BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          Date of Hearing:   August 27, 2015


                             ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES


                                Richard Gordon, Chair


          SCR  
          83 (Wolk) - As Introduced July 16, 2015


          SENATE VOTE:  38-0


          SUBJECT:  International Year of Soils.


          SUMMARY:  Declares 2015 as the International Year of Soils, and  
          recognizes the importance of healthy soils as a critical  
          resource supplying an abundance of food, diverse habitats, water  
          storage, and climate resiliency.  Specifically, this resolution  
          makes the following legislative findings:


          1)For more than 60 consecutive years, California has been the  
            number one agricultural state in the nation, producing more  
            than 400 crop and livestock products and accounting for  
            approximately 50% of the nation's supply of fruits,  
            vegetables, and nuts.


          2)Ninety-five percent of our food is directly or indirectly  
            produced on our soils and the essential nutrients they  
            contain.

          3)California has launched its Healthy Soils Initiative and is  
            pioneering efforts to incentivize building soil organic matter  








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            and provide research, education, and technical support to  
            facilitate healthy soils and ensuring interagency coordination  
            and collaboration.

          4)Ensuring healthier soils by increasing the carbon content and  
            soil organic matter can help enhance the long-term  
            sustainability of California agriculture and its resiliency to  
            climate change.

          5)Improved soil health increases soil's water holding capacity  
            and water infiltration rate, which can help optimize the  
            management of California's scarce water supply.

          6)Increasing soil health helps to improve food crop yields, help  
            to increase soil fertility and the ability to hold plant  
            nutrients and water, supports beneficial biological microbial  
            diversity and populations, reduces soil erosion, and can be  
            used to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases by sequestering  
            carbon.
          FISCAL EFFECT:  None


          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support


          Biosafety Alliance


          California State Guild


          Sacramento Community Grange










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          Opposition


          None on file




          Analysis Prepared by:Nicole Willis / RLS. / (916)  
          319-2800