The Overview

If you've ever wondered whether the people who harvest California's food can actually tap the climate money meant to help them, a new state law is now taking a hard look at that question. A new California law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to identify barriers that low-income farmworker communities face in getting money from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. ​

California's Disadvantaged Communities: Farmworker Communities bill, AB 1600 became law when Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed it Sept. 27. Inside Climate News reported that California officials recorded more than 2,500 pesticide-related illnesses from 2011 to 2021, and that farmworkers have died during extreme heat events, with dozens of deaths between 2018 and 2022 when temperatures exceeded the state's heat-safety trigger. The law takes effect immediately upon signing.

What the Law Does

The law puts three concrete obligations on state agencies. First, the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) must assess whether designating farmworker communities as disadvantaged communities would increase their access to investment opportunities from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and identify potential barriers that low-income farmworker communities face in accessing those funds.

Second, CalEPA must post its findings publicly on its website and factor them into future decisions about which communities qualify as disadvantaged. Third, CalEPA and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment must develop and carry out a strategy for engaging directly with farmworker communities on the environmental, health, and economic burdens they face.

Legislative Status

Asm. Joaquin Arambula (D-CA-31) is the bill's lead author, with five co-authors: Garcia, Quirk-Silva, Arreguín, Reyes, and Rubio. The Assembly passed the bill 60–10 on May 26, and the Senate passed it unanimously 39–0 on Aug. 27; the Assembly then concurred in Senate amendments 64–12.

La Cooperativa Campesina de California thanked Governor Gavin Newsom for signing the bill in a Facebook post, calling it legislation that recognizes farmworker communities as disadvantaged communities.

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