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Committee advances bill to give county ag commissioners civil-penalty authority for neglected orchards and vineyards
Summary
AB 732 would allow county agricultural commissioners to issue civil penalties and require multilingual notices and grace periods to address abandoned or neglected agricultural properties that foster pests. Proponents say the measure fills gaps left by a slow lien process; opponents warned about due-process and financial impacts on small farms.
Assemblymember Macedo presented AB 732, which would authorize county agricultural commissioners to issue civil penalties to compel landowners to abate nuisances on abandoned or neglected agricultural properties, with built-in fairness measures including multilingual notices, a grace period, and penalties calibrated to ability to pay.
The author said the measure responds to a rise in fallowed and unmanaged acreage in regions such as the Central Valley and cited factors including lack of surface water, groundwater restrictions under SGMA, low commodity prices and high input costs. He told the committee neglected properties can become breeding grounds for pests and diseases that threaten neighboring farmland.
Roger Isom, president and CEO of the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association and the Western Tree Nut Association, said inspectors had seen rising pest pressure—including navel orangeworm and other pests—and that abandoned vineyards had contributed to pest migration into cared-for orchards.
Lindsey Carter of the County Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association described the bill as “another tool in the toolbox” that could shorten a process that otherwise moves to costly lien actions. Carter said Tulare County had received complaints on about 119 parcels since 2018 and that work with growers mitigated 101 of those cases without resorting to liens.
Opponents, including Scott Sadler of the Community Alliance for Family Farmers, said the measure could give commissioners excessive discretion without an adequate appeal process and could disproportionally harm small farms in financial distress. Sadler said fines calculated per acre without appeal “creates a very untenable situation financially for a small farmer” and that collected funds flowing to county general funds could create a perverse incentive.
The author and supporters said they had amended the bill, extending a curative period from 15 to 30 days, providing for neighbor warnings, UCCE involvement, postings in multiple languages, and a good-faith-action pause of the penalty clock. The author said the bill also proposed a first penalty up to $500 an acre and a second penalty up to $1,000 an acre applied with consideration of ability to pay.
The committee recorded a motion to pass AB 732 to the Judiciary Committee and advanced the bill, leaving the item on call to allow members to complete votes.
