Assembly Standing Committee on Agriculture

Good afternoon, everyone. So, before we begin to ensure that Members of the media and the public have access to our proceedings today, this hearing will be streamed on the Assembly's website, and Members of the public can provide testimony in person. We are here in room 126. So, in the absence of a quorum, we will begin as a Subcommitee. And so that's what we'll get started. Just want to go over some logistics and protocols.

So, first, just want to let you guys know today we do have 11 bills on our agenda that are being considered by our Committee today. Two bills are on consent file, which includes AB 1861 by Addus and AB 2143 by Conley. For all of those who will be providing comments today, I want to make sure that, you know, we ask that you please state your name and the organization you represent.

And if you support or oppose the Bill being considered, any Member of the public may also submit wren comments to our Committee through emails may be sent to the address found on the Committee website, which is agri Committee.ca.Gov. So I just want to welcome everyone to our first agricultural Committee hearing. I'm super excited to continue as the Chairwoman of this Committee. We have an exciting year ahead, several months of the second legislative year.

And I just wanted to share before we get started, I know we don't have any. zero, well, we do have one Committee author, but I wanted to share a fun fact about AG. So, first, I want to say happy garlic month. I don't know if you guys didn't know, but April is officially garlic month. And also wanted to let you guys know that California produces over 90% of commercial garlic grown in the US.

And a fun fact about my district because I'm sure you guys are thinking, zero yeah, Gilroy is the capital of garlic, right? Many. That's what's commonly known. Well, Fresno county, which I proudly represent, is actually the garlic capital of the US. So just wanted to make the record be clear. But anyways, I wanted to get started with that fun fact. But we do have our Assembly. Well, our majority leader here who has a Bill to present.

So, Miss Aguiar Curry, would you want to get us started? So where am I at? What number is it? 26. So now we have Assemblywoman Aguirre Curry presenting AB 2606, California Garlic Commission.

Good afternoon, miss chair and Members. Today, California's agricultural industry is experiencing market instability. The increasing impacts of climate change and persistent droughts have reduced water availability throughout California, placing significantly more pressure on the state's agricultural sector and agriculture dependent regions. Agave is a promising alternative to traditional crops because it requires 10% or less of the water needed by many crops while producing new, high value products like California grown agave spirits.

This Bill will help our farmers to be more competitive in domestic and international markets by creating the first agave Commission in the State of California. This Commission will be made up of growers, producers and Members of the public and will be responsible for supporting the sustainable production, processing and marketing of California grown agave spirits. With me today, I have Craig Reynolds, the President of the California Agave Council. Welcome.

Thank you. Madam Chair and Members, I am Craig Reynolds. The California Agave Council is a coalition of agave growers, distillers and retailers who have come together to support this emerging crop in California. Establishing this Commission is a critical step in our rapidly growing industry. With increasing water restrictions, California farmers are finding agaves to be a profitable, climate resilient, drought tolerant, Low water use crop. An attractive alternative to fouling productive agricultural lands as well as lands not already cultivated.

In addition, due to the long history of agave grown in Mexico for distilled spirits, many of our mexican American farm owners and workers bring with them the experience and expertise that provides new business and job opportunities in our disadvantaged farming communities. The California Agave Commission, which will be entirely funded by the industry, will help us develop the best practices, support research and marketing in other initiatives to support our industry. We're grateful to Assembly Member Aguiar Curry for being our champion on this.

And to your Committee staff for an excellent analysis. Thank you.

Thank you, Mister Reynolds. Before we proceed with any additional Members and support, I did want to go ahead and establish our quorum because we do have a quorum present. Madam Secretary, if you could please call the roll.

[Roll call].

Great. So we have a quorum. We can proceed if you have any other witness in support. No. So do we have at this moment, any witness in opposition? So at this time, we will open it up for public comment. Are there any Members of the audience that would like to register their support or opposition for this Bill? No. Yes or no? Okay. Seeing none, I wanted to open it up to our Members. Do you guys have any questions or comments? Motion.

So we have a motion and a motion by Mister Villapurua and a second by Joan Sawyer. Madam Secretary, if you could please call the roll and. zero, I forgot to ask you to close. See, there we go. So we do have a motion in a second, Madam Secretary, if we can please call up the roll on AB 2606.

[Roll call].

Okay, we have five votes. We will hold it open so that other members can please add on. Thank you, Assemblywoman Aguiar-Curry. Okay. At this time, I want to be able to take the consent calendar since we already established a quorum. So we have a motion by Assemblywoman Aguiar-Curry. Do we have a second? Second by Assemblymember Villapudua. Madam Secretary, if you could please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

The consent calendar is passed, but we will keep it open to allow our members who are not present to add on before the end of the hearing. Do we have any other members here to present? No. Oh, is he? Oh, okay. Yeah. Oh, yeah, he is. Okay. We do. Assemblymember Bennett, you're the only one here. So if you're ready and if you have your, you know, your witnesses and support, please go ahead and start. You have, you will be presenting. Which bill is it?

The bill is AB 2313, the Farmer Equity Act of 2017, Regional Farmer Equipment and Cooperative Resources Assistance Pilot Program. Welcome, and you may begin.

The witnesses are here. They're just that kind of people. And sure enough, here they are. Right. All right, great. Thank you, Madam Chair and members. AB 2313 will create a regional heavy equipment tool-sharing program, and there are a number of expenses out there for people in the agricultural world, but particularly small farmers, and being able to.

Similar to how books are checked out of a library. Bringing down that overhead is an easy way to improve farm profitability and increase the farm climate resilience. And with me today is Anna Larson from California Climate and Agriculture, CalCAN, and Jamie Fanous, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. And I really appreciate them being here today and take it away.

Thanks so much. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Anna Larson with CalCAN, the California Climate and Agriculture Network. And we're a coalition of eight sustainable and organic farming organizations that advocate for policies to support farm climate resilience. And so, more than ever, farmers need support to have viable and resilient operations and to help meet agricultural sustainability and climate goals.

And so farm equipment is typically the highest capital expense for farmers after land and investments in specialized equipment, especially equipment for healthy soils practices, and to have viable and resilient food economies are often out of reach and may only be used infrequently. And so we know that this equipment-sharing model works. There are resource conservation districts, UC cooperative extension offices, and farmers that are already working on creating these programs.

But there is deep need and demand for more capacity and support to be able to help more farmers access this equipment. And so this bill would help those organizations be able to meet that demand and help realize the potential of agriculture to address climate change and support regional food economies. So, thank you, and I ask for your support on AB 2313.

