Bill Text – AB-125 Equitable Economic Recovery, Healthy Food Access, Climate Resilient Farms, and Worker Protection Bond Act of 2022.

CHAPTER
 1. General Provisions

80700.

 This division shall be known, and may be cited, as the Equitable Economic Recovery, Healthy Food Access, Climate Resilient Farms, and Worker Protection Bond Act of 2022.

80701.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) A secure, resilient, sustainable, and equitable food and farming system is essential for the economic and social well-being of the people of California. The COVID-19 public health pandemic has laid bare the vulnerabilities of this system, which is also increasingly threatened by climate change. The scale of these challenges requires a comprehensive approach to achieve sustainability and resiliency, including investments in infrastructure, farms, farmworkers, distribution systems, and food access.

(b) Climate change increases the risk of extreme weather events, biodiversity
losses, catastrophic wildfires, and sea level rise, and presents a significant threat to the health, safety, and prosperity of the people of California.

(c) The COVID-19 public health pandemic placed additional strains on California’s essential workers, California’s food and farming services, and the food insecure in California, revealing the vulnerabilities of our food and farming system.

(d) California’s low-income communities of color bear the disproportionate burden of both climate change and pandemic-related impacts.

(e) Since the beginning of the COVID-19 public health pandemic, the number of food-insecure Californians increased by 2,100,000 people, to a total of 6,400,000 food-insecure people in the state.

(f) Food insecurity among schoolaged children has worsened in the state since the closing of schools at the beginning of the COVID-19 public health pandemic.

(g) Farmworkers, a primarily Latino and immigrant workforce, who often live in overcrowded housing, are particularly vulnerable to contracting and dying from the COVID-19 virus and are among the first to bear the impacts of extreme weather events and climate change.

(h) Latino children in California are 91 percent more likely than white children to attend schools with significant pesticide exposure.

(i) Low-income communities of color have less access to healthy foods than higher income communities,
and consequently face disproportionately higher rates of diet-related disease.

(j) Farmers who relied on restaurant and institutional supply chains experienced a 50-percent loss in markets at the beginning of the COVID-19 public health pandemic and continue to experience volatile markets as restaurants and other food businesses close.

(k) Among those hardest impacted by the COVID-19 public health pandemic and the climate change crisis are small-scale farmers of color, who are made more vulnerable due to generations of discriminatory lending and market practices and ongoing barriers that prevent them from accessing land, culturally relevant technical support, and recovery initiatives.

(l) Food system
essential workers were often required to return to work without the certainty of safety measures to protect their personal health and the well-being of their family members.

(m) Strategic investments in California’s workforce, natural and built infrastructure, climate resilient farms and ranches, regional food infrastructure, food security, tribal nations, and historically underserved communities will help rebuild California’s economy, while increasing the state’s overall resilience against future catastrophes, including climate change.

(n) Sustainable agricultural production, including certified organic production and climate-smart agriculture practices, increases the climate resilience of California’s agriculture sector, while providing cobenefits for the economy, public health, and the environment.

(o) During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption, a record number of farmers applied to the state’s climate smart agriculture programs, showing a growing interest for state investments in climate friendly farming practices and indigenous traditional land management practices.

(p) Investing in farmworkers and food supply-chain workers will help California meet the needs of a 21st century workforce while supporting the well-being of, and safe working conditions for, California’s essential workers.

(q) Building decentralized local and regional food system infrastructure, from production to consumption, will combat hunger, create jobs, and increase long-term resilience in communities throughout the state.

(r) Rebuilding regional food infrastructure investments in key areas, including community and school commercial kitchens, fishing infrastructure, local meat processing facilities, and food hubs for improved distribution, will increase healthy food access for Californians, especially for children, seniors, and other vulnerable populations.

(s) Discriminatory practices left many farmers of color unable to access technical and financial resources. An equitable economic recovery requires direct distribution of funding to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and historically underserved communities of color through tribal governments and entities led by people of color.

(t) Empowering indigenous communities
and tribal producers through investments that acknowledge and support their unique traditions and cultural practices will build strong indigenous-driven food systems that benefit all Californians.

(u) The investment of public funds pursuant to this division will result in public, environmental, social, and economic benefits and address inequities in our food and farming systems.

(v) Consumer interest in sustainably-grown organic produce has surpassed in-state supplies in recent years, with demand for organic produce at unprecedented levels during the COVID-19 pandemic as people’s health concerns rose.

80702.

 For purposes of this division, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Committee” means the Equitable Economic Recovery, Healthy Food Access, Climate Resilient Farms, and Worker Protection Finance Committee created pursuant to Section 80802.

(b) “Cultural burn” means understory burning consistent with those practices used by indigenous peoples to promote ecosystem health, including by increasing water runoff into streams, creating habitats for plants and animals, recycling nutrients, enhancing cultural food, fiber, and medicinal resources, or preventing wildfires.

