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March 24, 2016     


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Inside This Issue.....
Members Only Section
Western Letter of Support for Drought Action
March 2016 Member Profile: Kelly Keithly
March 30 Federal Meeting on Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products
Comment This Week on DWR Draft Groundwater Sustainability Plan
CDFA Drought Update: State Water Allocations Increase to 45 Percent
Western Growers Takes Aim at Lost El Niño Water
Germains Seed Technology Announces Launch of New Website
Central Valley Scholars Program at UC Davis
Conference on CA Agriculture: Water, Labor, and Immigration on April 15 at UC Davis Law School
California Legislative Update
Roberts Stalls on GE Labeling Bill; Industry Continues to Push for Federal Action
EPA Told to Assess if Pesticide Mixes Harm Bees
Ag Groups Want Fertilizer Storage Rules Dumped
House Bill to Slow EPA Ozone Rule Introduced
House Files Brief in High Court Immigration Case
At House Hearing on Flint, Michigan Water Crisis, Governor, EPA's McCarthy Urged to Resign
Safety Corner: Workers' Compensation for Employers Spring Trainings
Registration Open for the CPS 2016 Produce Research Symposium
Upcoming Meetings
Login Credentials for Members Only Section


The 2016 Keynote Presentation from the Annual Convention by Dr. Bruce A. Scherr on the Global Economic Outlook is available on the Members Only Section of Calseed.org. Click Members Login in the top right corner to access this section. Periodically information, including certain presentations, will be posted in the members only section. The login credentials are:


Username: csa
Password: Info1521
Western Letter of Support for Drought Action


Below please find a letter from over 100 organizations across the Western United States, including California Seed Association urging the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee to take action on the drought. The organizations are a combination of agricultural and water districts from each of the Western states who have come together. This letter is being transmitting to not only the other ENR Committee Members but also every Western state Senate office.
 
March 2016 Member Profile: Kelly Keithly


Kelly Keithly receiving the ASTA Honorary Lifetime Member award.
Member Profile March 2016: Kelly Keithly



Kelly Keithly, Owner of Keithly-Williams Seeds, answers a few questions on his experience within the seed industry.



Q: What is your role at Keithly-Williams Seeds?

A: My role at Keithly-Williams Seeds is President/CEO/Mentor



Q: What makes Keithly-Williams Seeds unique in the seed industry?

A: Keithly-Williams Seeds Celebrates 36 years this year. We don't want to be the biggest, we just want to be the best.



Q: What project(s) are you/your company working on?

A: No specific projects, just trying to improve on what we are doing by continually getting better.



Q: What's new in seed treatments, any innovations?

A: There are a number of fairly new seed treatments that serve different purposes for the grower, and we are using them as we are convinced of     their usefulness. We are interested in treatments that will deal with seed borne diseases as those become a bigger issue all the time.



Q: Have any new members recently joined your team? If so, whom?

A: N/A



Q: How did you get started in the seed industry?

A: I started in the seed industry on April Fools Day 1970 after graduating from the University of Arizona.



Q: What advice would you offer to someone getting started in the seed industry?

A: Be patient, work hard, listen more than you talk, treat others like you want to be treated.



Q: Is your company active in community involvement? If so how?

A: We  try to be involved at all our locations by helping young people and adults that are less fortunate and need a hand to take a step up. We support many organizations that perform these types of services in my different channels. We also participate in events that support the communities that we work and live in. Kids sports, county fairs, etc.



Q: Is there anything else you'd like CSA members to know about you or your company?

A: Family is important now, not later when you "have time". My wife Cheryl and I have been married going on  51 years.  She has been the biggest reason for my success. Even above that, the Lord has had His hand on Keithly-Williams Seeds and there is where the only answer is for the company's success over the years.

March 30 Federal Meeting on Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products


   
The third public meeting on "Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products," will be held on March 30, 2016, at the University of California, Davis Conference Center, Davis, California. At this public meeting representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) will review progress made on efforts to modernize the regulatory system for biotechnology products and will illustrate the current roles and responsibilities of the EPA, FDA, and USDA regarding biotechnology products by discussing case studies of hypothetical products.


Those planning to attend either in person or via the web are asked to  register in advance.


There are two draft documents available that will be the basis for discussion at the March 30 meeting: a document with eight case studies of hypothetical biotechnology products, and a table of oversight authorities related to biotechnology products. Read about these documents here and find them here.


There will be several opportunities for questions and answers to clarify the information presented during the case studies. The agenda for this meeting provides time for general public comments from those attending the meeting in person. Those planning to provide comment are asked to indicate their desire to comment when they  register on USDA's web site prior to the public meeting. Public comments made at this meeting will be submitted to the docket as part of the official meeting transcript.


Additional details on the March 30, 2016, public meeting, including the complete agenda and how to participate are available on the  USDA's webpage, where more information will be posted as it becomes available.
Comment This Week on DWR Draft Groundwater Sustainability Plan
     
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Sustainable Groundwater Management Program is holding a statewide webinar and public meetings to solicit comments on the Draft Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) Emergency Regulations this week.
 
This is our opportunity for the industry to engage on this issue. It is important that DWR hear directly from growers and members of the industry who would be impacted by these changes. Please consider attending or listening and providing feedback.
 
You can also provide written comments via email or mail. The deadline to submit written comments has been extended to April 1, 2016. Learn how to submit a comment to DWR here.
 
Thursday, March 24, 2016
ONLINE WEBINAR
1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M.
Please register for the webinar here.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about
joining the webinar.
 
Friday, March 25, 2016
SACRAMENTO
9:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M.
1500 11th Street, Sacramento
 
For more information or special accommodations contact Lauren Bisnett at [email protected] or call (916) 653-7564.
 
Visit DWR's Sustainable Groundwater Management Program website here

CDFA Drought Update: State Water Allocations Increase to 45 Percent
By Office of Public Affairs, Planting Seeds
With March storms boosting reservoir levels, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) has increased its water delivery estimate (allocation) for most recipients to 45 percent of requests for the calendar year. 



DWR's initial State Water Project (SWP) allocation of 10 percent of requests, announced in December, was increased to 15 percent on January 26 and to 30 percent on February 24 after January storms increased the Sierra snowpack and brought significant rainfall to the drought-parched state.
 
Although February was mostly dry, rain and snow returned this month to boost the state's two largest reservoirs - Shasta Lake and Lake Oroville - to slightly above their historic levels for the date. Some key reservoirs, however, remain far below expected levels for this time of year. The drought has not ended.
 
Western Growers Takes Aim at Lost El Ni�o Water


IRVINE, Calif. (March 7, 2016) -- Western Growers has launched a digital media campaign aimed at intensifying awareness among urban Californians about the water being lost to the sea this winter and the need for federal and state leaders to exert pressure on water system operators to capture and store those El Ni�o waters before they are lost.

 

With another blast of El Ni�o's rains coming in, the fish agencies in charge of regulating the Delta pumps must be challenged to immediately begin operating them at the maximum levels allowed under the Endangered Species Act.



The centerpiece of the digital program is a two-minute video educating Californians on the amount of water currently being lost to the ocean and calling on them to leverage social media to demand action from Senators Feinstein and Boxer and Governor Brown.
 
El Ni?o is Here -- But Will it Make a Difference?
El Ni?o is Here -- But Will it Make a Difference?
Germains Seed Technology Announces Launch of New Website


Germains Seed Technology Improves Customer Experience with New Interactive Website


March 16, 2016 (Gilroy, CA): Germains Seed Technology recently launched a new interactive website (www.germains.com) that provides global and local customers a resource for gathering information about seed treatments and solutions for their particular crops and cultivation practices.
 
Central Valley Scholars Program at UC Davis


The Central Valley Scholars Program at UC Davis is a scholarship program that strives to bring an educated workforce back to the Central Valley of California after graduation from UC Davis.  If you are interested in learning more about ways that you can become involved, please click here for more information.
 
As a part of the program, students are asked to complete an internship over the summer, typically between their Junior and Senior years.  If your company has a summer internship program, please email [email protected] to post the opening to CSA Job Board. The Central Valley Scholars program is actively sharing this recruitment resource with UC Davis students. For more information on the Central Valley Scholar Program please contact Leslie Peek with the UC Davis Internship & Career Center.

Conference on CA Agriculture: Water, Labor, and Immigration on April 15 at UC Davis Law School


California Agriculture: Water, Labor, and Immigration
Friday, April 15, 2016
Kalmanovitz Appellate Courtroom, UC Davis Law School
 
This conference examines current issues in agriculture and farm labor. California agriculture and the farm workforce are changing. Scarce water, expensive land, and changing consumer preferences have increased the importance of fruits, nuts, vegetables, and horticultural specialties or FVH crops in the state's farm sales. There are fewer newcomers to the farm workforce, prompting farm employers to take steps to satisfy current workers, stretch them with mechanical aids and substitute machines for hand workers, and supplement with H-2A guest workers.
 
There is no charge to participate, but seating is limited. You must RSVP by April 1, 2016  here if you plan to attend. Registration is required to attend any portion of the conference.
 
We are grateful for the support of the UCD Ag Issues and Gifford Centers, the Giannini, Rosenberg, and WKF foundations, and the ALRB.  For further information, contact Philip Martin, [email protected]
 
Agenda
   
8:15AM - Check-in and Continental Breakfast
 
8:45AMWelcome, Philip Martin, UC Davis and Colin Carter, UC Davis
 
9:00AM - Water, Climate and California Agriculture
Chair: Dan Sumner, UC Davis
Louise Jackson, UC Davis
Paul Wenger, CA Farm Bureau Federation
Discussants: Dan Dooley, New Current Water,
Dan Sumner, UC Davis
 
10:30AMBreak
 
10:45AM - Farm Labor in 2016
Chair: William Gould, ALRB
Farm production and employment changes, Philip Martin, UC Davis
Changing farm worker characteristics, Daniel Carroll, DOL
Discussants: Nathan Dorn, Food Origins, Muhammad Akhtar, EDD-LMID, Don Villarejo, Davis
 
12:15PM - Lunch
 
1:15PM - Immigration Reform and Farm Workers
Chair: Kevin Johnson, UC Davis
From IRCA to AgJOBS to H-2A, Philip Martin, UC Davis
DACA and DAPA Eligible Farm Workers, Ed Kissam, JBS
Discussants: Amagda Perez, UC Davis, Cynthia Rice, CRLA
 
2:45PM - Break
 
3:00PM - ALRB Issues in 2016  
Chair: Genevieve Shiroma, ALRB
ALRB activities: Past, Present, and Future, William Gould, ALRB
Remedies for Unauthorized Workers, Kati Griffith, Cornell
Discussants: Martha West, UC Davis; Tom Sobel, ALRB
 
4:30PM - Adjourn

California Legislative Update
By Dennis Albiani, Legislative Advocate
Rendon Takes Over as Assembly Speaker - Makes Select Appointments


On Monday March 7th, Anthony Rendon took over as Speaker of the Assembly.  While he was elected by his colleagues back in January, he was officially sworn in after a transition period.  Following the ceremony, he discussed his priorities in a short address to provide an opportunity for people to be lifted out of poverty through education and assistance when necessary, he said with the extended term limits he hopes the legislature will focus more on oversight and he discussed reinvigorating the role of legislature and working with all parties and members. 


On March 3, he announced various changes to committees and his leadership team. Click here for all the changes, the key committee chair and member replacement s are as follows:


Phil Ting                          
Budget Chair


Lorena Gonzalez             
Appropriations Chair


Devon Mathis                  
Agriculture Vice Chair


Jay Obernolte                  
Budget Vice Chair


Frank Bigelow                 
Sub #3 Budget which covers Energy and Resources Issues


Rudy Salas                     
Business and Professions Chair


Jim Wood                        
Health Chair


Brian Jones                     
Natural Resources Vice Chair


Eduardo Garcia               
New Member Utilities and Commerce


Rocky Chavez                 
New member Utilities and Commerce


James Gallagher              
Water, Parks and Wildlife Vice Chair


Administration Unveils Draft of How to Manage BPA in Food


Last May 11th, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment listed Bisphenol A (BPA) as a reproductive toxicant under Proposition 65.  The law provides a 1 year grace period before products are required to be labeled.  This May 11th, any product containing BPA will need to be labeled.  OEHHA does have the opportunity to set a "safe harbor" limit and studies supported a level that would have made most uses acceptable.  However, the administration refused to provide a safe harbor, therefore leading to the possibility of most canned and bottled food needing a Prop 65 warning label come this May. 


Since food and beverages are often canned or processed during the growing season and stored for use year round, many products have been canned or placed in bottles and are already in store distribution centers and were labeled long ago.  Additionally, the shelf life and sale through time periods may be years. 


In response to these issues, CalEPA and OEHHA announced a draft proposal to address general warnings. 
On March 10th, CalEPA and OEHHA announced two actions that they plan to initiate and a potential option, utilizing the Attorney General, that they are interested in facilitating.


EMERGENCY REGULATIONS


Amending regulation to allow for point of sale warning for food and beverage cans and bottles with an 8x8 sign posted at retailers and grocers checkout stands with language as follows:


WARNING:  Many cans containing foods and beverages sold here have epoxy linings used to avoid microbial contamination and extend shelf life. Lids on jars and caps on bottles may also have epoxy linings. Some of these linings can leach small amounts of bisphenol A (BPA) into the food or beverage. BPA is known to the State of California to cause harm to the female reproductive system. For more information, go to www.oehha.ca.gov/xxxx.


Food processors and manufacturers would be required to provide the retailer with the signs and the retailer is required to post and maintain them.  Proposed Emergency Regulations to be in place for six months, then replaced by normal regulations with a sunset of one year with potential for a one year extension.  Therefore, the point of sale signage option is available for at least 18 months.


They also announced a willingness to facilitate a judicial decree option with the Attorney General. 


ATTORNEY GENERAL CONSENT JUDGEMENT


For companies that will be phasing out BPA but may need more time than the 18 months offer, EPA has suggested facilitating a consent decree with the Attorney General that will allow a longer period for phasing out the product.  This could be necessary for entities that may receive product in cans and remanufacture it, or a host of supply stream issues and may provide more time for compliance. 


Assembly Utilities & Commerce Committee Grills CPUC President


On Tuesday, March 8, the Assembly Utilities & Commerce Committee held their annual "Overview of the CPUC" hearing where the Members grilled CPUC President Picker.  In a wide-ranging and, at times, combative hearing, Democrat and Republican members took Picker and the CPUC to task over CPUC governance, ex parte communications, commitment to safety, Alison Canyon and responsiveness to Legislative direction.  Picker admitted to being disengaged from the Legislature and committed to focus on that area.  He pointed out the lack of resources that the Commission has and how it may need to ask the Legislature to remove certain oversight responsibilities - namely telecom and transportation companies - from their purview given that they operate in mainly competitive marketplaces.

Roberts Stalls on GE Labeling Bill; Industry Continues to Push for Federal Action


Whether to force companies to disclose information about genetically engineered (GE) ingredients on their food/feed product labels or allow them to voluntarily disclose such information split the Senate down the middle last week as Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Pat Roberts (R, KS) watched as his compromise legislation to provide a voluntary federal solution to the state labeling challenge failed to get the votes needed to cut off debate and move to final action.


