In the waning days of this year's legislative session, the Governor and Democrat Legislative leaders agreed to raise the minimum wage.  Under AB 10 (Alejo) the minimum wage will increase to $9 on July 1, 2014, and increase again to $10 on January 1, 2016.  The bill passed both Houses of the legislature late yesterday. 

In a press release announcing the agreement which was amended into AB 10, Speaker Perez stated, "The real winner here is the economy. A $10 hour minimum wage boosts earnings by $4,000 a year and will put $2.6 billion dollars back into the hands of workers this is money that will be spent at grocery stores, on school supplies and invested in education, and that ultimately strengthens the recovery and ensures California's job market continues growing faster than the rest of the nation."

More than 90 percent of minimum wage workers in California are over the age of 20, and 25 percent of California children - nearly 2.4 million - live in a household with one minimum wage-earning parent.

The last days of the legislative session continued the time-honored tradition of gutting and amending bills in attempt to pass overbearing environmental regulation bills.  Three such bills were killed on the floor for the year by a coalition of agriculture, business and manufacturing advocates. 

AB 716 (Lara) was amended with language that specifically targeted the agriculture and oil extraction industries on the issues of "Black Carbon and Methane."  The bills would have directed the Air Resources Board to develop a control strategy for "short lived carbon contaminants."  After several meetings with the Governor's office the bill was amended removing the offensive language.  AB 1330 (Perez) was amended with a comprehensive regulatory scheme on businesses that happen to reside in areas designated as environmental justice communities.  The bill also doubled fines and penalties to these businesses and created a statewide environmental justice trust fund.  The bill was held on the Senate floor after much objection by ag and business.  AB 691 (Hancock) which would have significantly increased penalties on large industrial facilities including food processors and rendering plants was put on the inactive file.  The association worked closely with other ag, business and manufacturing representatives to have these bills held on the legislative floors. 

With House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R, VA) confirming this week his hard-fought stand-alone nutrition bill is on the House floor schedule for action next, the last hurdle to House Speaker John Boehner (R, OH) naming Farm Bill conferees will be cleared.  

The House and Senate will return to their pre-Syria schedules now that President Obama has asked for a delay in congressional votes on a Syrian military strike to allow the White House to pursue a diplomatic alternative.

The Cantor nutrition bill would cut about $40 billion out of federal food stamps over 10 years, compared with $4 billion in cuts approved in the Senate Farm Bill.  Those savings, Cantor said, will be achieved by changing state eligibility authority; ensuring work requirements are enforced for able-bodied adults without children, and eliminate loopholes that have allowed some recipients to evade income and asset tests for eligibility.

Earlier this week it seemed leadership might postpone the nutrition bill action if the votes needed to approve it weren't there, but late Wednesday Cantor confirmed the bill is on next week's floor schedule.  Supporters of food stamps, however, are hoping the $40 billion in cuts is too steep for at least 17 GOP members, the magic number to defeat the bill. If approved, the bill stands as the benchmark for House Farm Bill conferees on the Senate's nutrition title.

Throughout the week ag leaders from both sides of the Hill and both sides of the aisle have been trading barbs over the fate of the 2013 Farm Bill, complemented by remarks from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and others.  House Agriculture Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R, OK), who announced his intent to run for reelection this week, said he's ready to move to conference with the Senate as soon as Boehner makes it official.  He's also confident the conference will have a final bill ready for House and Senate approval in 2013.

Ranking ag committee member Rep. Collin Peterson (D, MN) is not as sanguine about the fate of the conference action. He has said consistently that the reason the bill has been derailed and the reason Boehner has not named conferees is that House leadership isn't communicating well, and that farm legislation is not a priority for Cantor.

Peterson called Vilsack this week and asked him to begin preparations for reverting to 1949 law as its apparent to him there is simply not enough time to name conferees, complete conference and get the bill back to the floor before the current extension in 2008 authority expires September 30.  This means Peterson will begin his media rant over the price of milk; 1949 law requires USDA to support milk prices at $39 per hundredweight, a level translating to a doubling of both current wholesale and retail milk prices.  

As to whether a short-term extension of existing farm program authority will be approved by both chambers if a conference report isn't forthcoming in early October, Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D, MI) says she can't support another short term extension.  Leaders on both sides have argued against a one or two-year extension as some have suggested. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, NV) has echoed Stabenow's statements, but has added informally that if an extension becomes necessary it will have to kill off direct payments to get Senate support.  Farm groups reminding him that killing direct payments separately from the Farm Bill, robs conferees of the necessary savings to fund other reinventions of USDA authority.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones approved Covered California's application for an insurance business entity license. The license approval will allow licensed health insurance agents to affiliate with Covered California and sell health insurance offered on California's new health insurance Exchange. Commissioner Jones also approved training materials to be used to train agents to transact health insurance through the Exchange.

"Our approval of Covered California's license will open the doors of the Exchange to health insurance agents, so they can provide their extensive knowledge and experience with health insurance to assist consumers and businesses with purchasing health insurance sold on the Exchange," said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. "Health insurance agents have to meet very high standards and are subject to fingerprinting, background checks, training, and licensing, and are subject to criminal investigation, fines and prosecution if they go astray."

Full implementation of healthcare reform has been a priority for the Department of Insurance since Commissioner Jones was elected Insurance Commissioner in late 2010. The Department already has implemented numerous provisions of the Affordable Care Act, providing immediate benefits to Californians and is working with federal and state partners, including Covered California.

The license approval for Covered California also provides a more efficient way for licensed agents to help consumers and businesses purchase health insurance through the Exchange, by allowing the agents to affiliate with the Exchange as opposed to obtaining appointments from each carrier selling health insurance products through the Exchange.

Additionally, the Department fast-tracked its approval of Covered California as an education training provider, thus ensuring that insurance agents completing Covered California's training receive continuing education credit. Continuing education is a requirement that all licensed agents must meet, in order to make sure they are up to date on the latest consumer protections and other insurance regulations. The Department will also monitor and review the training and training curriculum used by Covered California.

"The good news for small businesses looking to purchase through the SHOP or small business Exchange is that agents selling health plans through the Exchange are subject to our stringent licensing processes," said Commissioner Jones. "Our licensing process helps to screen out those who the public cannot trust, but if an agent violates the law or takes advantage of a business buying through the Exchange, we will use our full enforcement authority to investigate and sanction the agent, including criminal charges and prosecution, if warranted."

Ecosystem Services are defined as the multiple benefits we gain from farming and ranching, including crop and livestock production. Many of these benefits extend into environmental stewardship and conservation. For example, the maintenance of wildlife habitats, biodiversity enhancements on working lands, renewable energy use and production, increased nutrient cycling and storage, soil enrichment, water conservation, and support for pollinating insects are some of the benefits. A more comprehensive list of ecosystem service benefits in agriculture can be found at http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/EnvironmentalStewardship/EcosystemServices.html 

"California's working farms and ranches are an important part of our natural landscape," said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. "The commitment to ecosystem services demonstrates clearly that beyond the productivity of fields and pastures, resource management decisions by farmers and ranchers provide us with wildlife and pollinator habitat, contribute to clean water and air, provide recreational and tourism connections, and much more."

The database contains nearly 400 farms and ranches. It is intended to easily communicate to a broad audience the multiple benefits provided by agriculture in California. The database can be queried by key word, county, crop type, and type of ecosystem service. An interactive map allows users to view where the services are taking place.  

The purpose of the database is twofold. It helps the department discuss the multiple benefits provided by California agriculture, and it assists growers, ranchers, and stakeholders who want to learn more about ecosystem services.