CALIFORNIA CATTLEMAN WEEKLY

November 11, 2024

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CCA Email Temporarily Down
The CCA office has been experiencing technical issues that have temporarily prevented staff from accessing CCA email accounts. We are aware of the issue and are working with our information technology specialists to resolve the matter expeditiously. If you attempted to reach out to CCA staff over the weekend, your email likely has not been received (you may have received an error notification in response).

Should you need to contact your CCA staff, please don’t hesitate to reach us via phone at (916) 444-0845.

Federal and State Election Results Continue to Take Shape
By late Tuesday evening it was projected that Donald Trump would re-take the Presidency and that Republicans would control the majority in the U.S. Senate. Several key state and local ballot races were also projected by the end of Election Day. With ballots still being counted, however, control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the precise results of some California legislative races remain undecided. Here’s what we know (and a check-in on some of the results we’re still awaiting) about some of the electoral races most impacting cattle producers:

U.S. House of Representatives
It remains unclear which political party will control the U.S. House of Representatives in the 119^th Congress when it is seated on January 3, though the Republican Party has the strongest path to the majority. According to the Associated Press, as of this morning Republicans have won 214 House seats to Democrats’ 203, with 18 races not yet called. With 218 seats needed to control the chamber, Republicans need to clinch less than one-fourth of outstanding races to ensure a majority in the chamber.

The Golden State is home to ten of the yet-to-be-called races, meaning California’s election results will likely be decisive in determining control of the lower chamber of Congress.

California Legislative Races
While party dynamics are unlikely to change in Sacramento as a result of the 2024 General Election, the personalities certainly will, as more than one-fourth of state legislators sitting for the 2025-26 Legislative Session will be newly-elected. And while Democrats are poised to retain their supermajorities in both the Assembly and Senate, Republicans do appear to have made up some modest electoral ground in the State Capital.

In the State Senate, Democrats currently enjoy a 31-to-9 advantage over Republicans. In Orange County’s Senate District 37 race, incumbent Democrat Josh Newman lost his reelection bid to former Assemblymember Steven Choi. This potentially increases the Senate Republican Caucus to ten, with Republican candidates currently leading as-yet-uncalled races in two Republican-held districts.

In the Assembly, Democrats currently hold 62 seats to Republicans’ 18. Several Assembly races remain too close to call, though Republicans appear poised to pick up a modest number of seats in the state’s lower chamber if current vote margins hold.

Proposition 4
By a margin of 58.9% to 41.4%, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 4, a $10 billion climate bond. As previously reported in California Cattleman Weekly, Proposition 4 includes $3.8 billion for the state’s water infrastructure, $1.5 billion for wildfire and forest resilience, $1.2 billion for nature-based climate programs and $300 million for climate-friendly farming and ranching programs.

Sonoma County Measure J
Voters in Sonoma County decisively rejected Measure J, an initiative promoted by radical animal rights groups including Direct Action Everywhere which sought to prohibit ‘concentrated animal feeding operations’ within the County. The initiative was strongly opposed by CCA and a wide array of other agriculture groups.

In a strong show of support for the agricultural producers of Sonoma County, the measure was rejected by a 70-point margin, with 85.3% of the electorate voting against the measure and a mere 14.7% in support. Meanwhile a merely-symbolic “ban on commercial livestock farms” in the city of Berkeley passed with 59.6% support.

CCA will continue to keep members informed as results from the 2024 General Election continue to be tallied.

Governor Newsom Calls Special Legislative Session in Anticipation of Second Trump Term
Two days after President-Elect Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 Presidential Election, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he is convening a special session of the Legislature to “mitigate the impacts of actions by the incoming Trump Administration.”

Noting that California filed more than 120 lawsuits against the first Trump Administration, Newsom’s proclamation declares that the purpose of the special session will be to ensure that the California Department of Justice and other state agencies have sufficient funding “to immediately file affirmative litigation challenging actions taken by the incoming Trump Administration” and to “defend against litigation or enforcement actions brought by the incoming Trump Administration” against California. The proclamation specifically identifies potential litigation around issues of abortion access, clean vehicle policies, immigration and federal disaster assistance.

The special session will convene Monday, December 2, a date lawmakers were already scheduled to assemble in Sacramento to be sworn in and to organize for the 2025-26 Legislative Session. The special session will be comprised of those lawmakers elected during the November 5 General Election.

CCA will monitor all legislation introduced during the special session to assess any potential impacts upon the state’s cattle producers.

New Episode of Sorting Pen: The California Cattleman Podcast
A new episode of Sorting Pen: The California Cattleman Podcast is out now! In this week’s episode, Los Angeles County cattle rancher and CCA member Mike Williams and current chair of the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef joins CCA’s Katie Roberti on the podcast. On this episode, Mike explains what the purpose of the Roundtable is, how he got involved, who makes up the leadership of the organization and more. To listen, click here.

Governor Newsom Proclaims Mountain Fire State of Emergency
Since last Wednesday, the Mountain Fire has burned across 20,630 acres of Ventura County, injuring six and destroying 174 structures (with another 74 buildings suffering damage from the blaze). As of this morning, the fire is at 36% containment.

On Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom’s office reported that the State has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which will allow state and local agencies to seek reimbursement for up to 75% of the costs incurred responding to the Mountain Fire. On Thursday, Newsom proclaimed a State of Emergency resulting from the blaze, and one day later he issued an executive order to aid support and recovery efforts.

For information regarding wildfire assistance, visit the Ranchers Technical Assistance Program website.

Change of Date for Email Marketing Tips & Tricks Webinar for California Cattle Ranchers
Join the California Cattlemen’s Foundation for a free webinar with tips and tricks on how you can use email marketing to connect with customers and followers.

Due to technical difficulties out of our control, the webinar has been moved to next Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 6:30pm. If you are already registered, you will automatically get an email with the new details and a link to join.

This is free, virtual training is hosted with support from the California Cattle Council. To register for the webinar, click here.

CDFW Reopens Applications for Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced that it “is now accepting applications for direct livestock loss compensation (Prong 1) as part of the Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program.” The reopening of the compensation fund was made possible by CCA’s successful advocacy, as the Association secured $600,000 in renewed funding for CDFW’s Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program in the 2024-25 State Budget after prior funding for the Program dried up earlier this year. For additional details, see the October 28 edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

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CCA in the News

While policy falls short, California farmers brace themselves against wildfire Agri-Pulse “At the 2024 California Climate & Agriculture Summit hosted by the California Climate and Agricultural Network, or CalCAN, Schohr led a panel on the alternative treatments ranchers and producers are undertaking to protect their land and animals from fire and how agencies are coordinating to make those efforts easier. The grassroots effort is focused on continued policy advocacy, which California Cattlemen’s Association Vice President of Government Affairs Kirk Wilbur has focused on for the last five years.” To continue reading, click here.