The political and industry reaction to the vote was swift, focusing on disappointment, but also characterizing the lack of action as a vote against U.S. agriculture.  The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) called the vote "inexcusable."  Said Zippy Duvall, AFBF president, "To say we're angry with those senators who abandoned farmers and ranchers and turned their backs on rural America on this vote is an understatement."


House Agriculture Committee Chair Mike Conaway (R, TX), whose panel approved a much more comprehensive approach to GE labeling approved by the full House earlier this year, said, "My good friend Pat Roberts, along with many members of his Senate Committee...have been hampered at every step by an uncompromising and inflexible group of minority party Senators.  It's not Republicans these Senators have opposed, it's the American farmer and rancher.  Enough is enough."


Roberts needed 60 votes to invoke cloture, and when the dust settled the count was 48-49, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R, KY) switching to the "no" column to preserve his ability to bring the measure back to the Senate floor.  Democrats, wanting to see a bipartisan bill, voted against cloture when that bipartisan aura didn't appear.  Some Republicans voted against cloture because they oppose any type of "mandatory" labeling.  Sens. Bernie Sanders (I, VT), Marco Rubio (R, FL) and Ted Cruz (R, TX) stayed on the campaign trail instead of voting.


The Senate is on a two-week Easter recess.  Roberts and his supporters have pledged to continue to work toward a bipartisan solution so the bill can be revisited when the Senate returns.  The House has signaled its willingness to go along with a Senate solution; the White House has stayed out of the fray, but Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack supports the Roberts effort.  


The Coalition for Safe & Affordable Food (CFSAF), a broad industry group pushing for Roberts' approach to voluntary GE ingredient disclosure which provided Roberts a letter of support signed by over 700 state, regional and national organizations, watched votes in favor of cloture slip away early last week. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D, MI), ranking member of the ag committee, first in a press statement and then on the Senate floor, said she wouldn't support the Roberts approach because it did not mandate specific food label disclosure mechanisms - QR codes or a GE "symbol" - which she wants to see. 


Roberts, who's engaged with Stabenow over the last several weeks on a compromise bill to allow companies to provide on-label ingredient information sources, e.g. QR codes, bar codes, websites, 1-800 numbers, etc., challenged Stabenow to present her own bill language rather than simply reacting to his proposals. "Farmers who want to see this resolved better demand some action from her," said an ag committee spokesperson. 


Stabenow reiterated her desire to find a bipartisan solution and said she'll continue to work with Roberts.  Conaway, in his statement, said, "I call on the Senate Agriculture Committee's ranking member to fulfill her responsibility by standing up for America's farmers and ranchers. This issue cannot be resolved so long as it's viewed as a zero sum game."


For two days, opponents of the Roberts measure and champions of federally mandated GE food/feed labeling - notably Sen. Jeff Merkley (D, OR) and Sen. John Tester (D, MT), an organic farmer - repeatedly came to the Senate floor to engage in colloquies over the need for mandatory GE labeling because "the consumer has a right to know" what's in the foods they buy.  However, McConnell offered Merkley, who introduced a mandatory labeling bill two weeks ago, a floor vote on his legislation prior to the cloture vote. Merkley refused to bring his measure to the floor.


The Roberts' language was a substitute for S. 2609, the Biotech Labeling Act, approved by his committee 14-6.  It calls for state preemption of GE labeling laws, and creates at USDA a voluntary program by which companies could put information sources on labels for consumers who want to know about GE ingredients.  If 70% of food labels didn't carry the information sources after three years, such disclosure would become mandatory.


