Assembly committee advances Honeybee Health Act to help beekeepers and crops

The Assembly Agriculture Committee voted to pass AB 1042 (recorded in the transcript as AB 10 42), the Honeybee Health Act, to the Appropriations Committee. The bill would establish a Managed Honey Bee Health Program to provide incentives, grants, research and technical assistance to support managed pollinators and apiarists.

Author Assemblymember Ransom said managed honey bees provide pollination for more than 100 California crops, including almonds, berries and melons, and testified that declines in managed honey bee populations threaten crop production. “Without protecting our bees our little breadbasket will go empty,” Ransom said.

Supporters included Daniel Hartwig, president of the California Fresh Fruit Association, who said many crops depend on pollination services and asked members to support the bill. Witnesses from the beekeeping and commodity communities — including Raymond Contreras representing California Beekeepers (via Lighthouse Public Affairs), Erin Norwood (Almond Alliance), Tricia Garinger (Agricultural Council of California), Matthew Allen (Western Growers), Taylor Triffel (Western Tree Nut Association and others) and Richard Filgus (California Farm Bureau) — registered support in public comment.

Ransom said the bill creates an advisory committee composed of beekeepers, farmers and other stakeholders to guide the program’s work. Committee discussion was supportive; the author closed by urging an aye vote. The committee recorded a roll call with members voting aye (Soria; Alanis; Aguiar‑Curry; Connelly; Gonzales; Hadwick; Irwin; Ransom) and referred the bill to Appropriations.