The California State Assembly and State Senate reconvened this week for the 2022 session. While lawmakers have until February 18 to introduce bills, Farm Bureau is already engaged on several bills that affect agriculture. To read California Farm Bureau's January 7, 2022 Legislative & Governmental Affairs update, Friday Review, click here.

Land Use
  • AB 1547 (Eloise Reyes, D-Los Angeles), a Farm Bureau opposed bill, has been recently amended following a hearing by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. The bill, as introduced last year, would authorize the Air Resources Board to regulate indirect emission sources, a role traditionally held by local air quality management and pollution control districts. The bill would also require a local government, before approving a warehouse development project, to ensure the project is at least 3,000 yards from a sensitive land use, consider all air quality impacts from incoming and outgoing trucks and require all onsite equipment (loaders, trucks, forklifts, belts, etc.) be electric. ...
  • Farm Bureau opposes AB 1001 (Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens). This bill expands CEQA requirements to incorporate the issue of discriminatory land use policies. Specifically, the bill creates two new legal standards: (1) it forces all public agencies when complying with CEQA to “act consistently with the principles of environmental justice,” and (2) requires all air and water quality impacts be mitigated directly in the affected disadvantaged community. Both requirements are already incorporated in planning and zoning laws and CEQA requirements and present ambiguities, legal challenges and liabilities for lead agencies and project applicants. The bill is set to be heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on Monday, January 10th.
Waste
  • A bill that would have established a climate bond, SB 45 (Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada), has been amended to respond to implementation of the state’s short lived climate pollutant goals. Existing law requires cities and counties to divert 75% of their organic waste below 2014 levels by 2025. Regulations went into effect January 1st of this year and will be very challenging for local jurisdictions to meet. In response, SB 45 requires CalRecycle to provide additional budgetary assistance to cities and counties to meet this mandate. More information on this issue is forthcoming.
Water
  • A two-year measure was amended this week that would require the State Water Resources Control Board to establish a program called the Constituents of Emerging Concern (CEC) in Drinking Water. SB 230 (Anthony Portantino, D-Glendale) would require the state board to establish, maintain, and direct an ongoing, a dedicated program called the CEC in Drinking Water Program for 5 years to assess the state of information and recommend areas for further study on, among other things, the occurrence of CEC in drinking water sources and treated drinking water. The measure has been re-referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Farm Bureau has not yet positioned on the bill and is working with the Author to address any possible concerns.
  • A measure was introduced this week that would clarify existing law that a person diverting 10 acre-feet or more of water per year under a registration is subject to these water diversion measurement, recording, and reporting requirements.  SB 832 (Bill Dodd, D-Napa) would additionally authorize the state board to modify water diversion measurement requirements if the board finds that, among other things, the beneficial use of the water right is for irrigation, the water right is for direct diversion only, as specified, and the runoff and tailwater from the application of the diverted water returns to the same surface water source from which it was diverted. Farm Bureau has not yet positioned on the bill and is working with the Author to address any possible concerns.