Hello. Good afternoon, Chair and members. Jamie Fanous with the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, or CAFF. We represent around 8000 small and mid-scale farmers across the State of California. As of recent statistics, we are losing 1500 small farms a year. The challenges facing small farms are extreme, from climate change to rapid consolidation. Not only that, but small farms operate on razor-thin margins. $5,000, $20,000 equipment, that's not nothing to them. Finding ways to reduce those costs are incredibly important. Not only that, but a lot of these farmers are telling me every single day we are trying to find ways to work more collectively.

Whether that is sharing tools, whether that is sharing land, whether that is sharing housing. They are finding every single way to cut costs and work together in order to survive. Not only does this program offer an opportunity to alleviate that cost when it comes to equipment, but also address opportunities to expand technical assistance for cooperative development.

In the State of California, we have two people in this entire state that have the expertise to offer technical assistance for cooperative development or really just support farmers think through what that looks like. This program would expand that opportunity and expand those resources. So with that, this is a no-brainer, in my opinion, and respectfully ask for your support.

Thank you for that testimony. Are there any witnesses in opposition? Seeing none, I will now open it up to the public for comment. If you want to approach the mic, if you can state your name and your organization and whether you support or oppose the bill.

Good afternoon. Rebecca Marcus, representing American Farmland Trust, the Carbon Cycle Institute, and my colleagues at California Against Waste, in support. Thank you.

Michael Jarred, on behalf of NextGen California, in support. Thank you.

Excuse me. Beth Smoker, with the California Food and Farming Network, in support. Thank you.

Hi, Addison Peterson with CCOF, the California Certified Organic Farmers. We're in support.

Good afternoon. Karen Lange, on behalf of Stop Waste, in support.

Great. Anyone else? If not, to the members, questions or comments that you may have. Mr. Villapudua.

I want to thank the author for bringing this forward. I think we're going to probably be hearing more and more of these great ideas. I mean, myself, my district is full of ag, and I know all the struggles that a lot of our farmers go through, but especially all of the new farmers that you're hearing, the younger generation of folks and even folks that have not, they're not coming from the generational farmers. These are just new folks that just want to gone to school.

And now they're trying to figure out means of how to get in this field. They have the education, but the funding is just sometimes it's very expensive, that it distracts them from getting involved. And it's great to hear. I mean, not great to hear, but the fact that we're hearing that 1500 said 1500 farmers are not getting in this field. I mean, it's for California. You know, that's kind of a, we don't just feed California or this state, we feed the world. And, you know, I worry about the next generation. So this is something that I'm glad the author's bringing this forward. So love to be added as a co-author, too.

Assemblywoman Curry.

Thank you, Assemblymember Bennett, for bringing this forward. This should be a no-brainer. Jamie, I'm with you, but let's just face it. It reduces some of the financial burden of our farmers. It increases on-farm safety, reduces emissions. I mean, some of the machinery we use on our small farms are old and they have a lot of emissions.

And to be able to work with a group of people to get better equipment in there is just, I think, phenomenal incentivizing conservation practices and providing necessary resources for producers. I love this bill. I would like to be added as a co-author. These small family farms and I'm a small family farm. I only have 80 acres. But to go and buy a piece of equipment, even rakes and shovels and things that you don't think cost very much, they add up in no time at all. And it really is a hindrance to these young people that want to get in the farming industry and to participate. So I appreciate the comments that you both made today and thank you very much, Mr. Bennett, for bringing it forward.

Any other member? Great. Well, I also just want to thank Assemblymember Bennett for bringing this bill forward. I did have the opportunity to visit several small farms, and I want to thank CAFF for making some of those tours possible.

And I had, you know, just firsthand conversations with these small farmers that are operating on very thin margins. And I think that this type of program will go a long way, especially for those small farmers that are barely holding on for the reasons that obviously Assemblywoman Aguiar-Curry mentioned. I think that this bill is going to be very important for the future of these small farmers in our community.

I represent a very large ag district, and so I know that there's a lot of small farmers in my community that could benefit if this program is created. So proud to support it today, and also proud if you would add me as a co-author for this bill. And if you'd like to close, Mr. Bennett.

Just very briefly, really appreciate the three of you offering to be co-authors. Really delighted to have you on board. Appreciate that a lot. Secondly, Jamie mentioned that farmers are trying to share everything. They even share a great lobbyist and other organizations and stuff. So, and I really do mean that we've worked with these people. Now, this is a second year and we have the hurdle of just trying to get the governor to sign the bill this year. Hopefully, the bill's going to move promptly and stuff. So with that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Great. Is there a motion? So motion by Aguiar-Curry, second by Assemblymember Connolly. Okay, make sure we note that. So the motion on the bill is do pass to Appropriations Committee. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

So we do have eight votes. The bill is out. We will add. Are there any other members? No. Oh, all the members are here. Thank you for being here. So your bill is out onto appropriations. Thank you, Mr. Bennett, for being here.

Next, I see Assemblywoman Addis, if you would like to come to the table and are your witnesses in support here that can join you? So we will be proceeding with file item number one, which is AB 1833 by Assemblywoman Addis on mushrooms. You may proceed.

Thank you so much. Well, thank you, chair. I want to thank your staff, my staff, and the advocates that are here with us today.

This is probably one of the bills I'm most proud of, proud of, and really comes out of my district. So I'm here to present the California Grown Mushroom Act, AB 1833. And according to the US Department of Agriculture, California is the second largest mushroom producing state, with annual sales totaling $255 million. So California truly is feeding the world. The demand for mushrooms has increased recently, with the global mushroom market projected to grow from 15.25 million tons in 2021 to 24.05 million tons in 2028.

But there is a bit of a problem in that there's a barrier preventing California mushroom farmers from capitalizing on the strong market demand, which is misrepresentation in the marketplace. So due to the unique nature of mushrooms, they can be grown on movable planters, or what we call logs. And as a result, there's instances where much of the growing process is outsourced overseas, less food regulation in terms of healthy foods.

And this leads to our local mushroom farmers being mixed with non state or outsourced mushrooms, because as long as the mushrooms are harvested here, they can be labeled as a product of the United States. And so consumers don't always know the quality of mushroom that they're getting. AB 1833 will establish a California grown designation for mushrooms where the entire growing process takes place in California.

