Environment ACA 16 (Bryan)
Water AB 460 (Bauer-Kahn)
WG helped to defeat this bill in the Assembly. ACA 16 would have amended the California Constitution to declare that the people of California have a right to clean air, water and a healthy environment. This was far more than a simple and good-sounding resolution. If passed, the bill would have placed significant new regulations on industries in California, including agriculture. Labor AB 2288 (Kalra) and SB 92 (Umberg) WG was one of the key players in a business coalition to negotiate reforms to California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). (See more, page 11.) These two bills incorporate important changes, including legal standing reforms, penalty reforms, broadened right to cure and increased judicial discretion. SB 1299 (Cortese) WG strongly opposed this United Farm Workers-sponsored bill. SB 1299 would have created a disputable presumption under workers’ compensation for heat-related injuries that occur within the agricultural industry. This bill unnecessarily targeted our industry. Furthermore, workers’ compensation data didn’t suggest that there was a need for the bill. We are pleased that Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed this bill.
This bill was an assault on our water rights system. WG joined forces with others who strongly opposed and was able to stop this bill in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. The author decided to amend the bill down to only address increased penalties for violations of illegal water diversions. AB 828 (Connolly) This bill would have exempted small community water systems and wetlands from participating in a Groundwater Sustainability Plan. Proponents did not want their groundwater allocations reduced, nor did they want to pay any fees to a Groundwater Sustainability Agency. The bill was vetoed by the Governor. SB 366 (Caballero) This WG-supported bill would have required the Department of Water Resources to develop water supply targets as part of the 2033 update to the Water Plan; the Water Plan currently does not set targets the state intends to accomplish regarding water supply. While the Governor agreed with the intent of the bill, due to budget constraints, he vetoed the bill.
Expanding the Team Western Growers’ California Government Affairs team welcomed a new member this year, Melissa Koshlaychuk , who joins as a Government Affairs Analyst.
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