What Labor Bills are Coming Down the Pipeline? | |
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Important FELS Employment News
Under the Capitol Dome: Policy committees in both houses continued to move legislation ahead of the April 26 deadline to report bills tagged as fiscal, requiring review by the Appropriations committees:
AB 3056
On April 17, the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee considered and rejected AB 3056 (Gallagher, R-Yuba City), which would have revised the Labor Code to allow agricultural employees to work up to 8 hours in a workday and 48 hours in a workweek, effectively allowing employees to be employed for up to six full 8 hour days with no overtime liability on the part of the employer. The vote was two aye (Asm. Flora, R-Manteca, Alanis, R-Modesto) to five no (Ortega, Chair, D-San Leandro; Carillo, D-Los Angeles; Ward, D-San Diego; Lee, D-Milpitas, and Zbur, D-Hollywood). Several of those opposing AB 3056 expressed a willingness to engage the concerns of rural California residents, and the hearing included a robust discussion of interpretation of statistics indicating that agricultural employees have suffered loss of hour and income as a result of the implementation of the most recent revision of agricultural overtime requirements, AB 1066 (2016).
AB2751
On April 17, the Assembly Labor & Employment Committee passed AB 2751 Assemblymember (Haney, D-San Francisco), which requires employers to establish strict pre-set working hours for all employees and creates a “right to disconnect” from off-schedule communications from employers except in the event of an emergency or schedule change. Alleged violations would result in an investigation by the Labor Commissioner and potential employer fines.
Cal/OSHA
On April 18, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board announced its next steps on the Indoor Heat Illness Standard, which it originally approved at its March meeting in spite of its defective cost and economic impact analysis. The Administrative Procedures Act requires the Department of Finance to reject a regulation unaccompanied by required analysis, but the Government Code allows a 120-day window to “fix” a defective regulation, apparently outside the one year window for approval of proposed Cal/OSHA regulations (the one year clock on the Indoor Heat regulation ran out on March 31). The original regulation’s fiscal analysis fell apart when the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation objected to the cost and complexity of application of the regulation to prisons – an stunning acknowledgement of the cost and complexity concerns Farm Bureau and others have voiced about the Indoor Heat regulation for years. The agency’s announced way forward will be to exempt state- and locally-operated prisons and jails from the regulation with a separate regulation to be proposed at a later time. The revised Heat Illness regulation can then be moved forward in May or June, and is expected to be effective by summer.
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This Week In SLO County Agriculture | |
Community: Scholarship Apps to be Postmarked Today or Turned in by Hand Next Week | |
2WD 2005 Chevrolet Suburban for Sale for $7,000 | |  |
Cal Poly Strawberry Center 8th Annual Field Day - California Ag Network | Join more than 400 strawberry growers, researchers and industry representatives for this year's Strawberry Center Field Day on Thursday, August 8th from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (check-in beginning at 7:30 a.m.). | | | Hidden Creek Movie Fundraiser Event- Thursday, May 23 at 6pm | |
County Government: Board of Supervisors chooses new San Luis Obispo County Administrative Officer | |
Regional leaders convene to present inaugural State of the County | Event held last week in San Luis Obispo - County leaders convened last Thursday at Embassy Suites in San Luis Obispo to present the county's [...] | | | | |
Board of Supervisors chooses new San Luis Obispo County Administrative Officer | The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors has selected Matt Pontes as the new County Administrative Officer. | | | |
State Government: Land-Use Bill Taps Farmland For Solar Sites | |
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CFBF's Farm Bureau at Work- April 5, 2024
Land Use
The California Farm Bureau stood alone in opposing AB 2528 in the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy. Testimony in support of the bill came from the Large Solar Association and Western Growers. The bill, as previously reported, would allow landowners to attest that they do not have water due to groundwater pumping limitations and that would allow a Board of Supervisors to cancel Williamson Act and Farmland Security Zone contracts without paying the well accepted cancellation fee. The bill passed from Committee with two Republicans (Assemblymembers Jim Patterson and Joe Patterson) and two Democrats (Assemblymembers Bauer Kahan and Damon Connolly) abstaining because of the concerns expressed by the Farm Bureau regarding the lack of the bills’ coordination with groundwater sustainability agencies and because the risk of losing open spaces and productive agriculture lands.