And not only will this help local farmers by making them more visible in the grocery store, it also helped consumers make informed choices for their health, as well as the health of the local economy. And with me to testify are Erin Raser from Far West Fungi, and Addison Peterson from the California Certified Organic Farmers.

Hi. Thank you, Chairwoman Soria and Vice Chairman Alanis and Members of the Committee. My name is Addison Peterson. I'm the senior policy manager for the California Certified Organic Farmers, or better known as CCOF. CCOF is a farmer led nonprofit organization that represents over 3000 organic farms, ranches, and businesses throughout California. California mushroom farmers want the opportunity to distinguish themselves in the marketplace from non California grown mushrooms.

Mushrooms are unique because they can be grown in portable bags, wood logs, and plastic containers, which means they can be grown almost anywhere. This has confused consumers about what mushrooms are grown in California and which are not. This has also been frustrating for California mushroom growers as they watch mushrooms inoculated in foreign countries make their way to California when the reality is that they were only harvested here and grown in transportation to the United States.

This Bill clarifies that mushrooms labeled grown in California or made in California will be grown here from inoculation to harvest. We respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. You may proceed.

Thank you, Chairwoman Soria and Vice Chair Alanis and all Members of the Committee. My name is Erin Raser. I work for Far West Fungi, and Far West Fungi has been a family owned business since 1982. We are a premier provider of organic exotic mushrooms. Our family is committed to sustainability, quality, and providing a reasonable price to our customers. Far West Fungi has retail stores in San Francisco and Santa Cruz as well as farms in Monterey and Santa Clara County.

We sell our mushrooms through certified farmers' markets as well as major grocers like Whole Foods, Safeway, Molly Stone's, Berkeley Bowl, and Good Eggs. Exotic mushroom cultivation is a growing field as more people are becoming interested in their health and the vast nutritional and medicinal benefits of medicinal and exotic mushrooms. The number of exotic mushroom farms throughout California and throughout the United States are also growing.

One challenge to the domestic cultivation of mushrooms is the import of foreign substrates that fruit mushrooms, which are considered product of USA although the mushrooms spend the majority of their life cycle, generally two to three months, overseas, spending only seven to 10 days in the US before being harvested. The high cost of California, labor, land, raw material, and natural resources with no competitive marketing edge puts California mushroom farmers at financial risk from the low costs of imported substrates and consequently mushrooms.

There is no transparency or way to differentiate between mushrooms that are grown on cheap foreign substrates and ones that are grown using the labor, natural resources, and farmer intellect from California or the USA. Now more than ever, consumers want to know where their food is coming from. By voting aye for this Bill, you are supporting Californian farmers by giving them a competitive edge over imports and Californian consumers by giving them the option to choose California while fostering trust and transparency in our food system.

We have seen farms in other states forced to make a difficult decision, either close their doors or compromise their morals by buying cheap imports to be able to stay in business. Our family is now in its third generation with my own young children spending their days on our mushroom farm learning the process of mushroom cultivation, and we are here today because we don't want to be forced to make that decision. We respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you so much for that testimony. Now we will go out to see if there's any opposition. See no one out there. We will open it up for a public comment. Those that are in the audience, you may come up. Please state your name and your organization and whether you support or oppose the Bill.

Marcus, representing the Center for Food Safety in support.

Melissa Lovato, on behalf of the County of Santa Clara, in support.

Michael Jarred, on behalf of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers in support.

Great, thank you. Any Members of the Committee that have any questions or comments?

You know I'm going to have a lot of comments in agriculture. Thank you for bringing the Bill forward. Number one is that farmers always have so many regulations, and people look for California branding and quality products all through the State of California. And when they don't know where it comes from, it leads a little bit of suspicion.

I appreciate how hard it is as a farmer to get these things through. So I just want to say this is a really good Bill. I think that we should be proud in California what we do for agriculture. And this is just one of the many things, as I've done some of these bills, too, but they're really important because it does change the industry to look at us differently. So again, I am supportive of your Bill and I'd like to be a co author.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else? Any other Member? Seeing none. I just want to thank Assemblywoman Addis for bringing this Bill forward. It is amazing to see how many mushrooms are being grown in your district and you leading on this issue. I do believe in California grown, and it is important that we support our own here in our state so that agriculture can continue to thrive, just as you mentioned, third generation, which is amazing to now that you're being able to teach your kids. So just happy to support this Bill today. Assemblywoman, if you have any closing remarks.

Well, I want to just say thank you, Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry. We looked at your work and it was seminal in what we were doing here. And so thank you for laying a foundation for that and hope that you will all come to the Central Coast to taste some of the fungi there. We have some great mushrooms across our state, but I'll just say maybe the best are on the Central Coast. And with that, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Do we have a motion? So, we do have a motion on this Bill by Vice Chair Alanis and second by Assemblywoman Sanchez. The motion of the Bill is do pass to appropriations. Madam Secretary, if you could please call the roll.

On AB 1833, Addis, motion do pass to appropriations. [Roll call]

This Bill garnered 10 votes, so it moves on to appropriations. Thank you. So we will continue in file order. Vice Chair, if you are ready to present your Bill, you may go next. Vice Chair, are you also presenting Mathis' Bill? So you're presenting this now? No, we can go ahead with yours and then you can proceed.

So we'll proceed with File Item 7, AB 2436 by Assemblymember Alanis: Cattle and Inspection Fees. You may proceed.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and colleagues. AB 2436 aims to ensure the Bureau of Livestock Identification can perform vital livestock inspection services while remaining revenue neutral by adjusting statutory fees to coincide with costs. The CDFA's Bureau of Livestock Identification is financed entirely by the brand registration fees and inspection fees paid by the cattleman producers. Recently, inflation pressures, the transition to electric vehicle fleets to help with the state's climate goals, and other economic pressures have increased the Bureau's operating expenses in recent years.

This legislation, AB 2436, will support the Bureau in continuing to safeguard cattle producers against theft and misappropriation of livestock. I respectfully request your aye vote. And I have invited Kirk Wilbur from the California Cattlemen's Association to speak more on AB 2436 and to answer any questions, and thank you for your time.

You may proceed.

All right. There we are. Good afternoon, Chair Members. My name is Kirk Wilbur. I'm the Vice President of Government Affairs at the California Cattlemen's Association, the sponsors of AB 2436, a Bill which would adjust the statutory cattle inspection fees payable to CFA's Bureau of Livestock Identification. There are roughly 60 hardworking brand inspectors at the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Bureau of Livestock identification. They serve a crucial role for California's cattle owners and producers.

