BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Senator Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 367 Hearing Date: 4/7/15
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|Author: |Wolk |
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|Version: |4/6/15 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Anne Megaro |
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Subject: Agricultural lands: greenhouse gases
SUMMARY :
This bill would recast and expand the membership and the duties
of the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Science
Advisory Panel on Environmental Farming to include on-farm
practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon
storage in soil. This bill would appropriate $50 million from
the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to CDFA for the establishment
of a new grant program to support these activities. This bill
would also appropriate 2% of the proceeds from this fund to the
Strategic Growth Council's Sustainable Agricultural Lands
Conservation Program to also address on-farm reductions of
greenhouse gas and increased carbon storage.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING
LAW :
The Cannella Environmental Farming Act of 1995 requires the
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to
establish and oversee an environmental farming program that
provides incentives to farmers whose practices promote the
well-being of ecosystems, air quality, and wildlife and their
habitat. The act also created the Scientific Advisory Panel on
Environmental Farming (Science Panel) to, among other
responsibilities, advise and assist government agencies on these
issues by conducting scientific data reviews and approving and
recommending scientifically valid data. The Science Panel is
also authorized to research, review, and comment on data used as
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the base for proposed environmental policies and regulatory
programs so that agricultural activities are accurately
portrayed and to identify incentives to encourage agricultural
practices with environmental benefits.
The Strategic Growth Council was created in 2008 as a
cabinet-level committee that is tasked with coordinating the
activities of member state agencies to improve air and water
quality, protect natural resources and agricultural lands,
increase the availability of affordable housing, promote public
health, improve transportation, encourage greater infill and
compact development, revitalize community and urban centers, and
assist state and local entities in the planning of sustainable
communities and meeting AB 32 goals. Strategic Growth Council
members include representatives from the Business, Consumer
Services and Housing, Natural Resources, Health and Human
Services, and Environmental Protection Agencies; the departments
of Transportation and Food and Agriculture; the Governor's
Office of Planning and Research; and three public members.
The Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program
(AHSC), administered by the Strategic Growth Council, was
created in 2014 to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions though
projects that implement land use, housing, transportation, and
agricultural land preservation practices. The AHSC program
receives 20% of the annual proceeds from the Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund to achieve these goals (SB 862 of 2014; Health
and Safety Code § 39719).
The Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC)
is one component of the AHSC and is implemented by the
California Department of Conservation (DOC). The Strategic
Growth Council is responsible for overseeing SALC and
coordinating DOC with other agencies to develop program
guidelines.
Guidelines for the SALC program were approved by the Strategic
Growth Council on January 20, 2015, and include three major
elements: 1) sustainable agricultural land strategy plans, which
would provide grants to develop local strategies to ensure
long-term protection of highly productive and critically
threatened agricultural land; 2) agricultural conservation
easements; and 3) financial incentives for adoption and use of
land management practices. The guidelines specifically state
that the third element is not included in the 2014 request for
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grant applications, but will be addressed in future years.
COMET-Farm TM is an online USDA-Natural Resources Conservation
Service tool developed in partnership with Colorado State
University. COMET-farmTM, shorthand for "CarbOn Management &
Emissions Tool," was created to estimate carbon sequestration
and GHG emissions on individual farms based on various factors
such as soil characteristics, crop production, nutrient
management, water use, and tillage practices. This tool would
help farmers and ranchers calculate their farm's potential for
storing carbon in agricultural soils and reducing GHG emissions
given specific land management and conservation practices.
PROPOSED
LAW :
This bill:
Makes findings and declarations in regards to California
agricultural productivity and agriculture's contribution to
the environment and reduction of GHGs.
Expands the duties of CDFA's Environmental Farming
Program to specifically include activities related to the
reduction of on-farm GHG emissions and increased carbon
storage in agricultural soils and woody biomass.
Authorizes CDFA to support these on-farm practices and
activities by providing permit assistance and coordination
and the funding of on-farm demonstration projects.
Adds "climate change" to the list of issues that may be
addressed by CDFA's Scientific Advisory Panel on
Environmental Farming when providing advice and assistance
to government agencies.
Recasts and expands the duties and membership of CDFA's
Scientific Advisory Panel on Environmental Farming in the
following manner:
o Increases the number of members from five to
nine by adding the secretaries of CDFA, CalEPA and
Natural Resources Agency as voting ex-officio members
and adding a member who is affiliated with UC
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Cooperative Extension as appointed by the secretary of
CDFA.
o Limits the appointment by the secretary of the
Natural Resources Agency to persons affiliated with
the California Association of Resource Conservation
Districts.
o Limits the appointment by the secretary of
CalEPA to persons affiliated with a nonprofit
organization with expertise in climate change and its
impact on California agriculture.
o Requires that one member appointed by the
secretary of CDFA be a registered organic producer.
o Requires the panel to review and advise the
secretary of CDFA and the State Board of Food and
Agriculture on proposed programs and projects for
agricultural producers that would result in multiple
environmental and health benefits.
o Requires the panel to review and recommend to
CDFA and other relevant state agencies the tools
available to demonstrate and quantify GHG emissions
reductions.
o Requires the panel to submit a biennial report
to the legislature, governor, and related agencies
regarding their work, goals, and two-year action plan.
