YOUR DUES DOLLARS AT WORK
SUN SETS ON 2020-2021 LEGISLATIVE SEASON
CCA SEES SIGNIFICANT SUCCESS IN FIRE-FIGHTING SESSION by Vice President of Government Affairs Kirk Wilbur The 2021 California Legislative Session gaveled to a close just before 9 p.m. on Friday, September 10. After the COVID-19-plagued 2020 Session, this year’s session proceeded in a much more conventional manner – though lobbying efforts were still largely conducted remotely – allowing legislators to focus on priority issues such as housing and COVID-19 recovery. In the wake of 2020’s catastrophic wildfires – and in the shadow of 2021’s ongoing wildfire season – the legislature also turned its focus to CCA’s single greatest priority: wildfire prevention and forest resilience. Thanks to that alignment in priorities and the significant efforts of CCA members, particularly CCA’s Fire Subcommittee, the 2020-21 session was an extremely successful year for the California Cattlemen’s Association. Most notably, AB 1103 (Dahle), which would establish a statewide framework for local “Livestock Pass” programs, and SB 332 (Dodd), which incentivizes prescribed fire application by minimizing practitioners’ financial liability, each sailed through both houses of the Legislature without taking a single “no” vote in policy committees, fiscal committees or on the floors of the Assembly and Senate. (A third CCA-Sponsored bill, AB 434 (R. Rivas), which sought to provide state land management agencies greater discretion to lease state lands for livestock grazing for firefuels suppression and other purposes, became a two-year bill and will be heard in 2022.) CCA’s successes also extended to the 2021-22 Budget, which appropriated more than $1 billion for wildfire prevention and forest resilience efforts, made significant investments in prescribed fire and other fuels treatments and established a $20 million Prescribed Fire Liability Pilot Program to support prescribed fire practitioners. Below are the bills that rose to the forefront of CCA’s advocacy efforts this year – though by no means every bill CCA engaged on this session (note, for instance, that a number of “two-year bills” which CCA engaged on this year, but which were eventually shelved until the 2022 session, are not discussed in this article). Governor Newsom has until October 10 to act on bills advanced to his desk. AB 9 (Wood) - Community wildfire preparedness and mitigation CCA-Supported ENROLLED & AWAITING GOVERNOR’S ACTION AB 9 would formally establishment within the Department of Conservation the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity (RFFC) Program. 8 California Cattleman October 2021
The RFFC Program would support local and regional efforts to develop and implement projects that create fire adapted communities and landscapes by improving forest health, community wildfire preparedness and fire resilience. AB 9 would also establish within the Office of the State Fire Marshal a Deputy Director of Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation. AB 332 (Committee on Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials) – Treated wood waste CCA-Supported SIGNED INTO LAW AB 332 re-authorizes the Department of Toxic Substance Control to institute “alternative management standards” for the disposal of treated wood waste, which includes discarded agricultural fence posts. Prior such provisions expired on Dec. 31, 2020, rendering treated wood waste “a fully regulated California-only hazardous waste” and creating disposal challenges for producers. AB 332 contained an urgency clause, and thus went into effect when the Governor signed the bill on August 31. AB 558 (Nazarian) – Plant-based school lunches No CCA Position HELD IN ASSEMBLY EDUCATION COMMITTEE AB 558, a follow-up to Assemblyman Nazarian’s failed AB 479 (2019), would have provided reimbursements to schools for including a “plant-based food option” or “plant-based milk option” in school lunches. While CCA did ...CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