Through routine livestock inspections, they prevent loss of cattle through theft, misappropriation, or straying. In instances where losses do occur, they will assist in the investigation of those losses, return cattle to their rightful owners, and where there has been theft or misappropriation, they will assist in the prosecution of those crimes. To execute that mission, as the author noted, the Bureau is funded exclusively by fees paid by cattle producers, that is, beef producers and dairy farmers.

In recent years, those costs have increased not just due to inflationary pressures, but also because of well-earned raises at the Department of, sorry, at the Bureau for their brand inspectors, as well as due to a shift toward electric vehicles for the state's laudable climate goals. Of course, as those costs increase, so too must the fees paid into the Bureau so that it can remain revenue neutral. I want to make two things abundantly clear about this Bill.

First of all, it does not increase fees for cattle inspections in practical terms. What this Bill does is codify fees that have been in place since January 1 at the Bureau of Livestock Identification, as set forth by the Secretary of Food and Ag, based on a recommendation from the Bureau's Livestock Advisory Committee, which is filled with producers from the cattle industry that is under related authority in the Food and Ag Code. The practical effect of this Bill is really to be forward looking.

If these cost pressures should persist or if they should increase further on down the road, we want the Bureau to have the flexibility to remain revenue neutral in the future. And crucially, if those costs should actually come down in the future, there was relative authority in the Food and Ag Code that allows the secretary to further reduce those fees in future years. That actually was invoked in 2021 to reduce those fees paid into the Bureau of Livestock Identification.

The second point I want to make abundantly clear is that this Bill is uniformly supported by the folks that would be regulated by it. Of course, the California Cattlemen's Association is the sponsor of the Bill, and you do have a support letter on file from other cattle producer and dairy farmer associations. So with that, I would respectfully request your aye vote on this Bill.

Great. Thank you. Thank you for that testimony. We will go, is there anyone in opposition? Seeing none. Do we have members of the audience that would like to register their support or opposition for the Bill? Please come forward. State your name and your support or opposition.

Chair and Members, Steven Fenaroli with the California Farm Bureau in support.

Madam Chair Members, Jason Bryant, on behalf of Western United Dairies, we're in support.

Great. Thank you for that. Do any Members of the Committee have any questions or comments? So, we have a motion by Assemblymember Villapudua, second by Assemblywoman Sanchez. Just want to thank obviously the author for bringing this forward. And I do want to thank Mr. Wilbur for your clarification. I think that that was important. So we do have a motion and a second. The motion on the Bill is do pass to Appropriations. Mr. Alanis, do you have any closing remarks?

Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Great. So, Madam Secretary, if you could please call the roll.

On AB 2436, Alanis, motion do pass to Appropriations. [Roll Call].

The Bill comes out with the vote of 9-0. So the Assembly Bill 2436 is out of Committee. Thank you so much. So do you want to move to? Okay, great. So we move on to File Item 4, AB 2745, which is Assemblymember Mathis's Bill, presented by Vice Chair Alanis, on Agricultural Pests, Public Nuisance and Civil Penalty. You may.

Okay, I'm back. Pleased to present AB 2745 on behalf of Assemblymember Mathis. The invasive pests and disease disrupt ecosystems by endangering native plants, altering soil chemistry, and affecting water systems, which pose a grave threat to agriculture. To highlight the severity of the problem, the Center for Invasive Species Research at UC Riverside found that California suffers an agricultural loss exceeding $3 billion annually due to exotic pests.

AB 2745 will give agriculture commissioners a necessary enforcement tool to combat negligent properties harboring invasive pests and hold property owners accountable for threats to agriculture and the California ecosystem. The author would like to recognize the concerns from Community Alliances with the Family Farmers and assure that the committee is doing their diligent efforts to address those concerns. AB 2745 is a common-sense bill empowering county agricultural commissioners to protect California's agriculture and ecosystem. I respectfully ask for your aye vote. And beside me is Karen Lang on behalf of the County of Fresno, who is here to share more about AB 2745 and can answer any questions from the committee.

Thank you, Madam Chair and members. Karen Lange, on behalf of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. To put a fine point on the value of this bill to them, their most recent experience on the west side of Fresno County, a pension fund purchased about 7000 acres and planted a vineyard and some almond trees and then abandoned them. And the abatement cost to the county was about $20 million that they would then abate the property and they file a lien against it and eventually, hopefully, can recover the costs.

And that in itself is really challenging for the county. But on top of it, the pests that invaded that property due to the negligence invaded adjacent farms. And as you can imagine, that's affecting other farmers and other property owners. When these properties become negligent and it affects the food supply system and also causes economic harm in the county. And for those reasons, the county is in strong support today and urges your aye vote. Thank you so much.

Thank you for that. Now, is there anyone in opposition that will come to the table? Thank you. If you can, please state your name and the organization you're representing.

Jamie Fanous, on behalf of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, as named. We must respectfully oppose this bill because the civil penalties authorized in this bill are too broad and could jeopardize the financial sovereignty of small farms. While we appreciate the intention and we support the overall challenges and understand them, and we, of course, we've talked to the author's office recently and hopefully we can come to some amendments, but we believe that the way the language is currently written could be way too broad, is currently too broad and could expand to things like cover crops or hedgerows or environments that, yes, there are pests in those spaces, but that's how ecosystems work and that's how sustainable pest management works.

And so for a farm that might be 10 acres, the penalties that are in this bill currently could bankrupt them. So we're a little bit concerned around those issues. We're hopeful that we can come to some amendments, but had to make our statement in this space. So thanks.

Thank you. Now we will open it up to the public. For those that want to present additional support or opposition, please state your name and who you're representing and your position.

Madam Chair, members of the committee, Louis Brown, here today on behalf of the California Apple Commission and California Blueberry Association, in support.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and Members. Erin Norwood, on behalf of the Almond Alliance in strong support, thank you.

Seeing no one else, any Members that have questions or comments? Assemblywoman Aguiar-Curry.

I'm sure the author will continue to work with CAFF.

I'm sure he will as well.

Okay.

I'll make sure.

All right. Make sure.

I'm a co author, so.

Seeing no other questions or comments. I also just wanted to make sure, for the record, I know that Mister Mathis isn't here. I know that there's been some initial conversations. My goal is that there's some work to be done over the next several weeks as the Bill moves along, I would like to find some resolution so that if there's any unintended consequences for small farmers, that we don't go in that space. Just if we can remind Assemblymember Mathis that we need him to make sure that we work to address any of those concerns. But with that, Mister Alanis, if you have any closing remarks.

