California Farm Bureau President Comments on Gov. Newsom’s Budget Plan
California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson offered the following comments today on the $286.4 billion budget plan announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom:
“California’s farmers are facing unprecedented challenges beyond their control. The Farm Bureau represents over 30,000 of these farmers in every corner of the state–including over 20,000 small farms. We need water, inputs and markets to feed people and provide the jobs that are the backbone of the California economy.
“Governor Newsom’s budget is a good framework for this year’s budget discussions in that it proposes to fund more water storage and conveyance, opportunity for California-grown products in schools, funds for both implementation of and research on climate smart ag practices and begins to relieve the massive burden on employers on costs associated with COVID-19.
“At a time when food prices are soaring and inflation and shortages are no longer speculative, it is critical that we shore up the farm economy. As they say though, the devil is the details, and we need to ensure that the famers who are supposed to benefit from these programs have a voice in the enactment of them.
“Despite many years of programs and slogans to ‘save the farm,’ we continue to see less and less every year – and almost all those lost are small farms. As the one California group that has more small, diverse, family-owned farms than anybody else, we look forward to partnering on solutions that can help reverse these trends.”
The California Farm Bureau works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 31,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of nearly 6 million Farm Bureau members.
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Senator Grove Responds to Newsom’s State Budget Proposal
SACRAMENTO - Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) responds to Governor Newsom’s 2022-23 state budget proposal:
"Governor Newsom’s budget over taxes and over-regulates Californians while continuing to push the same policies that have resulted in the highest cost of living, the highest poverty, historically high crime rates and worsening homeless crisis, despite record high spending. In December, Senator McGuire and I called on the governor to increase the number of state firefighters to meet the increasing demands of wildfire management, and I am pleased he has set aside $400 million for this proposal. I appreciate the governor’s focus on the drought’s impact on food producers and funding for water conveyance, but with no additional money for water storage, the budget is still not serious about addressing California’s food and water security. I hope the governor understands we can’t import 100% of the food the Central Valley grows. I am also strongly opposed to the governor’s continued war on the state’s oil and gas industry, which provides good jobs for thousands of families and energy security for all Californians. The governor and the majority party must prioritize the immediate needs of Californians, instead of focusing on their utopian Government controlled state."
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Senators Dahle Reacts to the Governor’s Budget Proposal
SACRAMENTO –Senator Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) reacted to the release of the Governor’s January Budget Proposal. Senator Dahle is a member of the Senate Committee on Budget, andSubcommittee 2 on Resources, Environmental Protection, Energy and Transportation.
“I am encouraged that the state budget has another substantial surplus, and is not operating in a deficit like so many years past. However, this reinforces my view that we are being overtaxed, and we should be rebating those dollars directly back to the taxpayers.
As I stated in a letter with my colleagues, California must focus on some core priorities with this upcoming budget.
Over the last two years, California has experienced some of the largest wildfires in our history. I was heartened to see funding in this budget that I asked for to address our ability to prevent and fight wildfires.
This state continues to suffer from boom and bust cycles, especially when we talk about water. Building water storage is an absolute necessity, but California hasn’t invested in this infrastructure for decades despite our population growth and the voters’ will.
Over the next several months, I hope that my legislative colleagues will debate in good faith how we can serve the true needs of Californians.”
Senator Brian Dahle represents California's 1st Senate District, which contains all or portions of 11 counties, including Alpine, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra, and Siskiyou.
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Legislative Proposal to Promote Healthy Forest and Reduce Wildfires Passes Committee
Sacramento – Today, the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources passed Assembly Bill 522, a measure by Assemblyman Vince Fong (R-Kern County), to promote forest management and build wildfire resilience.
“Catastrophic wildfires have devastated homes and entire communities, and sadly, lives have been lost,” said Assemblyman Fong. “Properly managing forests by reducing fuels is a proven method of preventing wildfires.”
“This measure allows private landowners to continue their efforts to reduce wildfire risk by removing dead and dying trees from their land.”
This program allows private landowners to proceed with critical vegetation management on private land with a streamlined process. Specifically, AB 522 removes barriers for landowners to use the state’s Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption and extend this successful program into 2026.
This measure, if passed and signed into law, will help the state achieve its goal to treat 500,000 acres per year by 2025. AB 522 is supported by the California Forestry Association, Association of California Water Agencies, California Association of Realtors, Forest Landowners of California and the Personal Insurance Federation of California.
AB 522 now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for its consideration.
