Ag Law Center: Prop 12 is a Key Issue to Watch in 2024

Thank you for joining us for part two. The National Agricultural Law Center, based in Arkansas, called 2023 a year for significant developments and changes on the legal front in the ag industry. Harrison Pittman, director of the Ag Law Center, walks us through a few issues to watch for in 2024.

“The third one that would be important to watch is the fallout in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision on Proposition 12, which is the California animal welfare law that basically opened the door up to the degree to which they might be able to regulate what would otherwise often be considered commerce that would otherwise be left in the U.S. Congress to regulate. So, I think that could spawn a lot of legislative proposals, both agricultural-related and non-agricultural-related, and probably will since we're coming into sessions around the country. Now that we're getting into January, I'd expect that to pick up.”

“We're going to be several states advance bills again this year. Because there have been numerous federal proposals but they haven't had a good vehicle yet legislatively to get enacted, I would expect something at the federal level to be enacted as potentially part of the farm bill process, which is, you know, within basically delay with a one-year extension. But they're still working on a multi-year farm bill that could happen there, or parts of these federal proposals could find their way into an appropriations bill.”