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AB-1044 California Agriculture Relief Act. (2023-2024)

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Date Published: 04/05/2023 09:00 PM
AB1044:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 05, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 16, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1044

Introduced by Assembly Member Gallagher

February 15, 2023

An act to add Sections 43013.4 and 43018.12 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to agriculture, and making an appropriation therefor.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1044, as amended, Gallagher. California Agriculture Relief Act.

(1)Existing law imposes various limitations on the emissions of air contaminants for the control of air pollution from vehicular and nonvehicular sources. Pursuant to that authority, the State Air Resources Board has adopted a regulation to reduce oxides of nitrogen, diesel particulate matter, and other criteria air pollutant emissions from in-use, diesel-fueled vehicles.

This bill would require the state board to exempt agricultural vehicles and specialty agricultural vehicles that do not exceed 10,000 miles of operation annually from any regulation to reduce emissions of diesel particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, and other criteria air pollutants from in-use, diesel-fueled vehicles.

The bill would also prohibit the state board from adopting any regulation that requires an off-road agricultural vehicle or piece of equipment to satisfy any zero-emission requirement.

(2)Existing

Existing law, until January 1, 2025, establishes the California Small Agricultural Business Drought Relief Grant Program in the Office of the Small Business Advocate, under the authority of its director, to provide grants to qualified small agricultural businesses that have been affected by severe drought conditions. Existing law requires the office to allocate grants to qualified small agricultural businesses that meet the requirements of the program, upon appropriation of grant funds by the Legislature.
This bill bill, the California Agriculture Relief Act, would appropriate $100,000,000 from the General Fund to the office to provide grants under the program. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.
Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: YES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Agriculture Relief Act.

SEC. 2.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The agricultural industry is vital to the health of California’s economy, producing over 400 crops and employing over 400,000 people.
(b) California is a state that feeds the nation, growing over one-third of the country’s vegetables and three-quarters of the country’s fruits and nuts.
(c) The 2020–22 drought has had severe economic impacts on the agricultural industry, with an estimated 395,000 acres of farmland fallowed and notable decreases in the production of many commodities. These impacts will likely intensify due to California’s rigid regulatory environment.
(d) The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted supply chains, with agriculture being one of the most severely affected markets, including farms, processors, handlers, retail outlets, and trade. The industry has still not recovered from these impacts.
(e) High-input costs combined with inflation and regulatory expenses have put the agricultural industry in a precarious situation.
(f) Walnut, tomato, and almond prices have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 supply chain crunch and drought conditions, driving prices to record lows and jeopardizing producers’ continued operation.
SEC. 3.Section 43013.4 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
43013.4.

(a)As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)“Agricultural vehicle” has the same meaning as in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 2025 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, as it read on January 1, 2023.

(2)“Specialty agricultural vehicle” has the same meaning as in paragraph (54) of subdivision (d) of Section 2025 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, as it read on January 1, 2023.

(b)The state board shall exempt from any regulation to reduce emissions of diesel particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, and other criteria air pollutants from in-use, diesel-fueled vehicles, any agricultural vehicle or specialty agricultural vehicle that does not exceed 10,000 miles of operation annually.

SEC. 4.Section 43018.12 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
43018.12.

The state board shall not adopt any regulation that requires an off-road agricultural vehicle or piece of equipment to satisfy any zero-emission requirement.

SEC. 5.SEC. 3.

 The sum of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Office of the Small Business Advocate to provide grants under the California Small Agricultural Business Drought Relief Grant Program (Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 12100.100) of Chapter 1.6 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) to qualified small agricultural businesses that have been affected by severe drought conditions.