Bill Text: CA AB409 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Climate change: agriculture: Agricultural Climate Adaptation Tools Program: grants.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-08-30 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB409 Detail]
Download: California-2019-AB409-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 18, 2019 |
Assembly Bill | No. 409 |
Introduced by Assembly Member Limón |
February 07, 2019 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:SECTION 1.SEC. 2.
Part 4.8 (commencing with Section 71370) is added to Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, to read:PART 4.8. Climate Change in the Agricultural Sector
(a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1)The state’s 77,000 farms and ranches are uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures, increased occurrences of extreme weather events, constrained water resources, new pest and disease pressures, reduced winter chilling hours, and rising sea levels.
(2)Agricultural climate change adaptation strategies provide numerous agronomic, environmental, and public health benefits, including increased water retention in soils, groundwater recharge, energy and water savings, improved crop and forage yields, improved air and water quality, and enhanced wildlife habitat.
(3)The state and the University of California have invested significant resources in research to better understand agriculture’s unique vulnerabilities to climate change and identify strategies to adapt to climate change.
(4)To make this information useful and effective, it must be presented to farmers and ranchers by trusted sources in a way that recognizes and accounts for their management objectives, existing management practices, location, crops, available resources, knowledge, values, experiences, spoken language, culture, and other aspects of their complex business operations and surrounding social and ecological systems.
(5)Farmers and ranchers need science-based, farm-level planning tools and technical assistance from trusted providers to help them assess relevant climate risks and adaptation strategies and
integrate them into their business decisionmaking and succession planning processes. These needs are especially applicable to small and moderately scaled farmers and ranchers, socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, and female farmers and ranchers who do not have equal access to technical assistance and, on average, have less resources at their disposal to adapt to climate change.
(6)The state has a long-established infrastructure of public and private technical assistance providers, including resource conservation districts, the University of California Cooperative Extension, nonprofit organizations, and certified crop advisors and pest control advisers to advise farmers and ranchers on agronomic practices, resource conservation, and other agricultural management improvements.
(7)These technical assistance providers are in a position to work with farmers and ranchers to
identify appropriate agricultural climate adaptation strategies, determine the feasibility of climate adaptation strategies, design on-farm climate adaptation projects, and assist in project implementation. But technical assistance providers need additional training to learn how to most effectively incorporate information about climate change risks and adaptation strategies into their work with farmers and ranchers.
(8)The Office of Planning and Research, pursuant to existing law, serves as a coordinating body for climate adaptation projects across the state and assists state, regional, and local agencies in a variety of research and planning efforts related to climate adaptation. The Office of Planning and Research also maintains the state’s clearinghouse for climate adaptation information on various topics, including agriculture, through its Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program (Part 4.5 (commencing with Section 71350)).
Therefore, the Office of Planning and Research is well-positioned to administer a complimentary grant program established pursuant to this part and promote the resulting farm-level climate adaptation planning tools through its existing clearinghouse.
(b)It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to establish a program to ensure farmers and ranchers have effective farm-level, science-based climate adaptation planning tools and trained technical assistance providers to help them assess relevant climate change risks and adopt climate adaptation strategies.