Assembly Standing Committee on Revenue and Taxation

All right. Good afternoon and welcome to this hearing of the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Tax. Before we take up our agenda today, I again remind everyone in the audience and members of the public that the Committee is not accepting remote testimony. As always, we're accepting written testimony through the position letter portal on the Committee's website. Please make sure to submit letters at least one week prior to the Committee hearing. It looks like we have a quorum. Ms. Highland, please call the roll.

Irwin? Here. Wallis? Here. Bains? Here. Grayson? Pacheco? Here. Jim Patterson? Petrie-Norris? Luz Rivas? Ta? Valencia? Zbur? Here. Zbur, here. We have a quorum.

All right. We have a quorum. Now we have two housekeeping announcements. File Item One: ACA 11 has been--by Assembly Member Ting--has been pulled from today's hearing by the author. Also File Item Three: SB 890 by the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance has been pulled from today's hearing by the Committee. So we are now waiting for Senator Niello on our only item, which is File Item Two: SB 264.

And he's here.

Oh my gosh. This is going to be the fastest meeting ever if you don't--all right.

As soon as I heard my name, I just materialized.

Welcome, Senator.

Thank you very much. First of all, it's nice to be back here again. I haven't been in this room for 12 years. Brings back nice old memories. So thank you also for your consideration of SB 264 which extends the existing sunset date for disaster loss deduction from January 2024 to January 2029. The disaster loss deduction provides for automatic and immediate disaster loss relief for any disaster occurring in any city or county in California that is proclaimed by the governor to be in a state of emergency.

From 1990 until 2015, the Legislature had to enact a disaster loss relief legislation for every individual significant disaster that occurred in California through piecemeal legislation until Senator Wilk authored the existing process today, which will end, obviously, at the end of this year.

I, like I'm sure many of you, had major flooding in my district this past winter season. When the state of emergency was declared, Governor Newsom highlighted this tax relief as, quote, 'support for Californians who have been impacted by ongoing storms that battered the state.' I want you to know that I accept the amendment that's been proposed, and I have with me Peter Ansel with the California Farm Bureau to testify on behalf of the bill.

Good afternoon, Chair and Members. My name is Peter Ansel from the California Farm Bureau. Farm Bureau is a membership-led organization of over 28,000 farmers from almost every county in the state on over 21,000 California farms, and the majority of California Farm Bureau members operate a farm that's about 400 acres. It's about the average small size farm in the state, so our membership is very reflective of the type of farm that predominantly operates in the state.

And these small farms are paramount to California leading the nation and offering a diverse abundance of different commodities: fruits, nuts, and vegetables. California's farmers and ranchers are at the front line of disaster impact from climate-borne events ranging from flood due to atmospheric rivers to wildfires fueled by treacherous forest conditions. Our members experience significant business costs as well. Everything from increased fuel cost, fertilizer costs--insurance costs is no surprise--water, and more, putting significant pressures on farm operating measures and cash flows.

And when wildfire and flood events happens to farmers, it's property, crops, and other losses that stack up quickly. As you can see in the Tulare Basin flooding, it can change communities and landscapes quickly and drastically, and in that basin, farmers have lost more than just irrigated lands that have been taken out of production.

They've had stranded property assets across hundreds of farms and forced on farmers unexpected costs, things like having to move hundreds or even thousands of heads of cattle in moments of notice to dry, higher ground. Many of these disaster-related economic losses are not reimbursed by things like crop insurance, and so accessing disaster loss tax relief becomes vital to a farmer's ability to mitigate those losses and be able to restore some semblance of balance to their balance sheets.

SB 264 will help to ensure that that existing process of tax relief to farmers doesn't sunset at a time that's critical to California's farmers, and we support the bill because it will not only help out our farmers and farm workers, but the entire communities that have been impacted by these disasters. And for that, we ask for your aye vote.

Very good. Do we have any witnesses in the room wishing to speak in support? Any witnesses in opposition? Questions or comments from the Committee? Senator, would you like to close?

I ask for your aye vote.

All right. Do we have a motion and a second? All right. Moved by Assembly Member Wallis; seconded by Assembly Member Bains, and can I please have the secretary do the roll call?

The motion is 'do pass as amended to Appropriations.' Irwin? Aye. Irwin, aye. Wallis? Aye. Wallis, aye. Bains? Aye. Bains, aye. Grayson? Aye. Grayson, aye. Pacheco? Aye. Pacheco, aye. Jim Patterson? Aye. Jim Patterson, aye. Petrie-Norris? Luz Rivas? Ta? Valencia? Zbur? Aye. Zbur, aye. That bill passes. Seven/zero.

All right, and--I'm sorry? Oh. That bill is out; seven/zero.

Thank you very much.

All right. Thank you, Senator, and why don't we hold the--since we went so quickly, we'll hold the roll open for ten minutes. And thank you, Members, for being so prompt.

Mr. Ta, would you like to add on?

Yes. So what is--yeah, I'd like to add on.

SB 264 has passed. Ta? Yes. Ta, aye. Ta, aye.

Can we have the secretary please call the roll for Ms. Rivas?

On SB 264, the bill has passed, 'do pass as amended to Appropriations.' Luz Rivas? Aye. Luz Rivas, aye.

Ms. Petrie-Norris.

On SB 264, the bill has passed as amended to Appropriations. Petrie-Norris? Aye. Petrie Norris, aye.

Assembly Member Valencia. Assembly Member Valencia.

On SB 264, the bill has passed, 'do pass as amended to Appropriations.' Valencia? Aye. Valencia, aye.

Thank you.

See how efficient we were today? With that, we will adjourn this meeting.

All right. Are you walking back?

Yeah, I will.