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December 30, 2021

House Ag Chairman David Scott (D-GA) Releases End of Year Committee Highlights

On December 21, House Ag Chairman David Scott released a report that highlighted the committee's accomplishments throughout the year. The overview stated the committee held 32 hearings and meetings, with 122 expert witnesses and 11 bills passed out of committee. Of those 11 bills, CAFB was involved in many of them, including out substantial engagement in the WHP+ Reauthorization Act which later went on to pass both chambers and was signed into law by the President.

View Press Release here

CAFB Submits Comments on USFWS Proposed Rule for Coastal Marten Critical Habitat

CAFB has submitted comments in opposition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the coastal distinct population segment of Pacific marten (coastal market) under the federal Endangered Species Act. If finalized, the proposed designation would consist of 1,289,627 acres in southwestern Oregon and California. The designation would extend south into California into much of the eastern portion of Del Norte County, extending south into Humboldt County and east into Siskiyou County. The comments highlight the threats critical habitat designation can have on forest health and catastrophic wildfire risk as well as the importance of utilizing the best availably science. The comments also offer support for ongoing conservation efforts.

Copy of the Comments here

Federal OSHA ETS Update

The Federal Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) has continued to move forward with their Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS or ETS2) targeting general industries. The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dissolved an emergency stay on December 17^th, which put the litigation on course to the Supreme Court. Both sides will provide oral arguments on January 7^th, with the Supreme Court issuing an accelerated ruling sometime after that. In the meantime, OSHA has said they will not start issuing fines for noncompliance in applicable states until January 10^th—and not until February 9th for the testing requirements.

Federal law permits California to operate an independent occupational safety and health program as long as Cal/OSHA and the Standards Board promulgate and enforce regulations that are at least as effective as federal requirements. It is expected that should the Supreme Court permit federal OSHA to proceed with its vaccine-or-testing ETS mandate after the hearing on January 7^th, the Standards Board will consider and pass a similar mandate at its January meeting, scheduled for January 20.

Precision Act Task Force Reinstated

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Rosenworcel has appointed members to serve on the re-chartered Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States (Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force). In its second term, the Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force will continue its work to provide advice and recommendations to the FCC on accelerating the deployment of broadband Internet access service on unserved agricultural land to promote precision agriculture. Four working groups will assist the task force in carrying out its work: (1) Mapping and Analyzing Connectivity on Agricultural Lands; (2) Examining Current and Future Connectivity Demand for Precision Agriculture; (3) Encouraging Adoption of Precision Agriculture and Availability of High-Quality Jobs on Connected Farms; (4) Accelerating Broadband Deployment on Unserved Agricultural Lands. The Task Force will hold its first meeting on Thursday, January 13, 2022, beginning at 10:00 a.m. EST.

US to Lift Travel Restrictions for African Countries

On Tuesday, the President announced a proclamation that will revoke travel restrictions previously issued for several countries in southern Africa in response to the Omicron variant breakout. With the variant now prevalent all across the country, as well as a greater understanding on the lower risks for vaccinated individuals, the administration felt the restrictions were no longer necessary. The original order had created several challenges for foreign workers attempting to transit into the US from the eight listed countries, amongst other issues. The reverted changes will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, December 31^st.