Advocacy in Action: State Affairs, Federal Policy and Legal Services

Energy

The state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee held a hearing this month on addressing electricity utility bill affordability while advancing the state’s clean energy goals. 

During the hearing, Public Utilities Commission President Alice Reynolds blamed the rise in rates largely on wildfire mitigation spending and cost shift from legacy net energy metering, with investments in utility transmission and distribution infrastructure cited as secondary driving factors. 

The California Farm Bureau has frequently reminded the PUC that the net energy metering cost shift is from residential customers, not from agricultural net energy metering or net energy metering aggregation customers. 

The California Farm Bureau is already scrutinizing several bills to ensure costs are not unfairly shifted to agricultural customers. One is Assembly Bill 332 by state Sen. Aisha Wahab, D-Silicon Valley, which would limit residential rate increases to inflation and lead to costs being shifted to other customer classes. Farm Bureau will advocate for its amendment. 

The bill does have positive aspects, such as reducing ratepayer contributions to the wildfire fund and increasing utility accountability. State Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, the new chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, indicated he is working on a bill or bills with state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-North Coast, on affordability.

Livestock and predators

The California Fish and Game Commission delayed action this month on limiting coyote hunting, agreeing to refer the matter back to the Wildlife Resources Committee for further review. 

The commission first approved a motion last month to consider removing coyotes from the nongame mammal code section and consider taking limits on coyote management. The California Farm Bureau and its FarmTeam members submitted more than 1,000 comments opposing the change and talked about the threat coyotes pose to livestock. 

The Wildlife Resources Committee will revisit the issue on May 15.

Meanwhile, the Farm Bureau has been meeting with key legislative members and budget staff to ensure resources are available to implement the wolf compensation fund that was put in place in 2021. 

The fund has run out of money, and with wolf populations continuing to grow, California ranchers cannot afford to lose a program that they can use to mitigate challenges the predators pose and to offset the impacts on their livestock, said Chris Reardon, vice president of policy advocacy for the California Farm Bureau.

“While we understand this is a tough budget year, we are working to ensure we continue the program without interruption,” he said.

Water

The California Farm Bureau joined with the Pacific Legal Foundation to file an amicus brief in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper v. County of San Luis Obispo in January. San Luis Obispo County was sued by environmental groups alleging that Lopez Lake dam threatens steelhead trout under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. 

A federal judge determined that operation of the lake threatens the trout and ordered the county to immediately release more water from the lake. Farm Bureau and the PLF argued that the lower court incorrectly issued injunctive relief under the ESA.

In another case before the 9th Circuit, California Farm Bureau joined Nevada Farm Bureau and Idaho Farm Bureau in an amicus brief to address water rights. The case has regionwide importance, including determination of when a state water rights decree is comprehensive, said Karen Mills, vice president of legal advocacy for the California Farm Bureau. 

The litigation arose from a matter in Nevada in which federal claims on water rights surfaced after agricultural interests had relied on adjudicated rights. State adjudication laws, such as those adopted in Nevada and throughout the West, are precisely the types of comprehensive statutes that Congress had in mind when it passed the McCarran Amendment, Mills said. 

Specialty crops

The House Agriculture Committee held a hearing this month examining the economic crisis in agriculture. The hearing aimed to identify key challenges agricultural businesses have faced in recent years and explore potential solutions. 

Among the panelists was San Luis Obispo County farmer Ryan Talley, who represented the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, of which the California Farm Bureau is a member. The alliance has long advocated for expanding farm bill provisions to better support specialty crops. A common concern among Western producers is that the farm bill primarily focuses on traditional row crops such as corn, cotton and soybeans, offering limited benefits to specialty crop growers. Talley emphasized the critical need for increased support for specialty crops, particularly as rising labor costs continue to challenge California farmers. 

Farm Bureau remains committed to ensuring specialty crops receive stronger consideration as the organization pushes for a full farm bill reauthorization this year. Key priorities include expanded crop insurance opportunities, research funding and improved market access for specialty crops.