Card Check Passes the Legislature
As expected, SB 789 (Steinberg) was passed the Assembly by a vote of 46 Ayes-28 No’s on Thursday and is now on its way to the Governor’s desk. The bill establishes an alternative union election procedure under the Agricultural Labor Relations Act. Instead of holding secret ballot election, agricultural employees may select their labor representatives by submitting a petition to the board accompanied by representation cards signed by a majority of the bargaining unit. After two previous vetoes, the Governor will now have a third opportunity to exercise his veto authority. The Ag Council has joined a large coalition of agricultural organizations on a veto request letter to Governor Schwarzenegger. The basis of industry opposition centers on the fact the SB 789 undermines the process that now guarantees, through secret-ballot elections, a fair vote
and the expression of agricultural employees’ true sentiments on the selection of a collective bargaining representative. In addition to the coalition letter, a grassroots letter writing campaign will quickly be organized. We’ll provide the details as soon as possible.
California Agricultural Coalition Leads Charge in Estate Tax Reform for Farmers & Ranchers Twenty-eight agricultural organizations have signed on in support of Congressman Thompson’s HR 3524, the Family Farm Preservation Act. This bill would exclude farm assets from the federal estate tax, so long as the land remains in agricultural production. We have joined forces with leading environmental organizations to further this cause. A major grassroots effort will commence shortly after Labor Day, when Congress comes back into session. It is expected that estate tax reform will be included as part of a tax package that will pass through Congress this fall. Ag Council is heavily engaged in this endeavor.
Waste Water Dischargers
The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) has petitioned the State Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to review current procedures incorporated by the Central Regional Water Quality Control Board (Board) in preparing and adopting waste discharge requirements. At issue is a document titled Management Guidance for Salinity in Waste Discharge Requirement (Memo). According to the CSPA, the Memo provides guidance to the Board when establishing waste discharge requirements and issuing permits, conditional waivers and enforcement orders. Thus the Memo “has the affect of generally authorizing degradation and ultimately pollution of state and federal waters for salinity based pollutants.” The CSPA believes such actions should be based upon the more restrictive requirements in set forth in law. The Memo has been followed in the permitting process for industrial
facilities, which include food and dairy processing operations. Therefore, the CSPA is asserting the Memo constitutes an illegal underground regulation. The OAL ensures that agency regulations are clear, necessary, legally valid, and available to the public. One of its duties is to accept petitions challenging alleged underground regulations--those rules issued by state agencies which meet the definition of a regulation, but were not adopted pursuant to the process set forth in Administrative Procedure Act. At this point it’s unclear how OAL will address the matter, but clearly its decision could significantly affect the Board’s salt management and permitting procedures.
Agricultural Trade Policy
A national effort is underway urging the Obama Administration to quickly fill vacancies in key agricultural trade positions. There's growing concern about the United States’ ability to address ongoing bilateral trade issues, as well as being fully prepared for upcoming multilateral meetings. Thus, the agricultural trade community is trying to ignite a sense of urgency to the naming of a Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and a Special Assistant to the President for Agricultural Trade and Food Assistance. Since the confirmation process can be lengthy, time is of the essence, because U.S. agricultural trade policy remains largely undefined pending these appointments. Trade groups are seeking the appointment of individuals with a strong background in agricultural trade and the will to fight for the interests of American farmers and
ranchers. It is also important that these individuals not only understand the needs of U.S. agriculture, but also the intricacies involved in trade negotiations.
USDA Farm Income Projections On Thursday, the USDA updated its forecast on national farm income. Net farm income is forecast to be $54.0 billion in 2009, down $33.2 billion (38 percent) from the preliminary estimate of $87.2 billion for 2008. The 2009 forecast is $9 billion below the average of $63.2 billion in net farm income earned in the previous 10 years. Net cash income, at $68.2 billion, is forecast down $29.4 billion (30 percent) from 2008, and $3 billion below its 10-year average of $71.2 billion. Net cash income is projected to decline less than net farm income primarily because net cash income reflects the sale of $1.8 billion in carryover stocks from 2008. Net farm income reflects only the earnings from production that occurred in the current year.
|