Provides $50 million, upon appropriation by the
legislature, to CDFA to support on-farm projects to
demonstrate agricultural management practices and
activities that reduce GHG emissions and increase carbon
storage in soils and woody biomass.
o Projects may include, but are not limited to,
soil-building and carbon-sequestration practices,
irrigation efficiency and water conservation measures,
on-farm alternative-energy production and efficiency,
and wildlife habitat conservation.
Requires CDFA, in consultation with the panel, to
develop and implement a grant program to support the
activities listed above.
Requires that no less than 2% of the 20% of Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund proceeds appropriated to the Strategic
Growth Council for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable
Communities Program be expended for agricultural land
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protection.
Requires the Strategic Growth Council to establish and
administer a grant program, as part of the Sustainable
Agricultural Lands Conservation Program, to provide
incentives for the adoption and use of land management
practices that would reduce GHG emissions and sequester
carbon in soils and woody biomass.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
According to the author, "The modernization of the twenty-year
old Environmental Farming Act gives the California Department of
Food and Agriculture the authority and resources to more
effectively deliver programs and improve growers' access to
resources for addressing climate change and other pressing
environmental concerns."
According to those in support, "Growers around the state have
already begun to see the effects of drought, decreased chilling
hours and extreme heat on their productivity and profitability.
At the same time, growers and scientists recognize the
tremendous potential for agriculture and agricultural lands to
not only reduce existing greenhouse gas emissions, but also to
draw down atmospheric carbon into soils and woody biomass."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:
None Received.
COMMENTS :
Agriculture and Climate Change:
Farmers and ranchers are uniquely sensitive to the effects of
climate change as agriculture is largely dependent upon
uncertain weather patterns and the availability of natural
resources. For example, the current multi-year drought has
caused many farmers to fallow fields, sell livestock due to lack
of available grazing, and lay-off employees due to reduced
workload and productivity.
However, as the climate continues to impact California with
extreme weather events, warm winters, and reduced freezing
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hours, additional agricultural vulnerabilities are further
revealed. Non-native invasive species are a serious threat to
California and without normal winter chill hours to create
dormancy or to kill pests, invasive species are allowed to
continue to reproduce and spread throughout California. Such
examples include the aquatic weed water hyacinth, which is
currently plaguing the Delta, and the Asian citrus psyllid,
which could devastate the citrus industry as it has already done
in Florida.
The potential for agriculture to contribute to the reduction of
climate change by sequestering carbon and reducing GHG emissions
is not fully realized or utilized. Plants absorb CO2 from the
atmosphere and use it to grow, produce fruits and vegetables,
and to also store carbon in the soil. Animals produce manure
that could be used to create energy (through methane digesters),
compost, and several other valuable products, while reducing the
emission of methane and other GHG. Land management practices
have been and are continuing to be adopted to reduce negative
effects on the environment such as drip irrigation, reduced land
tillage, nitrogen management, and the use of cover crops. This
bill would provide funding to continue the development and
implementation of on-farm management practices to further the
environmental benefits of California's agricultural lands.
Scientific Advisory Panel Membership:
Currently, members appointed to the Scientific Advisory Panel on
Environmental Farming are required to have a minimum of 5 years
of experience in specified fields (production agriculture, human
health and environmental science, resource management). This
bill would remove the minimum-experience requirement for members
appointed by the secretaries of the California Environmental
Protection Agency (CalEPA) and Natural Resources Agency but not
for those appointed by the secretary of CDFA. This bill would
instead require that all members be highly qualified and
professionally active or engaged in scientific research. The
committee may wish to consider whether this new language is
vague and inconsistent and/or whether including a
minimum-experience requirement would be appropriate.
This bill also limits the pool of panelists to specific groups
such as nonprofit organizations, the California Association of
Resource Conservation Districts, and UC Cooperative Extension.
The committee may wish to consider whether restricting the pool
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of qualified individuals and removing the experience threshold
for members on a scientific panel is appropriate.
The secretary of CDFA is the designated chair of the Scientific
Advisory Panel, which is tasked with reviewing and advising the
secretary of CDFA and the State Board of Food and Agriculture on
the proposed programs. Therefore, the secretary of CDFA would
be advising herself on her own activities. Although a designee
could take the place of the secretary, this person would most
likely be on staff at CDFA and already be reporting to the
secretary. If the designee is not an employee of CDFA, why is
this panelist not stated as a member appointed by the secretary,
as are the rest of the panelists? The committee may wish to
consider whether the secretaries of CDFA, CalEPA and Natural
Resources Agency are necessary additions to this panel.
Proposed Memorandum of Agreement:
The author has proposed an amendment that would establish an MOA
among CDFA, DOC, and other agencies to avoid redundancies and
inefficiencies between the two programs funded in this bill.
However, given that the purpose of the Strategic Growth Council
is to improve interagency coordination, an MOA may not be
necessary. The DOC program is funded as part of the Strategic
Growth Council and both CDFA and DOC are active members.
