ADVOCACY REPORT
Policy Work Beginning to Bear Fruit
Much like farming, influencing public
policy can take months, if not years,
before our hard work bears fruit.
As we work toward the end of the
2018 legislative session approaching
in August and reflect back on activities
in previous years, Ag Council is seeing
more bright spots on the horizon than
normal. Sure, we are in the midst of
the usual turmoil in seeking to defeat
a number of problematic labor and
environmental bills, but we also see
some promise unfolding before us in
the next several weeks.
Some of it is the direct result of hard
work we have put in over the last
several months, on your behalf.
In the State Capitol, we are working
on legislation that will be a direct
benefit to the almond industry. AB
2208 (Aguiar-Curry) integrates more
grid-balancing renewables into
California’s Renewable Portfolio
Standard (RPS), such as biomass.
This bill is an opportunity for farmers
to more readily harness agricultural
waste and turn it into biomass
energy. Additionally, the almond
industry is united in collaborating
on efforts to assist with funding $1.8
million for the California Department
of Food and Agriculture to operate
the Bee Safe Program to promote
and protect a safe and healthy
food supply for bees. Ag Council
is working with Almond Alliance
and the Beekeepers Association to
request a budget augmentation to
help establish a more comprehensive
Bee Safe Program at CDFA to
address apiary theft, increase forage
habitat, as well as efforts to more
efficiently inspect and recondition
bee shipments at border stations.
Out of adversity, Ag Council
championed the subsequent issues,
which appear to now be bearing
fruit.
In the last few years, the State
Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB) Office of Enforcement
sent letters to several farmers
throughout California threatening
enforcement actions due to nitrate
contamination of groundwater. As
this process unfolded,Ag Council
worked with other agricultural
groups and representatives in the
environmental justice community to
develop a bill that would achieve
two critical goals:
• Create a Safe and Affordable
Drinking Water fund at SWRCB
for communities in need, and
• Ensure a pathway to
compliance providing the
ability to farm without the
threat of enforcement, so
long as existing regulatory
activities are followed at the
on-farm level.
These very complex negotiations
resulted in the creation of SB
623 (Monning). In a positive turn
of events, Governor Jerry Brown
included start-up funds in his budget
proposal, signaling his strong support
for this bill. While this budget trailer
bill now makes its way through the
process, it still requires a two-thirds
vote, but the governor’s support
is providing valuable momentum
heading into the final months
of session.
In 2017, Ag Council fought alongside
many other ag colleagues in
negotiations of the cap and
trade program. As part of those
negotiations, we were able to
secure $300 million in funding for
various climate and air programs for
agriculture. Two of those programs
– of direct benefit to the almond
growers – will roll out this summer.
The Food Production Investment
Program (FPIP) is a newly created
grant program at the California
Energy Commission (CEC) to provide
$60 million for food processors
throughout the state to reduce
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The CEC recently opened the
application process and applications
are due in August, with funds
released in September. While
companies participating in the cap
and trade program will be given
priority in receiving grant funds,
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A L M O N D F A C T S
