YOUR DUES DOLLARS AT WORK SETTING THE STAGE FOR THE 2023 LEGISLATIVE YEAR

by CCA Vice President of Government Affairs Kirk Wilbur

As of press time, California’s 2023-24 Legislative Session remained in its infancy. While hundred of bills will be introduced and the Governor’s Proposed 2023-34 Budget will have been released by the time you read this article, the information below is intended merely to set the stage for the next two years in California’s Capitol (stay tuned to CCA’s other publications for the most up-to-date legislative developments!).

The California State Legislature briefly convened on Dec. 5 for an organizational session during which members were sworn in and cast leadership votes. Some legislators also began filing bills at this time, with more than 150 bills filed prior to Jan. 3, when the legislature formally reconvened.

Reflecting a compromise struck in 2022 amidst a contentious battle for the Speakership within the Assembly Democratic Caucus, the Assembly on Dec. 5 reelected Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) as Speaker until June 30, 2023 and named Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) as “Speaker-designate” to be sworn in on that date. This compromise allows Speaker Rendon to oversee the lower house throughout its deliberations on the 2023-24 State Budget before handing the gavel off to Assemblyman Rivas, who has been tapped to continue on as Chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee until that time.

As expected, Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) was reelected as President pro Tempore of the State Senate. Under Proposition 28’s 12year term limits for state legislators, both Rendon and Atkins will term out in 2024.

Dec. 5 also marked the beginning of an “extraordinary session” of the Legislature convened via Gubernatorial Proclamation in large part to “Deter price gouging by oil companies by imposing a financial penalty on excessive margins.” While a handful of bills were introduced in the extraordinary session on Dec. 5 and 6, the Legislature did not hold hearings or otherwise act on the legislative proposals. Rather, the extraordinary session will run concurrently with the regular session, though it is not subject to the same legislative calendar as the regular session.

Even as the legislature convened on Dec. 5, the outcome of a small number of election races remained uncertain as of that date. Now that the dust has fully settled on the November 2022 General Election, the makeup of the Senate and Assembly have become clear, with both statehouses extending their Democratic supermajorities. Assembly Democrats gained two seats, now holding 62 seats to the Republicans’ 18, and the Senate added one more Democratic seat for a split of 32 and 8. CCA has a proven track record of working with both Republicans and Democrats ..CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

...CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 particularly moderate Democrats – and anticipates that our efforts will continue to pay dividends throughout the 2023-24 Legislative Session.

In all, 31 of California’s 120 legislators are newly-elected. While CCA staff and leadership met with many of these lawmakers during their candidacies, in the coming months CCA and the California Cattlemen’s Foundation will be working to build relationships with these newly minted legislators, introducing them to our industry, the environmental and economic benefits of cattle production and our priority legislative issues.

As of press time, legislators had only introduced 165 regular session bills, with thousands more likely to be filed before the February 17 bill introduction deadline. While there are few specifics to report at this time, CCA does expect significant environmental legislation to be introduced this year. Specifically, we expect a raft of bills related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, carbon sequestration and other climate legislation to implement policies outlined in the California Air Resources Board’s recently-adopted “2022 Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality” by 2045 or earlier – especially in light of a recent Legislative Analyst’s Office report finding that the Scoping Plan “lacks a clear strategy for meeting” the State’s GHG reduction goals. CCA also anticipates that legislation will be introduced impacting water rights and the enforcement authority of the State Water Resources Control Board in response to ongoing drought conditions.

As always, CCA staff is reviewing each piece of legislation introduced this year, and will track, monitor and lobby any bills impacting California’s beef producers. Stay tuned to CCA’s publications – in particular our weekly Legislative Bulletin e-newsletter – for upto-date information on CCA’s legislative priorities.

One early priority of the Legislature will be considering the 2023-24 State Budget. Governor Gavin Newsom submitted his Proposed Budget to the Legislature on Jan. 10.

In stark contrast to the surpluses of recent years, the Legislative Analyst’s Office has projected a $24 billion budget deficit for the 2023-24 Fiscal Year, setting up significant challenges for the budget cycle ahead. Nevertheless, in laying out the Assembly’s 2023 Budget Blueprint, Assembly Budget Chair Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) struck an optimistic tone, noting that the Legislature has built up significant budget reserves and highlighting “ten years of investments” into key sectors like natural resource protection.

While the State has certainly built up its reserves, CCA nevertheless expects that a cautious Administration and Legislature will by June 30 finalize a more austere budget than has been seen in recent years. While CCA will continue to advocate for state investments into drought resilience and wildfire prevention – including grazing and grazing infrastructure – the Association will be carefully tracking the Budget Bill and budget trailer bills to ensure that the State does not diminish recent investments into predator loss compensation, drought assistance and other programs of vital importance to the state’s ranchers.

CCA had an incredibly successful 2021-22 Legislative Session, with four sponsored bills being signed into law to strengthen ranchers’ wildfire resilience and minimize regulatory burdens on producers’ water rights and agricultural vehicle fleets. In 2022, nearly every CCA-supported bill was signed into law and every bill opposed by the Association either failed in the Legislature or was amended to remove our opposition.

CCA looks forward to building upon those successes in the 2023-24 Legislative Session; stay tuned to California Cattleman and our other publications for updates on our progress.