(b)

(c) “Disadvantaged community” means any of the following:

(1) A community located in a census tract in which the median household income of less than 80 percent of the area median income as determined by the Department of Housing and Community Development.

(2) A municipality with a population of 20,000 persons or less, a rural county, or a reasonably isolated and divisible segment of a larger municipality where the segment of the population is 20,000 persons or less, with an annual median household income that is less than 85 percent of the statewide median household income.

(3) A community located in a census tract in which the household income of at least 20 percent of the population is at or below the federal poverty level based on family size.

(c)

(d) “Food hub” means a centrally located facility with a business management structure facilitating the aggregation, storage, processing, and distribution of locally or regionally produced food products.

(d)

(e) “Fund” means the Equitable Economic Recovery, Healthy Food Access, Climate Resilient Farms, and Worker Protection Fund created pursuant to Section 80703.

(e)

(f) “Heat-island effect” means the effect of increased temperatures in urbanized areas caused by structures, such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructure, that absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes such as farms, forests, and water bodies.

(f)

(g) “Local educational agency” means a charter school, school district, or county office of education.

(g)

(h) “Nonprofit organization” means a nonprofit corporation qualified to do business in California and qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(i) “Prescribed burn” means a planned fire that is used as a land
management tool to manage land and prevent wildfires and includes a set of conditions that considers the safety of the public and fire staff, weather, and probability of meeting the burn objectives.

(j) “Priority population” means any of the following:

(1) A community identified as a disadvantaged community pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) A low-income household, as defined in Section 39713 of the Health and Safety Code.

(3) A low-income community, as defined in Section 39713 of the Health and Safety Code.

(h)

(k) “Producer” means a person, partnership, corporation, or otherwise legally formed farm or ranch that produces agricultural products through agricultural arts on land that the entity owns, rents, leases, sharecrops, or otherwise controls and has the documented legal right to possess. An entity that rents, leases, or otherwise acquires the right to possess property only during the harvest season for the agricultural products produced on that property is not a “producer.”

(i)

(l) “Resilience” means the ability of an entity or system, including an individual, community, or natural system, and its component parts to absorb, accommodate, or recover from the effects of a hazardous event in a timely and efficient manner, including through ensuring the preservation, restoration, or improvement of its essential basic structures and functions. In the case of natural and working lands, resilience includes the preservation, restoration, and enhancement of the lands’ ability to sequester carbon.

(j)

(m) “School food authorities” has the same meaning as defined in
Section 49563 of the Education Code.

(k)

(n) “Small- and medium-sized farms” means farms and ranches of 500 acres or less.

(l)

(o) “Socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher” has the same meaning as defined in Section 512 of the Food and Agricultural Code.

(m)

(p) “State-designated fair” means a state-designated fair as defined in Sections 19418, 19418.1, 19418.2, and 19418.3 of the Business and Professions Code.

(n)

(q) “State General Obligation Bond Law” means the State General Obligation Bond Law (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 16720) of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code), as it may be amended from time to time.

(o)

(r) “Technical assistance” means outreach, education, project planning assistance, project design assistance, grant application assistance, project implementation assistance, and project reporting assistance provided to project applicants.

(p)

(s) “Tribal government” means the government of a tribe, tribal agency, or subdivision thereof.

(q)

(t) “Tribal organization” means any of the following:

(1) A tribal government.

(2) A legally established organization of natives that is controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by a tribal government, is democratically elected by the adult members of the tribal community to be served by the legally established organization, and maximizes participation of natives in all phases of its activities.

(3) A nonprofit organization chartered under tribal government law or state law that is primarily led by and serves tribal communities.

(r)

(u) “Tribal producer” means either of the following:

(1) A member of a tribe who is involved in agricultural production or traditional tending, gathering, hunting, or fishing.

(2) A cultural practitioner who manages land traditionally for food, fiber, ceremonial, or other culture-based purposes.

(s)

(v) “Tribe” means a federally recognized Native
American tribe or a nonfederally recognized Native American tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community listed on the California tribal consultation list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission.

(t)

(w) “Vulnerable population” means a subgroup of a population within a region or community that faces a disproportionately heightened risk of, or increased sensitivity to, impacts of climate change and that lacks adequate resources to cope with, adapt to, or recover from those impacts.

80703.

 The proceeds of bonds, excluding those issued in accordance with Section 80809, issued and sold pursuant to this division shall be deposited in the Equitable Economic Recovery, Healthy Food Access, Climate Resilient Farms, and Worker Protection Fund, which is hereby created in the State Treasury. All moneys in the fund, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, are hereby continuously appropriated without respect to fiscal years for the purposes of this division.

