Farm Bureau SUPPORTS this legislation that would help family farms:
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.
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. .
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. .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Take Action Join FARM TEAM to voice your opinion on legislation.

Not a Member? Click here for more information on how to join:

Want to Renew your Membership? 

It's easy and fast: Just click on this link below!

Enjoy these and many other benefits of Farm Bureau membership:

The Farm Bureau works hard to protect our natural resources and is a key player in dealing with the critical issues that affect our farming community. Some of the many vital problems affecting our farmers today are lack of necessary water, invasive species, renewable energy, diesel truck regulations and many more!

To learn more on these issues and how you can help, please visit the links below: