Agriculture: Agricultural Sustainability Council: regulatory alignment.

Existing law establishes the Department of Food and Agriculture and requires it to promote and protect the agricultural industry of the state. This bill would establish the Agricultural Sustainability Council, with a prescribed membership from specified state agencies, to plan for regulatory alignments that would aid grower compliance, reduce costs to the agriculture industry, and protect the environment. The bill would authorize the council, if the council determines that there is an efficient and cost-effective manner to achieve regulatory alignments that aid grower compliance without weakening, in any manner, the application of a law for the protection of public health, the environment, consumer protection, or worker safety, to adopt that determination as a recommendation. The bill would require the council to provide an opportunity for public input and comment, as prescribed, before the council adopts a recommendation. Upon the council's adoption of a recommendation, the bill would require the council to forward that recommendation to the applicable state agency, as defined.