80704.

 Up to 5 percent of the moneys made available to each agency pursuant to this division may be used for administrative costs.

80705.

 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), not more than 10 percent of the moneys made available to an administering agency pursuant to each section of this division may be expended for planning and monitoring necessary for the design, selection, and implementation of projects to be funded by those moneys. This section does not restrict the expenditure of moneys ordinarily used by a state agency for “preliminary plans,” “working drawings,” and “construction,” as defined in the annual Budget Act for a capital outlay project or grant project.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a state agency administering moneys made available pursuant to a section of this division
may use more than 10 percent of those moneys for planning and monitoring necessary for the design, selection, and implementation of projects pursuant to that section if the state agency determines that the additional moneys are needed for projects that benefit disadvantaged communities, vulnerable populations, or socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers.

(c) A state agency may allocate moneys pursuant to this division to a federal agency if the state agency determines the allocation is the most efficient way to implement this division on federally managed lands.

(d) At least 40 percent of the moneys made available to each agency pursuant to this division shall be allocated to projects that provide direct and meaningful benefits to socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers,
disadvantaged communities, and vulnerable populations, except if the agency allocating those moneys reasonably determines that it cannot allocate the full amount of those moneys consistent with both this subdivision’s requirement and the other applicable requirements of this division, the agency may, notwithstanding this subdivision’s requirement, allocate those moneys consistent with the other applicable requirements of this division in a manner that furthers the fundamental purposes of this subdivision to the greatest extent feasible.

(e) All services, technical assistance, outreach, and support described in this division shall be provided in culturally competent ways that best serve the target population and are fully and equally accessible to those of limited English proficiency.

80706.

 (a) In the allocation and administration of funding authorized pursuant to this division, priority shall be given to projects that leverage private, federal, and local funding or produce the greatest public benefit.

(b) To the extent practicable, when allocating moneys pursuant to this division, an agency shall prioritize projects that do any of the following, with greatest prioritization for projects that offer multiple health, economic, social, and environmental benefits:

(1) Support the needs expressed by, and leverage the expertise of, community-based organizations and coalitions, and the constituencies
they represent.

(2) Invest in holistic community development efforts, especially in disadvantaged communities, that simultaneously promote public health, environmental stewardship, climate resiliency, social services, and job creation.

(3) Build the infrastructure needed to support and bolster socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers, especially producers of color and small- and mid-sized farmers and ranchers.

(4) Expand and retrofit infrastructure to meet California’s climate goals and the regional needs of California’s communities.

(5) Emphasize partnerships between community-based and other nonprofit organizations, tribal governments, research institutions,
and local governments to support economic development and climate resilience.

(6) Support the formation and continued success of cooperatively owned and operated food and agriculture businesses in historically underserved communities.

(7) Address the needs of historically underserved communities, including the needs of socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers, disadvantaged communities, and food system workers.

(8) Support the health, safety, and financial security of the food and agriculture workforce.

(9) Accelerate the transition away from synthetic pesticides and fertilizers that degrade soil, air, and water quality and disproportionately harm
farmworker communities and communities adjacent to farmland.

(10) Eliminate food insecurity and increase access to healthy food for all Californians.

(11) Acknowledge and protect indigenous knowledge and expertise to build more just, equitable, and resilient tribally led food and farming systems.

(12) Eliminate inequities in land ownership and access, protect farmland, facilitate land tenure, and support farm viability and transition.

(c) A project funded pursuant to this division shall include signage informing the public that the project received funding from the Equitable Economic Recovery, Healthy Food Access, Climate Resilient Farms, and Worker
Protection Bond Act of 2022.

80707.

 Moneys allocated pursuant to this division shall not be used to fulfill any environmental mitigation requirements imposed by law.

80708.

 For moneys allocated for a project that serves a disadvantaged community, vulnerable population, or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher, the administering agency may provide advanced payments in the amount of 50 percent of the allocation to the recipient to initiate the project in a timely manner, and may maintain advance payments in increments of 25 percent of the allocation, as needed, throughout the project’s implementation. The administering agency shall adopt additional requirements for additional advance payments to ensure that the moneys are used properly and the project is completed.

80709.

 (a) Except as specified in subdivision (b), up to 10 percent of the moneys available to an administering agency pursuant to each chapter of this division may be allocated for technical assistance and capacity building. Each administering state agency shall operate a multidisciplinary technical assistance program for this purpose.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), an administering agency may exceed the 10-percent limitation if it determines the additional funding is needed to provide technical assistance and capacity building for disadvantaged communities, vulnerable populations, or socially disadvantaged farmers and
ranchers.

80710.

 Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code does not apply to the development and adoption of guidelines, requirements, or selection criteria pursuant to this division.