs of pro- ducing food for Californians and burden families with still higher food prices at the grocery store.” Land use Proposed state legislation that would have reduced contract cancellation pen- alties for owners of Williamson Act land who want to convert farmland for wind or solar energy projects stalled in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, meaning it is dead for the remainder of the legislative session. Assembly Bill 2528, by Assembly Member Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, would have cut Williamson Act contract cancellation fees from 12.5% of the fair market value of the land to 6.25% for agricultural property owners lacking permanent access to sufficient water for farming. The California Farm Bureau and the Rural County Representatives of California opposed the bill, arguing the legislation could permanently remove farmland from production. Technology Assembly Bill 1969, by Assembly Member Gregg Hart, D-Santa Barbara, and sponsored by the California Farm Bureau, was held in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations and won’t be passed this legislative session. The bill would have required the California Air Resources Board to include drone technology in its off-road equip- ment grant program that provides incen- tives for the purchase of electrical farm equipment. This would have involved updating a website and program docu- ments and allowed drone equipment to qualify for incentives, providing farmers, ranchers and applicators with point-of- sale deductions.
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8 Ag Alert May 22, 2024
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