Sen. Joe Donnelly (D, IN) is emerging as the new go-to Democrat in the labeling battle.  During committee consideration of S. 2609, he referenced changes he'd like to see in the Roberts proposal, but voted to approve the language.  During floor consideration last week, Donnelly, along with Sen. Tom Carper (D, DE), talked about an amendment they've developed that would preempt the states and set up an initially voluntary labeling regime at USDA, but go beyond the Roberts approach by requiring 80% of labels to carry information within two years of enactment, while calling for dedicated 1-800 numbers linking only to GE ingredient information, and new language ensuring the GE labeling legislation did not impact other USDA programs, including the National Organic Program (NOP) and would preserve legal right of action to sue in state courts.


In a related development, a Washington State Superior Court judge ruled last week that the Grocery Manufacturers Assn. (GMA) violated state campaign finance laws in 2013 when it failed to disclose the names of food companies financing an $11-million GMA campaign to a defeat a state GE labeling ballot initiative.  The judge, in granting a summary judgment sought by the state, said a trial is still needed to determine if GMA intentionally violated the law and needs to pay a penalty. 
 
EPA Told to Assess if Pesticide Mixes Harm Bees


EPA should formally assess when common mixtures of pesticides can potentially harm bees, and should keep Congress apprised of its progress, said a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.  The agency agreed with the recommendations, but said it's taking major actions to protect "pollinators" after a 2015 White House task force report.


GAO says EPA needs to do a better job to determine if combinations of pesticides commonly used in agriculture pose a greater risk to pollinators than do individual chemicals, along with a closer look at chemical effects on native and wile bees.  It needs also to let Congress know when it expects to complete the evaluations. 


The agency said its review of neonicotinoid pesticides, bee-specific risk assessments, efforts to reduce exposure to treated seeds and an emphasis on state pollinator management plans are also examples of how seriously the agency takes the bee threat.


GAO also called out USDA for "falling short" in monitoring wild and native bee populations, as well as tracking restoration and reclamation of "bee-friendly" habitats, recommending the department better coordinate its actions with those of other agencies.  USDA agreed with GAO, but said it needs more money to make the program more efficient.

Ag Groups Want Fertilizer Storage Rules Dumped


Agriculture groups, including the Agriculture Retailers Assn. (ARA) and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), are pushing Capitol Hill lawmakers to tell OSHA and the Department of Labor (DOL) they can't spend federal dollars to impose on retailers new rules on chemical management/fertilizer storage.


Joined by the Fertilizer Institute (TFI), the action before House and Senate appropriators is designed to either get OSHA to walk back a decision that the new fertilizer storage rules apply to the nation's roughly 3,800 ag retailers selling anhydrous ammonia, or force the agency to go through formal rulemaking to expand the new safety program.  The groups estimate the cost of the new rule on ag retailers hits $30,000 per facility.


The new fertilizer storage rules come in the wake of congressional attention paid to the West Fertilizer Co. explosion in West, Texas in 2013, which killed 15.  The ag groups argue the explosion was caused by ammonium nitrate, not anhydrous ammonia, which was also stored at the site. 
OSHA says ag retailers already comply with EPA emergency management rules and that the OSHA program isn't that much more for them to do.  Compliance costs estimated by OSHA are closer to $2,100 per facility.  DOL said it expected "some push back, but didn't expect quite this level."


In the FY2016 omnibus spending bill language was added delaying the storage safety rules until October this year.  The new action seeks to define retailers as permanently exempt from the rule which proscribes how anhydrous ammonia and other fertilizer ingredients are stored and handled. 


In a related development, on May 16, a U.S. Court of Appeals panel will hear arguments by ARA and TFI in court action the groups brought against DOL for failing to go through rulemaking on the extension of the program, instead extending the program to retailers administratively.


Opposing the action is the United Steelworkers, who say new Process Safety Management standards (PSMs) are now in place for workers, and these protections will be lost if the ag groups prevail.  At the same time, the union argues not all of the nation's ag retailers are "small entities" by federal definition, and that anhydrous storage still poses risks to workers no matter the size of the location where it is stored.

House Bill to Slow EPA Ozone Rule Introduced



Six bipartisan House members, including Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R, CA) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R, LA), announced introduction last week of a bill designed to give states more time and flexibility in complying with EPA's new ground-level ozone standards. 


