CALIFORNIA CATTLEMAN WEEKLY

July 28, 2025

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Governor Newsom Signs CCA-Sponsored AB 525
Earlier today, the Governor announced that he had signed CCA-sponsored AB 525 (Lackey), a bill which will extend the current agricultural vehicle exemption from the California Highway Patrol’s Basic Inspection of Terminals Program (BIT). The BIT Program requires certain motor carriers to periodically submit their vehicles, maintenance records and driving records for CHP inspection, with attendant fees paid to the Department of Motor Vehicles. But while these safety inspections may be sensible for California’s large semi-truck fleets, they serve little public safety benefit when applied to agricultural vehicles and can be costly and time-consuming for livestock producers.

Fortunately, CCA has managed to exempt livestock producers from the BIT Program since 2016 via legislation authored by Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale). With the current exemption set to sunset on January 1, 2026, CCA again partnered with Assemblymember Lackey to extend the agricultural vehicle exemption until 2031. The passage of AB 525 secures this exemption for another five years.

While AB 525 initially sought to make the exemption permanent, CCA accepted limiting amendments to avoid opposition from organized labor – though the Association will of course work to renew the exemption as the new sunset date nears. CCA thanks Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) for authoring the legislation and commends Governor Newsom for signing it into law.

Past CCA President Shares One Big Beautiful Bill Insights at Congressional Hearing
On Saturday, California rancher Kevin Kester testified at a House Ways and Means Committee field hearing in Simi Valley at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on the implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill. The signed legislation contains numerous wins for cattle farmers and ranchers. Kester is a past CCA President and in 2018 was president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

“As a fifth-generation rancher, I feel blessed to raise cattle alongside my wife, children, and grandchildren. I want to see this way of life continue for future generations, which is why it was so important for Congress to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill,” said Kester. “I know what it’s like to see your farm or ranch burdened by a massive tax bill, and the One Big Beautiful Bill delivers the tax relief we need to save money, grow our operations, and make sure our children and grandchildren can make a living in the cattle business. I’m proud to deliver this message to Congress and appreciate the opportunity to highlight NCBA’s work to protect the cattle industry.”

Thanks to NCBA’s hard work, the One Big Beautiful Bill contains numerous pro-agriculture tax provisions, including:

• Increasing the Death Tax exemption to $15 million per individual or $30 million per couple, adjusted annually for inflation. As land values skyrocket and farms appear to be worth more on paper, increasing the Death Tax exemption protects cattle producers from an additional tax burden when passing their operation on to the next generation. The bill also protects Stepped-Up Basis which helps producers minimize their Death Tax liability.
• Making the Section 199A Small Business tax deduction permanent, allowing family farms and ranches to deduct 20% of their business income, keeping more of their hard earned money.
• Increasing the Section 179 deduction to allow farmers and ranchers to deduct business expenses like equipment purchases up to $2.5 million.
• Making 100% bonus depreciation permanent so farmers and ranchers can deduct the full cost of capital investments like equipment when they purchase them, rather than taking small deductions over several years.
• Extending itemized deductions for losses incurred due to federally declared disasters.

Additionally, the One Big Beautiful Bill includes several key Farm Bill provisions important to cattle producers like expanding the Livestock Forage Disaster Program, funding the Livestock Indemnity Program, supporting voluntary conservation tools, and bolstering foreign animal disease protections.

Importantly, the final version of the One Big Beautiful Bill that was signed into law by President Trump did not include any of the controversial public land sale or eminent domain provisions that previously attracted media attention. To hear more about that on a recent episode of CCA’s podcast Sorting Pen, click here. To view the hearing, click here. Read Kester’s testimony here.

Legislature Allocates $2 Million for Wolf Compensation
Included within the revised Budget Act signed into law on June 27 was $2 million earmarked for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program, a CCA Budget priority. It is not yet clear whether the Department will reinitiate compensation for non-lethal deterrence assistance or ‘pay for presence.’ For more information, see the July 14 edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

CDFW Releases 10-Year Wolf Report
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced the release of “a report summarizing its management and conservation activities for gray wolves (Canis lupus) over the past 10 years.” The report does not contain many new details about wolves in the Golden State, but it is a succinct summary of the past decade of wolf management in the state and contains numerous easily-digestible tables and graphics summarizing wolf populations and tracking the movements of wolves throughout the state. For more information, see the July 14 edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

CNRA Issues 2025 Progress Report for the 30×30 Initiative
The Newsom Administration has announced the release of a 2025 Annual Progress Report for the state’s 30×30 Initiative, an effort to durably conserve 30% of the state’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. According to the Progress Report, 26.1% of the state’s land qualified as “durably conserved” as of last month, an improvement upon the 25.2% identified as conserved last year. For more information, see the July 14 edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

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Industry News

Australia Accepts US Beef Again Progressive Farmer “For the first time in 20 years, U.S. beef will be shipped to Australia. Negotiations between the two countries has led to open trade after delays continued for many years.” To continue reading, click here.

NCBA Supports Withdrawal of Harmful Speed Limiter Rule BEEF Magazine “The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) shared support for the withdrawal of the speed limiter rule by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), two agencies under the U.S. Department of Transportation.” To continue reading, click here.

California Considers Grizzly Bear Reintroduction Amid Controversy Sierra Daily News “The nonprofit Rewilding Earth submitted a petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requesting a formal rule to bring grizzlies back to California under the Endangered Species Act. The idea? To repopulate areas where the species once thrived—including Yosemite, the Sierra Nevada, and coastal mountain ranges—before they were wiped out by the early 1900s.” To continue reading, click here.

There are many wins for cattle farmers and ranchers in the Big, Beautiful Bill, according to one producer RFD-TV “The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing over the weekend, evaluating the implementation of the Big, Beautiful Bill. California rancher and NCBA past-president, Kevin Kester, was in attendance. Kevin spoke with RFD-TV’s Tammi Arender about how it is a win for cattle producers, how it protects farming families, and its Farm Bill provisions.” To watch the interview, click here.