Regardless, the desire to ensure that funds are appropriately
spent and not used for duplicative or redundant purposes is an
important consideration.
The committee may wish to consider the following amendments:
Amend the Scientific Advisory Panel on Environmental
Farming to include current law requirements and
qualifications of panelists (5-years of experience in the
designated field) and remove the references to membership
or affiliation with a nonprofit organization, the
California Association of Resource Conservation Districts,
and UC Cooperative Extension. Suggested amendments are as
follows:
Amend Section 568 (b) subparagraphs (D) (E) and (F) of
the Food and Agricultural Code (Page 6, Lines 19-35) to
read:
(D) One member, who has a minimum of five years of
training and experience in the field of climate change and
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its impact on California agriculture, shall be appointed by
the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection
Agency.
(E) One member, who has a minimum of five years of
training and experience in the field of resource
management, shall be appointed by the Secretary of the
Natural Resources Agency.
(F) Four members appointed by the secretary, according
to the following: (i) Three members who are
agricultural producers in the state and who have a
minimum five years of training and experience in the
field of agriculture. At least one of these members
shall be registered as a producer pursuant to the
California Organic Products Act of 2003 (Chapter 10
(commencing with Section 46000) of Division 17).
(ii) One member who has a minimum of five years of
training and experience as a scientific researcher in
the field of agricultural and environmental science.
Correct the title of CalEPA by replacing "for
Environmental Protection" with "of the California
Environmental Protection Agency" on Page 6, Line 17 and
Lines 19-20.
Replace "solid" with "soil" on Page 11, Line 32.
Clarify that the 2% allocated from the Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund for agricultural land protection (Page 10,
Lines 31-33) be 2% of the annual proceeds from the entire
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (as is the author's intent)
and not 2% of the 20% appropriated to the Strategic Growth
Council. As currently written, the 2% is appropriated from
the Strategic Growth Council subparagraph, not the fund in
its entirety.
The author proposes the following amendments:
Add Section 569 (c) to the Food and Agricultural Code:
569. (c) The secretaries of the California Department of
Food and Agriculture and the Natural Resources Agency shall
establish a Memorandum of Agreement among the California
Department of Food and Agriculture, the Department of
Conservation, and other relevant state agencies to ensure
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greatest possible coordination and collaboration in the
implementation of programs and projects funded under this
section.
Add language to Section 569 (a) of the Food and
Agricultural Code, Page 9 Line 15, as follows:
569. (a) The sum of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000)
shall be available from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund ,
upon appropriation by the Legislature
RELATED
LEGISLATION :
AB 761 (Levine), currently in the Assembly Committee on Natural
Resources, would provide $50 million to the Department of
Conservation to establish a grant program to fund projects that
increase carbon sequestration in agricultural soils to increase
the resilience of working lands to climate change and drought.
SB 862 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 36,
Statutes of 2014. Among other provisions, establishes the
Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program,
administered by the Strategic Growth Council, to reduce GHG
emissions though projects that implement land use, housing,
transportation, and agricultural land preservation practices.
SB 732 (Steinberg), Chapter 729, Statutes of 2008. Establishes
the Strategic Growth Council to coordinate member state agencies
implementing projects to improve air and water quality,
affordable housing, natural resource protection, transportation,
and sustainable land use planning; and to meet the goals of the
California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
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SUPPORT :
California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN) (Co-Sponsor)
Community Alliance with Family Farmers (Co-Sponsor)
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Abbott Ranch
Agricola: flora et fauna
Berry Blest Farm
Big Bluff Ranch
Burroughs Family Farms
Burroughs Family Orchards
Burrows Ranch, Inc.
California Certified Organic Farmers
California Cloverleaf Farms
California Compost Coalition
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Institute for Rural Studies
Californians Against Waste
Camp Grant Ranch
Canvas Ranch
Center for Food Safety
Central Valley Farmland Trust
Dixon Ridge Farms
Eaton Cattle Co.
Ecological Farming Association
Eden Urban Farms
Environment California
Environmental Defense Fund
Four Elements Organics
Foxwhelp Farm
Frog Hollow Farm
Full Belly Farm
Grass Valley Grains
Green Oaks Creek Farm
Harpos Organics
Hilltop & Canyon Farms
Humboldt Regeneration Brewery & Farm
Jackrabbit Farms
Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo
Kern Family Farm
Land Trust of Santa Cruz County
Live Earth Farm
Mamen Consulting
Markegard Family Grass-Fed, LLC
Molino Creek Farm
Morris Grassfed
Page's Organics
Paicines Ranch
Pie Ranch
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Porter Creek Vineyards
Quetzal Farm
Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County
Riverdance Farms
Rominger Brothers Farm
Roots of Change
Samuels Ranch
San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project
Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority
Sierra Farms Lamb
Sustainable Agriculture Education
Swanton Berry Farm
The Mendocino Grain Project
The Trust for Public Land
Travaille & Phippen, Inc.
Viriditas Farm
Wild Willow Farm and Education Center
68 Individuals
OPPOSITION :
None received
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