AGRICULTURAL COUNCIL OF CALIFORNIA
24
Almond Facts
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2016
Agricultural
Council of California
EMILY ROONEY,
President
New Year, Same Strong Resolve
It’s a new year, and with that many people renew their resolve to accomplish all of the things they
didn’t get done last year. Politicians are no different. The California State Legislature is already back
in session, and the regulatory agencies are moving full steam ahead on issues affecting agriculture. Ag
Council staff is just as determined to continue our advocacy work in many critical public policy issue
areas that have risen to the forefront in 2016.
Climate Change
This has become a “legacy” issue for Governor Jerry
Brown who has said that climate change is “one of the
biggest threats facing humanity.”
For Ag Council members, this means climate change will
remain center stage on the governor’s policy agenda and
will likely lead to further emissions reductions for Short
Lived Climate Pollutants, such as methane and black
carbon (soot). Legislation to extend the cap and trade
program beyond 2020 is also on the policy agenda for
some in the Legislature.
Prop. 65
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
(OEHHA) has a number of pending regulations impacting
chemicals that are used in production agriculture and/or
naturally occurring in the environment. From glyphosate
(Roundup®) to lead, many of these compounds are
prevalent throughout agriculture, and we expect the
agency will continue to develop new policy in this area.
Water
State regulations will be released in 2016 to implement
the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, and
Ag Council continues to participate in this process. The
California Water Commission faces a December 2016
deadline to finalize and adopt regulations on the water
storage component of the water bond.
In the Legislature, there is a push to propose changes
to Proposition 218, the Right to Vote on Taxes Act,
which is a constitutional amendment approved by voters
back in 1996. Under Proposition 218, voter approval is
required before local governments can increase taxes,
assessments and certain user fees, such as water delivery
fees, stormwater management and sewer service fees. In
addition, it is possible a public goods charge for water
could move forward in the Legislature. This charge could
potentially be a means to pay for a number of water-
related projects under discussion.
Budget
Governor Brown released his 2016-2017 state budget
plan on January 7. Among the funds in the $170.6 billion
budget are the following ag-related funds now under
consideration by the Legislature.
Cap and Trade Expenditures
$75 million within the California Department of Food
and Agriculture (CDFA) proposed to be spent in the
following manner:
• $20 million for the State Water Efficiency and
Enhancement Program (SWEEP) – a grant
program to incentivize ag operations to invest
in energy-efficient irrigation technologies that reduce
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water use.
• $35 million for Dairy Digesters – to reduce GHGs
from dairy manure.
• $20 million for Healthy Soils – an effort focused on
ensuring agricultural soils have adequate organic
matter or carbon contents.