There we go. I want to thank you for those comments from everyone. I'm pretty sure he will be as well. He obviously cares for small farmers as well. To put it in perspective, sometimes, for those who don't have acres and acres, think of the neighbor next door to you that has the dandelions that are just going out of control and now are in your yard, and now it became your problem.

That's the way I look at it sometimes, and I've seen that working with some ag crimes and stuff like that. I talking with ranchers and farmers as well. I know they always have their certain person on their block or whatever that may not take care of, that they now have to take care of. So with that, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. We do have a motion by Assemblymember Villapudua, second by Assemblywoman Aguiar-Curry. The motion on the Bill is do pass two Appropriations. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

On AB 2745 Mathis. Motion, do pass to Appropriations. [Roll Call].

The bill has nine votes, and it moves on to Appropriations. Thank you. So I do see Assemblywoman Reyes is here. So, Assemblywoman, if you are ready, we will move on to file item five, which is AB 2827. Welcome to the Ag Committee. She will be presenting AB 2827 invasive species prevention. If you're ready, go ahead and proceed.

Thank you, Madam Chair and committee members, for this opportunity to present AB 2827, which protects our agricultural economy.

AB 2827 will require the state to detect and eradicate invasive species that could harm California agriculture. California is currently experiencing one of its highest levels of exotic fruit fly infestations in its recorded history. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, these invasive species can result in billions of dollars in losses every year if they become permanently established here in California. In 2023, there were over 900 fruit fly detections in 15 counties.

In comparison, an average year would see 75 fruit fly detections in seven counties. Hundreds of crops are threatened by invasive fruit flies, including citrus fruits, nuts, vegetables, berries. It is critical that we bring attention to the impacts invasive species have on our shared environment and ensure we are implementing long-term strategies to protect our local economy. We must protect the food sources of millions of for millions of Americans. AB 2827 seeks to prioritize mitigation efforts against the serious threat of invasive pest species.

In San Bernardino County alone, approximately 260 sqaured miles with 2000 acres of production agriculture have been quarantined for the oriental fruit fly. There was a proclamation of an emergency program ordered at an area-wide fruit removal of all host fruit from properties within half a mile of the current fruit fly site. This threatens residential and commercial properties and could be potentially billions of dollars in annual loss across California.

Here to testify in support of the bill are Jacob Villagomez, Director of State Affairs for California Citrus Mutual, and Lindsey Carter, Executive Director of the California Agriculture Commissioners and Sealers Association.

Perfect. Oh, there we go. Thank you, Madam Chair and committee members, for allowing us to participate today. And to the Majority Leader Emerita for bringing up this timely bill as it coincides with the chatter we're having about SPM, sustainable pest management, pesticide management, and then also fruit flies as we find ourselves with the situation today, and really a thankful - we're thankful for all of your leadership with the early budget action. We saw that the 22 million for the fruit fly mitigation.

So we are deeply appreciative of those efforts and to the governor's office as well. But the current total of fruit fly quarantines, I think there's about seven, some of which we have never seen detected in North America before and spent for the mileage with agriculture, homeowners, houses, and various communities, is about 12408 sq. mi. That's like roughly the size of Rhode Island.

So it's a very big area that is within quarantines, and the ones that I mentioned more specifically are the Mediterranean, the Tao, the Oriental, and Queensland. All are within about 66 counties, and so currently, over 230 commodities, including citrus, are implicated within these quarantine boundaries. And while we have confidence in their containment, if not contained, California could lose its fruit fly free trade designation with various export markets that are viable for various California products that we all grow here.

And more specifically in San Bernardino, Riverside and Ventura, where two of seven fruit flies are found. So if you're a grower within a half mile of that find, you're not allowed to move that fruit off-site or off your property. So you have two options: you destroy it, or you juice it. And while the juicing might seem like a good option for somebody asking in California grower who predominantly provides fresh citrus to the market, to juice is quite, quite a loss for them.

And while there's crop insurance available, there is not for this particular component because you can still market the juice, so the marketability does not allow you to tap into crop insurance. But putting that aside, the homeowners as well, within those fines are to strip the fruit, which is what the member just mentioned as well. And those are the reasons why we're here today: because the losses from homeowners and growers in the communities have the potential to impact, you know, CalFresh recipients, farmworkers, and growers alike.

And so, again, that's why we're here today in the bill we hope would place California in a better position with respect to the exclusion of harmful insects and to place us all in a better position to achieve a goal in the future towards mitigations. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chair and members, and thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today on this important topic. My name is Lindsey Carter, and I'm the Executive Director of the California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association, representing our 55 county agricultural commissioners and their work protecting the agricultural production throughout California. Invasive species and pest prevention is a cornerstone program and priority for all of our commissioners and their staff.

Their efforts in pest detection and prevention are vital to preserving the health and integrity of our ability to produce food and fiber in California. Detection programs such as our statewide seasonal trapping efforts and in our high-traffic areas such as Los Angeles County, where we have full-time trapping programs, along with our 14 canine detection teams, all collectively work to prevent the introduction of invasive species into California. In February, 1 of our canine teams detected infected kumquat trees destined for an orchard in Fresno County.

These trees were positive for Huanglongbing, or HLB, and through that detection, not only were we able to properly treat those infected trees, but the intended orchards were also inspected for any additional trees that may have been delivered. This detection prevented the introduction of HLB into Fresno county. These detection and prevention efforts are done in conjunction with both our state partners at CDFA, as well as our support of our federal partners at USDA and CBP.

Just last month, CDFA border station inspection staff detected an egg mass of spotted lanternfly on a metal art piece destined for Sonoma County. The detection of this highly invasive and dangerous species led to the proper treatment and quarantine of that material and prevented this pest from being introduced into California. These are just a few of the efforts being conducted daily to combat invasive species from entering California.

AB 2827 would make efforts like these the primary goal of California and would further enhance our ability to prioritize these prevention efforts. Pest and invasive species prevention is a keystone action in the sustainable pest management roadmap that was introduced by DPR last year, and if we are going to achieve the goals set forth in that roadmap, prevention needs to be at the forefront of these efforts.

If the goal in California is to reduce the use of materials to manage pests, then preventing their introduction is the first step to achieving that. Invasive species prevention will not only protect our agricultural lands, but also our working landscapes, native habitat, and open space throughout our state. We support this effort and encourage you to prioritize invasive species prevention as the first line of defense in protecting agriculture and our environment for all of California.

