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Farm Bureau SUPPORTS this legislation that would help family farms:
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Assembly Bill 51 (Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo) - Aggregated Net Metering
AB 51 promotes environmental benefits while improving the business climate by allowing
agricultural customers to combine electrical needs from each of the meters on their properties,
to be netted against the amount of electricity produced. This bill will increase the use of
renewable wind and solar energy sources on agricultural operations.
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Farm Bureau SUPPORTS this legislation that would help family farms:
AB 2446 prepares students for the work force by adding career technical education courses as an
option for students to fulfill the graduation requirements for completing a course in visual or
performing arts or a foreign language. .
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AB 2446 (Furutani, D-Gardena) - Career Technical Education
AB 2446 prepares students for the work force by adding career technical education courses as an
option for students to fulfill the graduation requirements for completing a course in visual or
performing arts or a foreign language. .
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Senate Bill 726 (Ashburn, R-Bakersfield) - Rural Health Care SB 726 enhances rural communities while protecting the work force by improving access to
quality health care. This bill exempts rural hospitals from the state's physician hiring ban,
allowing them to directly employ up to five physicians each.
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Farm Bureau OPPOSES this legislation that would have harmed family farms:
AB 226 (Ruskin, D-Redwood City) – California Coastal Commission AB 226 increases the role of government by granting new authority to the California Coastal
Commission to impose massive civil penalties for violation of the Coastal Act. The bill would allow
for penalties to be imposed after a simple hearing of the Commission as opposed to due process
afforded through the judicial system.
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AB 1881 (Monning, D-Carmel) - Recovery of Wages
AB 1881 threatens the business climate, unreasonably expanding employer liability by doubling
the liquidated damages that can be awarded against employers in minimum wage actions in
court.
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AB 2187 (Arambula, I-Fresno) - Payment of Wages AB 2187 threatens the business climate by creating a new crime, subject to punishment in jail
and monetary fines, if an employer "willfully fails" to pay all wages due within 90 days for an
employee who quits or is discharged.
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SB 477 (Florez, D-Shafter) - Heat Illness Prevention Standards SB 477 prevents farmers and ranchers from adequately protecting the work force by pre-
empting the regulatory process for occupational safety and health through the codification of
heatillness prevention requirements.
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SB 565 (Pavley, D-Santa Monica) - Water Resources
SB 565 increases the regulatory burden by allowing the State Water Resources Control Board to
inspect private property without clear boundaries, require water users to conduct costly
environmental studies at their own expense and charge penalties based upon the diverter's
ability to pay.
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SB 810 (Leno, D-San Francisco) - Single Payer Health Care
SB 810 fails to protect the work force as jobs will be lost through the creation of a new,
government-run health care system. The system would be funded by an unspecified "premium
structure" imposed upon all employers.
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SB 1121 (Florez, D-Shafter) - Agricultural Worker Overtime
SB 1121 harms the business climate while neglecting to protect the work force by repealing the
longstanding 10-hour, six-day overtime requirement for agricultural employees. VETOED by Gov.
Schwarzenegger, July 28.
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SB 1474 (Steinberg, D-Sacramento) - Unionization of Agriculture
SB 1474 fails to protect the work force by stripping workers of the right to a secret ballot election
when determining union representation. The bill replaces the secret ballot elections with a
majority signup, where 50 percent plus one of the workers sign a card to elect union
representation. Cards are often presented to employees as a mere indication of interest in the
union, but if a majority signs, employees can be unionized without ever voting.
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Budget: Delay of Methyl Iodide Registration
In an effort to pre-empt the authority of the Department of Pesticide Regulation, a one-year
delay in the registration of methyl iodide is expected to be included in one of the 2010-11 budget
bills (also known as trailer bills). This is an effort that prevents the use of production practices
that have been thoroughly reviewed by DPR and deserve to be enacted. Without methyl iodide,
the tools necessary to fumigate will be severely limited.
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Budget: Ban on Agricultural Burning
Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, is attempting to gain approval by the Joint Legislative Budget
Conference Committee to prevent the use of production practices by jeopardizing agricultural
burning statewide. Florez is trying to insert $10 million for use by biomass facilities statewide, in
an attempt to override a regulatory decision made by the San Joaquin Valley Air Quality Control Board to allow for two more years of limited agricultural burning due to a lack of economically
feasible alternatives
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