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Land-use bill taps farmland for solar sites | Proposed state legislation to modify California’s longstanding farmland conservation law could pave the way for large swaths of farm acreage to be repurposed as sites for renewable energy projects. | | | | |
California tries again to protect workers from indoor heat - except in prisons | Workplace safety officials plan to protect employees from indoor heat this summer, but give state prisons more time. | | | | |
A plan to change your utility rates is dividing California environmentalists. Here's why | The California Public Utilities Commission will vote in May on a proposal that would change how Californians pay for electricity. | | | |
Federal Government: AFBF to USDA: Restore NASS Surveys | |
AFBF to USDA: Restore NASS Surveys | WASHINGTON -- The American Farm Bureau Federation has urged USDA to reverse its decision to cancel livestock and crop surveys that are crucial to the... | | |
Commentary: To protect food supply, Congress must pass farm bill | There are few times when Congress has the opportunity to take a single action that benefits every family in America. One of those opportunities is in front of our lawmakers now. | | | | |
U.S. Senate Staff to Talk Farm Bill, Other Federal Issues at 2nd Annual Western Ag and Environmental Law Conference | FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Two agricultural policy veterans will provide inside-the-Beltway insights into the Farm Bill and other issues affecting the western United States during the... | | |
EPA Issues Emergency Fuel Waiver for E15 Sales | WASHINGTON -- On April 19th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency fuel waiver to allow E15 gasoline - gasoline blended with 15% ethanol... | | | |
Environmental: A Plan to Change Your Utility Rates is Dividing California Environmentalists. Here's Why | |
NRCS Initiatives Support Avian Populations on California's Agriculture Lands | DAVIS, Calif. -- The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California is taking applications for both the NRCS Migratory Bird Resurgence Initiative (MBRI) and... | | | | |
A plan to change your utility rates is dividing California environmentalists. Here's why | The California Public Utilities Commission will vote in May on a proposal that would change how Californians pay for electricity. | | | | |
Kompogas SLO celebrates five years of waste-to-energy initiative | Hitachi Zosen Inova's Kompogas SLO celebrates 5 year milestone of success in their waster diversion initiative. | | | |
Produce/Orchard: New Tools Take Aim at Controlling Strawberry Pests | |
Pesticides pose a significant risk in 20% of fruits and vegetables, Consumer Reports finds | Organic option is best when buying certain produce, especially blueberries, nonprofit group says in analysis of chemical residues. | | |
What California citrus growers may need to recover from a record year for fruit fly | Lawmakers are pushing for relief for California citrus growers affected by Oriental fruit fly quarantines in different parts of the state. | | | | |
Support for citrus cultivation in California | California is receiving support for its citrus cultivation through initiatives focused on soil health and breeding research. The California Farm Bureau has allocated $5 million for growers to... | | |
New tools take aim at controlling strawberry pests | Strawberry growers in the Central Coast are headed toward a zero-tolerance policy on lygus bugs, the most destructive insect pest in the crop. | | | |
Labor: Newsom Offers a Compromise to Protect Indoor Workers from Heat | |
UFW, Wonderful Nurseries clash over union dispute - The Sun-Gazette Newspaper | Allegations of coercion, deceptive tactics escalate between the United Farm Workers and Wonderful Nurseries over union formation, | | | | |
Newsom Offers a Compromise to Protect Indoor Workers from Heat - California Healthline | After rejecting proposed rules to protect millions of workers in sweltering warehouses, steamy kitchens, and other hot workplaces, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration has offered a compromise to allow the protections to take effect this summer. But state and local correctional workers - and prisoners - would have to wait even longer. | | |
Farmworkers on the Central Coast Push for Livable Wage | A recently released report reveals the realities of low wages and dangerous working conditions for farmworkers in Santa Barbara County. | | | |
Business Member Spotlight:
Coastal Tractor
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We Are Coastal Tractor
We do what it takes to get the job done
Specializing in farm equipment sales, service, parts and rentals. We do what it takes to get the job done. We sell top of the line New Holland equipment as well as various quality, and durable brands of implements that we can help match to your needs. Coastal Tractor has been in business serving the Central Coast of California since 1971.
