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.
Water State legislation that seeks to increase authority over the state’s oldest, most se- nior water rights has been dropped by the author amid pressure from the California Farm Bureau, water districts and others. Assembly Bill 1337, by Assembly Member Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, would have brought all water rights, including pre-1914 and riparian, under the author- ity of the California State Water Resources Control Board. The bill would have given the five-member board the ability to cur- tail water deliveries, not just in years of drought, but in any year and for any reason. After conversations between the California Farm Bureau and the bill’s sponsors and author’s staff, no com- promises were possible this year, so Wicks pulled the bill. AB 1337 passed the Assembly last year and was awaiting a hearing in the state Senate. Meanwhile, Farm Bureau-opposed AB 460, by Assembly Member Rebecca Bauer- Kahan, D-Orinda, reached a favorable outcome. The bill was amended June 3, to remove much of the language that would have stripped due process from water rights holders when the state water board pursues an enforcement action. The remaining bill language was amended to increase per-incident fines for unauthorized water diversions and add a volumetric fine component. Once amendments were made, leaders of a 200-organization opposition coalition, including the California Farm Bureau, dropped opposition to the bill. It subse- quently passed the state Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. AB 2079, by Assembly Member Steve Bennett, D-Ventura, died in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee last week after it received six “no” votes by committee members. The bill would have effectively banned new groundwa- ter wells in most groundwater basins. The California Department of Water Resources sponsored the bill. The California Farm Bureau and others have committed to working with DWR to develop guidance on well permitting to prevent subsidence and interference with drinking-water wells. Forestry and wildfire The California Farm Bureau has changed its position in support of Senate Bill 1101, by state Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara. The legislation, which expands the use of beneficial fire, was amended to include expedited state contracting for all forms of fire mitigation, not just prescribed burn. The bill moves to the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources. In addition, Assembly Bill 2276, by Assembly Member Jim Wood, D-Santa Rosa, and supported by California Farm Bureau, passed the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee with unanimous support. The bill would revise, improve and reauthorize an exemption first created in
Energy Assembly Bill 2779, by Assembly Member Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine, passed the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee with 17 “yes” votes and one abstention. The bill would require the California Independent System Operator to report to the state Legislature
and Public Utilities Commission any new use of grid enhancing technology and the savings in deploying the technology. The California Farm Bureau supports the bill as an opportunity to avoid costs for rate- payers and the potential transmission siting on agricultural lands. The bill heads to the state Senate Appropriations Committee.
2004 to provide an alternative to the timber harvest plan process. It would extend the sunset date to Jan. 1, 2031, for three exemp- tions from timber harvest plan require- ments necessary for small landowners to perform fuels treatment and vegetation maintenance on their properties for the purpose of wildfire mitigation.
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June 19, 2024 Ag Alert 9
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