Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed AB 113, which is the supplemental language that was negotiated with the Governor, the UFW, and the California Labor Federation prior to his signing of AB 2183, the card check bill. Agricultural employers were excluded from that discussion. AB 113 removes the mail-in voting option and labor-peace election procedures from the statute. Importantly, the card check,…
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation is holding three public workshops to collect feedback and provide an update on the development of the statewide pesticide application system. The workshops will be held on Nov. 7, Nov. 9 and Nov. 10, 2022. The workshops are scheduled at the following times and locations; registration is not required ...
At the time of this writing, the 2022-2023 two-year legislative session has been called to order in Sacramento. This represents a changing of the guard from one formal legislative season to another and, this year, a sea of change in the number of new legislators who are coming to California’s capitol. In fact, approximately a ...
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) issued a notice on June 2, 2015, that effective July 1, 2015, chlorpyrifos products labeled for production of an agricultural commodity will become California restricted materials. Applicators who wish to purchase, possess, or apply affected chlorpyrifos products will have to obtain a restricted materials permit from their County ...
The first year of the 2015-2016 California legislative session has advanced beyond the June 5th deadline for bills to be voted out of their house of origin. Several key labor and employment bills that WG has been actively lobbying are updated below. AB 67 (Gonzalez, D-San Diego) – Oppose: This bill would require employers to ...
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) recently released new regulations that place additional restrictions on the agricultural use of pesticides. These new regulations apply to applications that are made within ¼ mile of public schools or child day care facilities The restrictions apply Monday through Friday from the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 ...
The second year of the 2017-2018 California legislative session has advanced beyond the deadline for bills to be voted out of their house of origin. Listed below are several key labor and environmental bills that Western Growers has been actively lobbying this year. AB 1745 (Ting, D-San Francisco) – Oppose This bill would have placed ...
The California Legislature closed out the legislative year late last Friday. Governor Brown has until September 30th to sign or veto the bills that are now on his desk. Provided below is a brief list of some of the key bills that Western Growers has been lobbying on behalf of our members. AB 1913 (Kalra) ...
The California Legislature has left Sacramento for the remainder of the year, having completed their legislative business on August 31. Governor Brown had until September 30, 2018, to take final action on those bills that made it to his desk. This has been an extraordinarily active year. Listed below are some of the notable bills ...
Applications for the Agricultural Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) Voucher Program are now open. The Ag UTV Voucher Program provides monetary incentives for the replacement of existing diesel or gasoline-powered UTVs with new, zero-emission UTVs. Qualified individuals, businesses, educational institutions and non-profit organizations involved in California agricultural operation, as defined by the…
Crop protection tools are again under attack in California, as a newly proposed bill would prohibit the use of a pesticide that contains the active ingredient chlorpyrifos. SB 458 (Durazo) would make this provision effective unless and until the director of the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) adopts control measures for chlorpyrifos and the Director ...
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) 2019 Agricultural Tractor and Mobile Equipment Survey deadline has been extended to May 15, 2019. Farmers, agricultural operators and processors are encouraged to participate in this survey so that CARB may accurately depict agricultural equipment across California. The previous survey in 2008 helped determine allocations of hundreds of millions ...
Today, the California Legislature passed a $214.8 billion budget, which is $1.3 billion more than was proposed in Governor Gavin Newsom’s May Revision. The budget provides $130 million for safe drinking water, of which $100 million will come from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) and $30 million will come from the General Fund. Approximately ...
Last Thursday, the California Assembly passed AB 1054, the utility wildfire response bill requiring PG&E, SCE AND SDG&E to make $5 billion in aggregate safety investments (system hardening) without return on equity that would otherwise be borne by ratepayers. AB 1054 Summary AB 1054 includes numerous provisions related to addressing wildfires caused by utility infrastructure: ...
On Monday July 29, 2019, the Office of Administrative Law approved the Protection from Wildfire Smoke regulation, requiring California employers to protect their employees from possible harm created by wildfire smoke. Adopted by the Cal/OSHA Standards Board on July 18, the emergency rule requires employers to monitor the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the workplace ...
Effective January 1, 2020, the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Truck and Bus Regulation compliance verification will be a part of the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) vehicle registration process. The Truck & Bus Regulation requires that most medium- and heavy-duty commercial diesel trucks and buses with older engines be replaced or repowered with ...
The 2019 California legislative year has concluded. The Legislature adjourned in the early morning hours of September 14th and Governor Newsom has completed taking action on those bills that made it to his desk. Listed below are some of the notable bills that Western Growers advocated on through the year. AB 5 (Gonzalez) Signed: This ...
This fall has been busy with regulatory activity at the California Air Resources Board (CARB). WG staff has been actively participating in two regulatory proposals that will impact farmers in both the short- and long-term. The first proposal is the Advanced Clean Truck Regulation which is designed to mandate that manufacturers make and sell more ...
In October 2019, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) announced nearly all agricultural use of the pesticide chlorpyrifros in California will end by December 31, 2020. In an effort to support growers through this transition, DPR and CDFA have assembled a group of individuals to identify, evaluate and recommend alternative tools for pest management. ...
Last Friday, Governor Newsom released his 2020-2021 state budget proposal, the largest budget ever at $222.2 billion. The governor will now work with the California Legislature over the next several months to address questions about the proposal and to negotiate significant additions or removals of programs and associated funding. The state budget must be passed ...