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Attorney General Becerra and Assemblymember Gonzalez unveil legislation to fight underground economy
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
AB 1296 is sponsored by Attorney General Becerra and was introduced by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez.
“With underground economic crime, our workers get exploited, business owners face unfair competition, consumers get ripped off, and taxpayers bear the burden,” said Attorney General Becerra. “AB 1296 expands on successful efforts to prosecute violators and recover funds involved in wage theft, tax evasion, counterfeit commerce and other economic crimes. The funds recovered become available to benefit cheated workers, our schools, law enforcement and our communities.”
“The underground economy hurts everyone: workers who are left without protection, consumers who are sold dangerous or fake products, and the state as we lose tax money,” said Assemblywoman Gonzalez. “This task force is a unique, collaborative approach for law enforcement to breakdown its usual silos and execute wider solutions for targeting the underground economy.”
According to a University of California at Los Angeles Labor Center report, the state’s underground economy generates between $60 to $140 billion in unreported revenue annually, depriving the state of $8.5 billion in corporate, personal, and sales and use taxes each year.
TRUE’s pilot program, established in 2014, allowed agencies in Sacramento and Los Angeles to work together to investigate and prosecute the most outrageous felony-level multijurisdictional underground economic crimes in California.
In September 2018, Attorney General Becerra announced the results of a year-long investigation that led to charges against a family of four for labor exploitation and human trafficking.
In October 2018, Attorney General Becerra also announced that the state of California regained lost state revenues from an underground prescription drug business, from an illegal pharmaceutical scheme and from operators who possessed counterfeit merchandise intended for sale.
AB 1296 builds on the success of a state pilot program by permanently establishing law enforcement teams in Sacramento and Los Angeles and authorizing additional teams in the three other major metropolitan regions of the state – San Diego, the Bay Area and Fresno.
Since the beginning of the pilot program, investigative teams have identified $482 million in unreported gross receipts and $60 million in associated tax loss to the state. Additionally, through its criminal enforcement actions, the pilot program has recovered over $25 million in lost tax revenue, victim restitution, and investigation costs.
The legislation sponsored by Attorney General Becerra strengthens the program by ensuring multi-agency collaboration between several governmental entities, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the Franchise Tax Board, and the Employment Development Department. Together these agencies combat wage theft, tax evasion and other crimes in the underground economy.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
A questionnaire seeking background information about farms is included in the mailing and will be utilized to help coordinate inspections.
The inspections are part of the Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA. Since the law was passed, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration has been working with states across the U.S. to assist them in performing on-farm inspections. These inspections are set to begin at some produce farms in California.
In April, CDFA’s newly-established Produce Safety Program is scheduled to begin inspections on behalf of the FDA as a means of verifying that produce farms in California are following food safety regulations for produce under FSMA.
“The Produce Safety Program’s core value is to educate, then regulate,” said Natalie Krout-Greenberg, director of CDFA’s Inspection Services Division, which is overseeing the program. “Our role is to ensure California produce farmers know how to comply with the requirements of the Produce Safety Rule, and then to regulate farms to ensure they are compliant.”
Of the produce farms identified in California, only large farms will be subject to inspections at first. Under the Produce Safety Rule, farms with $500,000 or more in average annual sales have been required to be compliant with the Produce Safety Rule since January 2018 and inspections to verify their compliance will begin this spring.
Small farms – those with annual sales of between $250,000 and $500,000 – were required to be compliant beginning in January of this year but won’t be inspected until next year. Very small farms with sales between $25,000 and $250,000 are not required to comply until January of 2020.
Farmers are encouraged to visit the Produce Safety Program’s Web site for information and assistance to better understand the program requirements.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The project, operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, has told agricultural service contractors south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to expect 35 percent of contract supplies, and those north of the delta to expect 70 percent.
“California has been blessed with an abundant Sierra snowpack and that should be recognized in making an initial water allocation, so farmers can make their planting decisions,” CFBF President Jamie Johansson said. “We hope the CVP will be able to increase its allocations as the spring continues. In above-average years such as this, we need to provide as much certainty about available supplies as early as possible to farmers and all other water users.”
Johansson said the CVP likely needed to be conservative in its projections because of biological opinions for protected fish that require water to be reserved for fishery uses.
“We’re hopeful that revised biological opinions can provide more flexibility in managing the system and encourage creative projects for improving fish populations,” Johansson said.
“From our offices along the banks of the Sacramento River, I can look out and see a river swollen with runoff heading toward the ocean,” he said. “In wet winters such as this, we need to be able to capture more of that runoff, both above and below ground, to shield people and the environment from future droughts and replenish our groundwater basins.”
Johansson said Farm Bureau “will continue to advocate for balanced water policies that benefit our state’s farms, cities and environment alike.”
The California Farm Bureau Federation works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 36,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of nearly 5.6 million Farm Bureau members.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Winter farming presents unique challenges – and opportunities – for local farmers. Opportunities include high market demand and low competition, meaning continued cash flow, with lots of time for rest and recouping.
The challenges consist of choosing the right crops, timing and protecting those crops from the elements.
At Yokayo Roots Farm participants will see a successful winter vegetable production system adapting to the unexpected in our climate and coming up with solutions.
They will discuss the “lean” way to manage production year round and alternative approaches to ensuring vibrant crops for the winter and early spring market.
Space is limited. Please RSVP to
This technical workshop series for local farmers addresses the principles of lean farming with a focus on the practical steps farmers can take to find efficiencies on their farms to increase profits without increasing their work.
Each workshop is followed by a potluck lunch where there will be additional time for discussion.
Attendance is free and open to specialty crop growers – fruits, vegetables, nuts, flowers, herbs – as well as members of the public.
This is a project of MendoLake Food Hub, The Farmers Guild, CAFF, the School of Adaptive Agriculture, the Ukiah Natural Food Co-op and The UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.