The Energy & Commerce Committee announced the bill, explaining states and communities had only just begun to implement EPA's 2008 ozone standard - for which the agency did not provide implementing rules until March, 2015 - when last October, EPA published revised standards and set new compliance and planning requirements for the states and local communities.


The bill is designed to give states more time and flexibility in how they come into compliance with the new ozone rule - an "efficient and realistic timeline" is how the committee described the bill's language - and at the same time, addresses technical implementation issues under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards Program.


The other authors of the legislation are Rep. Pete Olson (R, TX), vice chair of the committee's subcommittee on energy and power; committee member Rep. Bill Flores (R, TX); committee member Rep. Bob Latta (R, OH), and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D, TX).  

House Files Brief in High Court Immigration Case



The House last week approved a resolution giving Speaker Paul Ryan (R, WI) instructions to file an amicus brief on behalf of the chamber in a U.S. Supreme Court case challenging President Obama's executive orders deferring deportation for certain classes of undocumented immigrants.  The party line vote approving the resolution was 234-186, with five GOP members jumping ship. 


And in this political season, critics said the GOP is using federal dollars to advance a political agenda.  However, a bipartisan group of more than 200 House members filed a separate amicus brief in support of the President's actions, stressing they did so as a group of private citizens.


Ryan, speaking on the floor, told lawmakers "this comes down to a much more fundamental question" than policy or program disagreement.  "This is about the integrity of the Constitution," the Speaker said.


The original action was filed by the House general counsel when it was alleged the President was exceeding his authority by not allowing the Department of Homeland Security to deport undocumented immigrants when arrested.  Obama's executive orders deferred such action on the children of undocumented immigrants born in the U.S., as well as the parents of legal U.S. citizens if those parents arrived in the U.S. illegally.  A Texas federal court judge stayed implementation of the orders until the high court hears the case.

At House Hearing on Flint, Michigan Water Crisis, Governor, EPA's McCarthy Urged to Resign


At a House Oversight Committee hearing last week on the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan - the third held by the panel so far - the partisan divide was clear, the finger-pointing active, and in the end, both Republican Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy were urged to resign from their jobs.


The testimony centered on which government - state or federal - is ultimately to blame for allowing Flint's corroded lead-pipe water system to continue to operate, endangering public health.  McCarthy said "intransigent, misleading and contentious" state employees bear the responsibility.  Snyder said "inefficient, ineffective and unaccountable bureaucrats" in Washington, DC, allowed "this disaster to continue unnecessarily."


Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz (R, UT) told McCarthy to do "the courageous thing" and resign over EPA's failure to respond to the Flint crisis.  Rep. Matt Cartwright (D, PA) told Snyder, "Plausible deniability only works if it's plausible," calling on Snyder to quit.

Safety Corner: Workers' Compensation for Employers Spring Trainings 




Mike Taylor, CPCU
Vice President
InterWest Insurance Services, Inc.
100 Pringle Avenue, North Tower, Suite 550
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
(925) 977-4104 Office
(800) 464-0077 Toll Free
(925) 977-4150 Fax
(510) 206-5505 Mobile
CA Lic #0B01094
[email protected]

Registration Open for the CPS 2016 Produce Research Symposium


7th Annual Produce Research Symposium
June 28 - 29, 2016, Seattle, Washington
 
The Center for Produce Safety is pleased to announce the 7th Annual Produce Research Symposium taking place at the Sheraton Seattle, in Seattle, Washington, June 28 - 29, 2016. Please visit our  website for registration and all event details.  
Upcoming Meetings
      
2016
  • Mid Year Meeting September 20-21, 2016 The Monterey Plaza Hotel on Cannery Row  


California Seed Association | 1521 I Street | Ph: 916-441-2251 | Fx: 916-446-1063 | Sacramento | CA | 95814