California Farm Bureau Welcomes Pause on AB 1156

There’s been a development on Assembly Bill 1156, and it’s one California farmers and ranchers will want to know about. The California Farm Bureau says the bill has been put on hold. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks decided to move it to what’s called the Assembly Inactive File, which means it won’t move forward this year.

Peter Ansel, who heads up policy advocacy for the Farm Bureau, put it this way: “We are grateful to Assemblymember Wicks for her decision to place AB 1156 on the Assembly Inactive File.” He explained that Farm Bureau and other ag groups had raised concerns about how the bill could affect the Williamson Act. That’s the program designed to protect farmland by limiting development.

The concern was that AB 1156 would have opened the door for large solar and battery projects on prime farmland without paying a termination fee.

American Farmland Trust also weighed in. Regional Director Tom Stein said, “We look forward to working closely with Assemblywoman Wicks and other leaders… to ensure that the Williamson Act continues to protect our state’s most productive agricultural land.”