Thank you for your testimony. Is there anyone in opposition? Seeing none, we'll go ahead and open it to the public. Anyone that wants to show support or opposition to this bill, if you could please state your name and your organization, and your position. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members. Tricia Geringer with Agricultural Council of California, representing over 50,000 farmers throughout the state. Appreciate the author and sponsors and very much support this bill. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chair and members. Brenda Bass with the California Chamber of Commerce and support.

Good afternoon. Erin Norwood, on behalf of the Almond Alliance, currently dealing with the Carfathols beetle. So very appreciative of all of your efforts and urge your support. Thank you.

Good afternoon. I'm Michael Miller, California Association of Wine Grape Growers. We're going to co-sponsor the legislation. Thank the author for the leadership, and we ask for your aye vote.

Good afternoon, Chair and members. Matthew Allen with Western Growers, pleased to support the bill today. Thank you.

Sharon Gonzalez on behalf of the City of Rancho Cucamonga in support.

Kirk Wilbur with the California Cattlemen's Association. Also in support.

Steven Fenaroli with the California Farm Bureau and support.

Paul Poister with Nutrien Ag Solutions and support.

Taylor Roschen with the California Apple Commission, Avocado Commission, Blueberry Commission, Walnut Commission, the California Blueberry Association, the California Cotton Growers and Ginners Association, California Fresh Fruit Association, Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, and Western Agricultural Processors in support. Thank you.

Mary Creasy, on behalf of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in support.

Dennis Albiani. I'll be on behalf of the California Association of Wheat Growers, California Seed Association, and several other ag associations in support.

Thank you for that. Do any members of the committee have questions or comments? Assemblymember Connolly, we'll start with you and then Assemblywoman Aguiar-Curry.

Yeah, I just really wanted to thank the author and sponsors for the work on this, and I would be happy to be listed as a co-author.

Thank you. So some of you aren't as old as I am, but I remember to stay distinctly; I think it was in 1989, the medfly, and it stopped production, and it was a big kerfuffle in our agricultural products getting moved from point a to point b over county lines, and they were trying to figure out how to eradicate it, and they ended up - I'm looking this up - the state opted to try voluntary introduction of millions of radiation sterilized medflies to interrupt the reproductive cycle and control the population. So this has been going a long time, but this is a really, really important bill, and I really want to encourage my colleagues to vote for this bill. Thank you very much. I'll be a co-author if I'm not already.

Thank you to the author. I would be missed if I would not comment on this after the bill I just presented earlier as well, and also ask if I can be co-author. Thank you.

Vice Chair Alanis.

Anyone else? Seeing nothing else, Assemblywoman, I also just want to thank you for presenting this bill. Obviously, it is a critical issue, not just, you know, in your area, but I think throughout the State of California. I know I've heard it consistently from some of my local farmers in terms of the issues, you know, just last year with the cotton growers and the pest invasiveness that we saw last year. And so thank you for this bill.

We do have a lot of work to do to do on prevention, especially with the sustainable pest management plan as was presented. This is a topic that interests me, and we will continue to have conversations because I think that in order to ensure that our agriculture economy continues to thrive, we have to be very serious at the front end to combat these pests. Thank you again. And do we have a motion in a second?

We do have a motion by Assemblymember Connolly and a second by Assemblywoman Aguiar-Curry. Assemblywoman Reyes, if you would like to close?

Thank you. First, Assemblymember, Majority Leader, Assemblymember, I'd love to add you on as co-authors. Absolutely. Our chair. That's a great sign. I thank you all. I do want to thank our witnesses here today that gave testimony. They are the experts. I can see in my community that this is something that is devastating our community, and I know it's not just my community.

There are communities throughout California, and Madam Chair, you are absolutely correct. We need to do more. And this is one step in making sure that we do more, and we have to protect our agriculture, our crops, and make sure that those who are growing them are protected. So with that, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Great. So we do have a motion in a second. The motion on the bill is do pass to Environmental Safety and Toxic Committee. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

On AB 2827 Reyes, motion is do pass to Environmental Safety and Toxic Material Committee. [Roll Call]

Great. This bill is out to ESTM with ten votes. Thank you so much. Assemblymember Connolly, you are next. So we'll move on to file item nine, AB 2734 by Assemblymember Connolly, related to Agricultural Canela, the Canela Environmental Farming Act of 1995, and Assemblymember Conley; please proceed when you're ready.

Thank you, Chair and Members, good afternoon. AB 2734 proposes several amendments to the Healthy Soils program to ensure all farmers can access it, promoting climate-smart practices across California. Specifically, the bill directly CDFA to offer grants for on-farm demonstration projects lasting up to five years. It requires consultation with the California Organics Products Advisory Committee to address barriers to organic or that organic producers face when applying to the Healthy Soils program, and direct CDFA to provide advance payment rates of up to 50%.

Additionally, the bill allows CDFA to consider regional variations in input costs when determining incentive rates, amends the CDFA climate-smart agriculture technical assistance grants program to include equipment as an allowable cost for technical assistance grants, and crucially, implements a common application process for all climate-smart agriculture grant programs by January 1, 2027. This bill has no opposition on file. I will now pass it to my witnesses.

Addison Peterson, senior policy manager representing the California Certified Organic Farmers, which is the bill's sponsor, and Steven Cardoza, farmer with Dwayne Cardoza Ranches.

Hi everyone. Thank you, Chairwoman Soria, Vice Chairman Alanis and members of the Committee. I am Addison Peterson, senior policy manager for the California Certified Organic Farmers, better known as CCOF. CCOF is a farmer-led nonprofit organization representing over 3000 organic farms, ranches and businesses throughout California.

AB 2734 seeks to update the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Healthy Soils program based on farmer input. Farmers have applied to the Healthy Soils program for nearly a decade to implement climate-smart conservation practices on their farms. The Healthy Soils program is critical because it is essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We are appreciative of CDFA's leadership spearheading the Healthy soils program and making continuous improvements. It is what we need to combat climate change.

Healthy soils help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by sequestering carbon dioxide from the air in the soil and retaining more water in the soil, which helps to reduce flooding. We're asking for program changes to enhance the participation at small scale inorganic farmers. So this Bill will direct CDFA to offer grants for on farm demonstration projects lasting up to five years. Direct CDFA to provide advanced payment rates of up to 50% for incentive payments.

