Highlights of CalCAN’s Advocacy on Farmland Conservation

2018 — Approved by voters in June 2018, Proposition 68 is a state parks and natural resources bond that includes $20 million in funding for the California Farmland Conservancy Program to permanently protect farmlands at risk of development.

2017 – Introduced by Senator Stern and and supported by CalCAN, SB 732, is signed into law. It incentivizes local governments to do a better job of identifying and prioritizing their farmlands for conservation and identifying land suitable for urban in-fill development.

2015Senator Wolk introduces SB 367, co-sponsored by CalCAN. Among other things, the bill calls for increasing the insufficient SALCP allocation to 2% of total cap-and-trade investments. The bill wins almost unanimous bipartisan support in the Senate and the Assembly, and many supporters, but fails to advance.  

2014 — Assemblymember Eggman introduces  AB 1961, co-sponsored by CalCAN, AFT and CAFF,  which requires local governments to establish and create public inventories of remaining agricultural lands and a plan to retain them. The bill moved out of the first two policy committees but continued strong opposition from the building industry blocked it in the Assembly appropriations committee.

2013Assemblymember Eggman introduces AB 823, co-sponsored by CalCAN, AFT and CAFF, requires local governments to adopted a minimum standard of 2:1 farmland mitigation when a project results in the conversion of farmland to non-agricultural uses. The bill met with significant opposition from the building industry and stalled in the Assembly Agriculture Committee.

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