Ahhh, the smell of fresh possibilities, hope, and justice is in the air! January 2026 marks the latter half of the 2025-2026 legislative session, and some exciting new bills are already coming down the line! First, let’s recap what happened last year with an update on the bills we deeply care about.

Wins in 2025 – Bills signed into law

AB 947: Climate Smart Agriculture Technical Assistance Grant Program

AB 947 creates the Climate Smart Agriculture Technical Assistance Grant Program. This program will provide funds to providers who will support applicants for the state’s Healthy Soils Program, the Alternative Manure Management Program, and the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program. AB 947 will advance agroecology in the state by supporting farming practices that promote bustling biodiversity, vibrant soil ecology, and clean environmental media.

SB 655: Protections from extreme heat and pesticide exposure for workers

SB 655 protects all Californians, especially farmworkers, from extreme heat. This bill establishes state policy that requires all dwelling units to be able to maintain a safe and healthy indoor temperature. This is a huge win for our farmworker communities who are often exposed to pesticides and heat stress both on the job and outside of work. Employer-provided dwellings must provide cooling equipment that will allow windows to be closed, protecting occupants from dangerous exposures during non-work hours.

Looking ahead: 2026 Legislation

AB 52 Codifying CDFA farmer advisory committees
Last Action: Assembly Agricultural Committee: 1.14.26 @ 1:30 p.m. (State Capitol, Room 126).

Did you know that PAN, alongside our partner California Farmer Justice Collaborative (CFJC), played a key role in advocating for the passage of the Farmer Equity Act in 2017? The Farmer Equity Act added a formal definition of ‘socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers’ to the California Food and Agriculture Code (CFDA) and required the California Department of Food and Agriculture to include those producers in the development, implementation, and enforcement of agricultural policies. The Farmer Equity Act also charged CDFA with allocating more resources, technical assistance, and decision making power to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. AB 52 codifies two existing CDFA farmer advisory committees, which shall be known as the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Producer Advisory Committee, and the Small-Scale Producer Advisory Committee!

AB 1083 (Connolly) Correcting sales tax exclusion program that supports agrochemical industry
Last Action: Assembly Natural Resources Committee: 1.12.26 @ 2:30 p.m. (State Capitol)

Last year, California passed the most egregious rollback of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in history. SB 131 permitted an extremely broad definition of ‘advanced manufacturing’ from the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority (CAEATFA) sales tax exclusion program. This broad definition enabled the state to apply it to over 60 project categories, including approving ‘advanced manufacturing’ for plastic recycling, strip mining, and chemical manufacturing, among others. AB 1083 corrects extreme problems from those rollbacks, and ensures that California doesn’t become a petrochemical corridor in a state that’s already overburdened by agrochemical industry-borne harms.

PAN will keep you updated on bill status and will let you know when to take action!

Regulatory Advocacy

PAN is not only advocating for the passage of legislation, we are also ensuring these bills are implemented equitably. We are deeply committed to protecting the health of farmworker and farming families. This is where policy and regulation are important.

Climate Resilience Strategy Comment Letter
On November 21, 2025, PAN submitted a comment letter in response to the California Department of Agriculture’s Climate Resilience Strategy. This letter highlights the importance of measuring pesticide-related greenhouse gas emissions, honoring and respectfully engaging with traditional ecological knowledge. We are continuing to uplift agroecology as a viable multi-pronged climate solution that could help improve biodiversity, soil health, water conservation, air quality, community health, and reduce pesticide reliance.

Implementation of Sustainable Pest Management (SPM)  
In January 2023 the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), published the ‘Sustainable Pest Management Roadmap’ to serve as a forward-looking guide for pest management in California. PAN was deeply engaged in this process. Sustainable Pest Management is a holistic, whole-system approach to pest management that builds on integrated pest management (IPM) to include three additional sustainability pillars: human health and social equity, environmental protection and economic vitality.)

The primary goals of the roadmap include:

• By 2050, Sustainable Pest Management is the de facto pest management system in California
• By 2050, California eliminates the use of priority pesticides
• By 2030, California has increased procurement of SPM-grown food by 50%

SPM procurement refers to the use state funding for institutional markets (e.g. state prisons, hospitals, etc.) to purchase SPM-compliant produce from farmers across the state. One key element of the procurement process is the establishment of what constitutes SPM compliance. PAN and partners have proposed to DPR that, in addition to US Certified Organic, Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) should be considered SPM-compliant in order to help small-scale and historically underserved farmers achieve SPM recognition and access to state markets.

On December 12, 2025, PAN facilitated a presentation led by Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) staff to educate DPR staff and Sustainable Pest Management (SPM) procurement advocates about the CNG certification. CNG supports small-scale farmers who use organic practices, but aren’t USDA Organic Certified due to financial and administrative barriers.

To learn more about the Certified Naturally Grown program by reading my latest blog! And, stay tuned for a detailed blog on our SPM Procurement work in California!