Required consultation with the California Organic Products Advisory Committee, better known as COPAC, and the Environmental Farming Act Science Advisory Panel, better known as EFASAP, to address barriers organic producers faced when applying to healthy soils programs. Allow the CDFA to consider regional variation in input costs when determining incentive rates. Implement a common application process for all climate smart agricultural grant programs by January 1, 2027. And lastly, amend the bill.

Amend the CDFA Climate Smart Agricultural Technical Assistance grant program to include equipment sharing as an allowable cost for technical assistance grants. CDFA has estimated that the Healthy soils program has contributed to removing over 350,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. We look forward to increasing the participation of this program to remove more carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. We respectfully ask for your aye vote thank you.

Thank you all for having me. Chairwoman Soria and Vice Chair Alanis, really appreciate it. My name is Steven Cardoza. I'm an organic raisin grape farmer from eastern California. We farm just under 400 acres and I've been using regenerative practices since 2018. I'm here today to support AB 2734 improvements to the Healthy Soils program. These changes will impact my business in my bottom line, in very positive ways as a farm with a healthy soils incentive grant and also participated in a demonstration project. We like CDFA to establish an advanced payment rate of up to 50% for incentive payments.

Farmers in my community have taken out loans to be able to participate in the program because the upfront costs can be so astronomical. Farmers shouldn't have to go into debt to participate in this program, and a 50% advance would potentially alleviate this problem. I also know that a common application for the climate smart agricultural program will save farmers time and money.

Farmers don't have grant writers on staff, and taking time away from your fields can be detrimental to the field for an application process you may not even receive. Finally, I support the requirement to consult with COPAC, the California Organic Products Advisory Committee. Organic farmers have unique challenges when it comes to the Healthy Soils Program. Organic farmers cannot fully utilize the healthy soils program because climate smart practices are already required for organic certification. Many of the, the grant allows only for new practices.

This means that many organic farmers are ineligible because these practices are not new. COPAC, which represents organic farmers, could challenge like this one with CDFA and support creating creative solutions. So I respectfully ask for your support on this bill.

Thank you for that. I know you mentioned there's no opposition registered on the bill, but just making sure if there's anyone here for opposition. Great, so we'll open it up to the public. If there's anyone in the public that would like to speak in support or opposition, please state your name and your position. Thank you.

Thank you. Beth Smoker with the California Food and Farming Network in support.

Hi, Anna Larson with the California Climate and Agriculture Network in support.

Rebecca Marcus, representing the Center for Food Safety and my colleagues at the Californians Against Waste, in support.

On AB 2734 Connolly, a motion do pass to appropriations. Soria? Soria, aye. Alanis? Alanis, aye? Aguiar-Curry? Aguiar-Curry, aye? Connolly? Connolly, aye? Irwin? Irwin, aye. Jones-Sawyer? Jones-Saywer, aye.

Great, thank you for that. Do we have any members of the Committee with questions or comments? Seeing none. Is there a motion? Motion by Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry, second by Assemblymember Wood. I just, you know, before you close, assemblymember, I did want to thank you for bringing this bill forward.

I like a number of the principles that you guys are modifying, like the 50% payment, which I know is a big barrier in, especially for the smaller farmers that maybe don't have the upfront capital to start those projects and so very supportive of the bill. But if you'd like to close.

Yeah, I really appreciate that. And respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Great. So we do have a motion and a second. The motion is do pass to Appropriations Committee. Madam Secretary, if you could call the roll.

[Roll Call].

Great. The Bill is out with 10 votes. Congratulations. Now we'll go to file item 10. AB 2090 by Assemblywoman Irwin. Whenever you're ready. So we have a motion and a second, but Assemblywoman Irwin, whenever you're ready, you can please present.

We'll keep it short. This is about increasing access to healthy food for our constituents, which has been a goal for the state each and every year. And an important aspect of increasing food access is the need for accessible transportation systems. In spirit of bettering our state's efforts to eliminate food deserts, AB 2090 would authorize the Office of Farm to Fork to work with the transportation agencies to promote food access within California's food deserts and underserved communities. And with me to testify in support of the Bill is Louie Brown, representing the California Grocers Association.

Madam Chair, Members of the Committee, Louis Brown here today in support of the Bill on behalf of the California Grocers Association and ask for an aye vote.

Great. Is there any opposition? Seeing none we will open it up to the public for any additional public comment. If you can, state your name, your organization, and your position.

Hi. Good afternoon. Erin Norwood on behalf of the Almond Alliance. Want to thank the author and the sponsor for bringing this Bill forward. Almonds are a very healthy food, and our transportation experts look forward to working with the author to help these get into the food deserts where they're needed. Thanks.

Good afternoon. Savannah Jorgensen with the Lutheran Office of Public Policy, California, in support.

Dennis Albiani, on behalf of the California Pear Growers and a few other ag associations, we support.

Great. So, do we have any comments or questions from the Members of the Committee? Seeing none, we already have a motion and a second. The motion on the Bill is do pass to Appropriations Committee. But before we go on to a vote, just want to give you an opportunity to close.

Thank you very much. I am pleased to present AB 2635, which is narrowly tailored to support our agritourism industry. And this was brought to me by a family farmer that all of us bring our kids to. We have strawberry picking during the spring and pumpkin picking during the fall, and they have a great farmers' market also. California is home to hundreds of agritourism operators. It's estimated that over 2.4 million people participate in California's agritourism each year, including farm tours and u-pick activities.

We ask for your aye vote.

Madam Clerk, if you could call the roll.

On AB 2090 Irwin, motion do pass to Appropriations. [Roll Call].

[Roll call]

That Bill moves out to appropriations with 10 votes. Congratulations. Now we will move on to our last Bill for the day. And that's file item 11, AB 2635 by Assemblywoman Irwin related to California Agritourism Liability Act and agritourism civil liability. You may present when you're ready.

Farmers and ranchers often operate agritourism business on their land in order to earn extra income to stabilize the farm during season fluctuations and peer of market volatility. Unlike other small businesses, these operations have risks that are uncommon for brick and mortar stores, but a fact of life on a farm. As such, these businesses need to alert farmers of the hazards they would not normally encounter.

AB 2635 would require agritourism operators to post signs warning participants of inherent risks of agritourism activities and then limits liability in certain instances. This Bill does not remove or limit civil liability and agritourism professional or operator, if they are grossly negligent in their operation, have willful or wanton disregard for the safety of participants, or have knowledge of dangerous conditions on the land and fail to warn a participants.

