There's nothing more likely to pass for progress around the Capitol than a legislative hearing. With that in mind, be alerted that Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, has scheduled a June 16 hearing by the Senate Committee on Food and Agriculture to see if California really needs a Dept. of Food and Agriculture.
Florez appears to be leaning toward the "no" column. A news release from his office today says the committee "will meet to consider whether or not it makes sense for agriculture to remain the only California industry with its own $100 million general fund-backed agency, when most of its functions could be performed by other departments."
Florez says that in the light of California's budget woes, it might make sense to allocate the business part of ag to a business department and the environmental and health aspects to environmental and/or health agencies.
"Agriculture had its own set of rules on air quality and worker protections for a long time, but we have finally reversed those to protect both the environment and public health," Florez said. "There are certainly more changes in the pipeline to protect the state's finances."
Of course if we don't need a Dept. of Food and Ag., doesn't it follow that we don't need a Committee on Food and Ag. either?
Latest posts:
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.