Family owned and operated for 3 generations of Vegetable Farmers, so Farmers know that they’ll be treated right whether they’re a first time customer, or someone the salesman knows by name. We are the New Holland dealer servicing the Monterey, San Luis Obispo, San Benito, and Santa Clara Counties.
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Thank You Farm Bureau Members | |
Featured Member Benefit:
Caterpillar
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Caterpillar: Spring Savings
Save big this spring when you use your CA Farm Bureau membership to save up to $2,750 on @CAT machines like small dozers, skid steer loaders, mini hydraulic excavators and more
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Livestock: USDA, FarmRaise Offer Educational Tools to Promote Financial Access and Equity | |
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors request report on 'factory farming' ballot measure | The report will cover the measure's potential fiscal impacts, as well as potential impacts on a broad array of topics including land use, agriculture and the county's general plan. | | |
USDA issues national alert on contaminated ground beef | The USDA is urging consumers to check their freezers for potentially contaminated packages of ground beef sold in the last month. | | | | |
Bird flu has spread to more farm animals. Here's what to know about food safety | Commercial milk remains safe and available because pasteurization, a high heat treatment, kills bacteria and viruses. But there's limited information about possible transmission of the virus in unpasteurized milk or cheese products. | | |
USDA, FarmRaise Offer Educational Tools to Promote Financial Access and Equity | WASHINGTON -- The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) today unveiled a new, online Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) Decision Tool and farm loan resources available to agricultural... | | | |
Vineyard and Wine: Sustainable Vineyards Earn Green Medal Awards | |
Winery launches new tasting flight | Flight showcases five Cabernet Sauvignon wines from the 2021 vintage - Local winery My Favorite Neighbor has launched a new Vineyard Designates Tasting, a "horizontal" [...] | | | | |
Sustainable vineyards earn Green Medal awards | LangeTwins, Gloria Ferrer, Cooper-Garrod and Vino Farms, LLC named 2024 winners. | | | |
Water: A Dispute Over a Cambria CSD Well on School District Property Leads to Eminent Domain Threat | |
A dispute over a Cambria CSD well on school district property leads to eminent domain threat | For more than two decades, a well on Coast Union High School's property has produced water for the residents of Cambria-up to 20 percent of... | | | | |
The EPA is cracking down on PFAS - but not in fertilizer | "If people don't know that their farms are contaminated it's because they haven't looked." | | | |
Farm Bureau Membership Matters | | |
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We cannot support your freedom to farm and ranch without your membership.
Join SLO County Farm Bureau now or renew your membership online. Go to slofarmbureau.org to join, or download the membership form PDF.
Have your renewal notice available to speed up the process; you will need to enter your membership number, name and ZIP code. Renewal dues may be paid online or over the phone by credit card.
We're here to help! Call us if you need us to lookup your member number or we can process your membership for you, at 805-543-3654.
All California county Farm Bureau memberships are processed through the California Farm Bureau Federation, but please reach out to our SLO County office if you need your membership number or have questions.
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Thank You Platinum Members | |
SLO County Agriculture News is distributed by SLO County Farm Bureau for information purposes only. Stories written by SLO County Farm Bureau may be reprinted with attribution. Some outside story links may require site registration. Opinions expressed in stories, commentaries or editorials included in this newsletter do not necessarily represent the views of SLO County Farm Bureau. For information on advertising opportunities, please email info@slofarmbureau.org or call our office at 805-543-3654. | | | | |
