A CONVERSATION WITH CALIFORNIA STATE TREASURER FIONA MA

by CCA Director of Communications Katie Roberti

In this Q&A, California State Treasurer Fiona Ma shares about her role as treasurer for the 5th largest economy in the world, how the State Treasurer’s office can help ranchers, how her curiosity has led to learning about California agriculture and why she makes it a point to be at CCA’s events, connect with California’s ranching community and more.

The answers in this Q&A have been edited for brevity and clarification. To hear the entire interview specifically intended for California beef producers and the ranching community, listen to season 3, episode 2 of Sorting Pen: The California Cattleman Podcast

QTell us a little about your background and how you got to where you are today serving as California State Treasurer.

AFiona Ma (FM): Let’s start with where I grew up. I was born in New York City, grew up on Long Island and went to school in Rochester. I didn’t even think about agriculture at all.

Then I moved to San Francisco back in 1988, and again, San Francisco is not a big agricultural producing city and county, so I didn’t think about it, except that you get your food from Safeway. When I got to the Legislature in 2006, one of my goals was to sit on as many committees as I could—all the meat and potatoes happens at the committee level, not on the floor. After two years in the Legislature, in 2009 I asked to sit on the agriculture committee and that’s really where my journey started.

Since then, I’ve done tours on the Reimer Ranch in Glenn County and Rankin Ranch in Kern County. Additionally, I recently went to Inyo with Mark Lacey and Tom Talbot and up to Billy Flournoy’s up in Modoc. Billy has been trying to get me up to his ranch since my first CCA Steak and Egg breakfast back in 2009.

I’ve learned a lot about the industry and how the ranchers are really amazing stewards of the land. Many of them are generational farmers and landowners that care about their property. Of course, this drought really has impacted them, which I especially saw up in Inyo and Modoc counties.

Now as the State Treasurer, I am the banker. All the revenues come into my office. Last year that was $3.2 trillion. I also invest the state’s idle funds and issue all the bonds for the state of California, the University of California, California State University and community colleges. I also chair thirteen boards, commissions and authorities that fund and finance affordable housing, charter schools, hospitals, children’s hospitals and grants, public transportation, green energy, etc.

QWhat does day to day as State Treasurer look like for you?

AEvery day is different. It starts with how much cash we get in. Then my job is chairing the different boards that I have. Every week there are different issues that we are addressing. On Thursday and Friday, I like to get out into the communities and that’s when I go on tours, visit businesses and more. This is a great job as long as you don’t like doing the same thing every day.

QAfter serving in the Assembly from 2006 to 2012, you were elected as California State Treasurer in 2018. What made you want to be California State Treasurer?

AI never thought that was going to be my path. 20 years ago, I got elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and I really wanted to be in public service. That really tugged my heartstrings. I am a Certified Public Accountant with a specialty in real estate, however it turned out public service is my calling. Now that I am the Treasurer, I am actually using all of my educational degrees, my private sector experience and also my public sector experience. I think I am highly qualified for this job and feel very comfortable now as I am at the start of my second term.

QMany producers and CCA members have had the opportunity to meet you or at least hear you speak at CCA’s Steak and Eggs Legislative Breakfast over the years or, most recently, at our Convention this last year. Why have you made it a point to be at CCA’s events and to connect with California’s ranching community?

AIt comes down to food. I like to have my food grown in California where it is safe and fresh, and you can see where the food is grown. I think that is really, really important. I spent a lot of time when I was in the Legislature trying to protect the Williamson Act. I am disappointed that we stopped the subventions in 2010 and I hope that one day we will get back to it.

I also love riding horses. When ranchers approach me to come and visit, I’m always asking to ride a horse. It is just a different perspective seeing the property and talking to the ranchers and board of supervisors or city council members that come out with us when we are on horseback—it’s a captive audience. You can’t get on your phone, take a little break, etc.

I am just very curious and when there’s an issue, such as a drought, I want to know how it affects different industries.

QYou see the importance of connecting with rural communities. How can we get other political leaders in Sacramento and beyond, as well as urban Californians to engage with us as you have?

AWe have 78 fairgrounds in California. Invite your urban legislators to the fair. Let’s start there. I love going to the animal pens where all the FFA and 4-H kids are showing and are so proud. That is kind of where it started for me. I learned California grows over 400 different products and I thought where?

When the fair comes around, I don’t think people really appreciate it. The fair is one of the best, most affordable, familyfriendly activities still in California. Bringing your representatives to the animals, the petting zoo and where the livestock are is probably the best and my favorite, so you should encourage them to come. I think they will see that there are a lot of young people that are engaged and who really care about cattle ranching. Secondly, invite them to a tour.

QWhat do you think the future of cattle ranching looks like in California in the next ten years?

A: A lot of family farmers, even the next generation, are actively involved. They need to continue to advocate at the legislature when there are legislative advocacy days. The California CattleWomen are amazing. They do a lot in the community. So for the women legislators, send the women! Send the people that look like that legislator down—that kind of breaks the barrier sometimes.

There are also a lot of young people now getting elected in the legislature. Young ranchers should come and do those legislative meetings. Set up those meetings yourself. You can explain to them how difficult agriculture is but how beautiful it is. Explain how it’s not consistent, it’s so dependent on the weather, how it really is truly an art and how ranchers really are entrepreneurs.

QHow do you and your office help ranchers and agricultural producers with any tax needs or issues they may have?

AWe have a lot of programs that help farmers and ranchers, either try to put in more green financing, through go green financing programs

...CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

...CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 that help them save money or through the small business programs coming from the USDA or the U.S. Small Business Administration. My office is trying to educate and get information out so that people don’t miss out on some of these grants, especially programs that came out of the pandemic.

QDo you have any examples of questions ranchers have called with before that you and your office have helped answer?

AI know when you are transporting cattle across state lines, the weight is different. If you’re putting cattle on in Nevada and driving them to California, the weight requirements are different. In this example, we should have conformity because it actually saves time, money, and greenhouse gases. When there are little things like that we should really fix, I will make the call to the Governor or whoever the legislator or agency is and let them know it doesn’t make sense.

Recently, my office helped another family that was going to lose their property because the parents left their property to the kids, but then the kids formed LLC. The assessor said that it was different even though it was the kids in an LLC to protect themselves. So, we did pass a law that recognizes that they are still the heirs. Sometimes we get those type of calls and we are able to fix them.

QAs we are early in 2023, what should listeners know about the state of California’s economy?

ADuring COVID I was kind of surprised that we had a surplus. How does that happen when everyone is home? Well, a lot was happening. People were still selling stocks. There were still IPOS. And people were home, so they didn’t leave the state. They were still buying things. We saw huge spikes in personal income tax as well as sales taxes. Now that things are slowing down, which is what the federal government wants by raising rates and slowing the economy down, it is slowing down and that’s why we have this deficit. Right now, it is an estimated deficit of about 22.5 billion dollars. Things could still improve this fiscal year. I’m hoping that once the feds stop raising rates that people will get back out there and start spending again, and that’s when we will see a change in the revenues of the state.

QIf you could go to a ranch anywhere in the state where would you want to go?

AInvite me to any county. I’m open to seeing and experiencing all sorts of new experiences.

Have further questions for California State Treasurer Fiona Ma? E-mail them to her at AskFiona@treasurer.ca.gov.