And I will also say there are at least 25 states that have some form of limited liability for these agritourism businesses. Thank you. And I would like to introduce Jamie Fanous, who is here on behalf of the Community Alliance with Family Farms, as well as Dani Kroll from the Polestar Farms.

Hi, I'm Dani. I am with Polestar Farm. We are a very small family owned and operated organic orchard. It's just four of us. My in-laws own it. They are retired.

My fiance and I are helping run it and hoping to take it as the next generation. And then on and then on. Because we're so small and we only do fruit, our income comes about once a year. Recently I have started organizing farm dinners, concerts, tours, fruit picking, all these other things that can help bring us an income when we're not out actively harvesting our fruit.

From the owners themselves, my in-laws, they just wanted to also say that the most important thing is that we continue to bring families and community to experience where their food is grown and experience the farm as a whole, coming out and enjoying the serenity that is organic farming. Is that it? Great.

Jamie Fanous with CAFF. You've heard from me. You know who we are. As I mentioned earlier, we are losing farms very quickly. Finding ways to increase new revenue streams is essential.

And we have found during the COVID pandemic and many other ways that we're seeing the squeeze of small scale farmers. Agritourism is a way to increase revenue on these farms. Unfortunately, many of the farmers that we work with are facing threats to their success. Liability insurance costs in particular. We've heard this year alone that several farmers have seen their insurance costs double, which means that they might not be able to bring community members onto their farms.

Not only that, but dealing with lawsuits could mean bankruptcy in ways that these small farms cannot handle. So it is a critical opportunity to actually increase revenue for small family farms and encourage your aye vote. Thank you.

Great. Thank you for that testimony. Is there anyone in opposition? If you can come to the table, state your name.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and Members. My name is Jackie Serna and I'm here on behalf of the Consumer Attorneys of California.

Unfortunately, we have an opposed position on this Bill. AB 2635 would immunize a broad range of businesses that target and are aimed at families and children. These include apple hills, pumpkin patches, u-pick farms, petting zoos, and carnivals. We are particularly concerned that these businesses often charge an entry fee, in the case of pumpkin patches, often have field trips in these facilities.

I myself supervised a trip last fall for my kindergartener out in West Sacramento at a pumpkin patch, and it was packed full of seven year olds. CAOC does not believe that a business whose negligence kills or harms consumers should be relieved of liability for its negligent conduct. Further, the definition for inherent risk of agritourism activity is incredibly broad in this Bill. This language covers anything that these businesses might do on their lands.

Train rides, tractor rides, petting zoos, unmarked dangers in water, fishing, swimming, you name it. Immunity laws such as this one discourage businesses from taking steps to make sure that their businesses are safe for public visitors. We could be helping these businesses in other ways, for example, providing a tax credit for liability for their insurance premiums. Unfortunately, this approach will do more harm than good and lead to less safe conditions for Californian families, and it removes incentives to address safety issues promptly.

We look forward to continuing to work with the author's office to address these concerns. Thank you.

Thank you. Now, do we have any members of the audience that would like to register their supporter opposition for the Bill?

Thank you, Chair. Steven Fenaroli from the California Farm Bureau and support, and just want to thank the author for a really good district Bill.

Jacob Villagomez with the California Citrus Mutual in support.

Bob Guterres on behalf of Dell’Osso Farms in support. Thank you.

Great. Do we have any questions or comments from our Committee Members? Assemblywoman Aguiar-Curry and then Assemblymember Connolly.

You know, you're very thoughtful when you do your bills, so I'm going to be supporting your Bill today. I know people have still some issues, and I know you're going to continue to work with them. I feel like we sometimes handcuff our farmers and trying to be creative and think outside the box.

I understand the liability piece, but I also think we can come to something that would work for all of you. So thank you.

Yeah. I also appreciate the author's work. We have agritourism in my district, to say the least. That having been said, I am going to, as previously discussed, abstain today simply because I'm also on the Judiciary Committee. I do believe there are at least issues around the liability question that we have to work through. So I think that's gonna be the more appropriate form, at least for me, to have that dialogue, so to speak. So that's where I'm at right now.

Thank you. Vice Chair Alanis.

I wanna thank the author for this Bill. Also in my district as well, we have agritourism going as well. I wanted to bring up we have the almond blossom cruise that comes by like, four times, four weeks of the year or so. That brings in a lot of tourism and allows our farmers also to enjoy and share what they do for the community. Also lets them see maybe honey being made or the bees, those kind of things as well.

We have a farmer that basically made a play area for people to go. My grandkids have gone to that, so I think it's great that they're also doing that. Allowing our kids to get out there and see that, have our families do that. I don't really have a problem with the opposition. I just see maybe attorneys not being able to sue people and make money is what I see out of them. So thank you, and I'll be supporting this.

Any other questions or comments?

And vote to get it out today? I agree that a lot of these issues need to be worked out in judiciary, and so I will be letting you out now. But before it gets to the floor, if it makes to the floor, I'm going to hold it here, see what happens there in judiciary before you get my final vote.

Thank you.

I just want to thank the author for leadership and if I can be added as a co author. Thank you.

Anyone else? Seeing no other Members wanting to comment. I did want to also thank Assemblywoman Irwin for this Bill. In my district, also, this is very common. Agrotourism is big, especially for those small mom and pop type of farmers. I know that makes a big difference in them staying able to continue to be in agriculture in our community.

Totally understand that there is concerns in terms of the liability, but I do have confidence that you guys will be able to address maybe even a part of that as the Bill moves forward. But I do believe that the intent of the Bill is a good one and that we can continue to see this Bill forward. And so today, I will be supporting it and look forward to seeing this come to the floor later. So if you have any closing remarks, Assemblywoman Irwin.

I just really appreciate the conversation. And as Assemblymember Connolly mentioned, we still are going to be going through judiciary, and we'll continue to work with the consumer attorneys.

Great. Thank you. So we do have a motion and a second. The motion is for it to move to Judiciary Committee. So with that, Madam Secretary, if you could please call the roll.

Eight on AB 2635, Irwin. Motion do pass to Judiciary Committee. [Roll call]

So we do have eight votes. The Bill will move on to Judiciary. And congratulations again. Thank you. And I think that concludes, right? Oh, add ons. Okay, thank you, everyone, for being here. And I appreciate us going diligently through all the bills.

[Roll Call]

Thank you. Great. Thank you. I think that is it. I want to thank all the Committee Members for being here. And we got out pretty quick. So thank you. And the. The hearing is adjourned.