SACRAMENTO, CA – Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) released the following statement after her bill, SB 262, passed successfully through the Senate Human Services Committee. Senate Bill 262,  which directs the California Department of Social Services to establish the California Farmworkers Drought and Flood Resilience Pilot Project to provide eligible farmworker households financial assistance in order to meet basic needs, passed on a 3-0 vote.

“Farmworkers put food on the table for people throughout our country, and work tirelessly to do so. However, according to the Public Policy Institute of California, over half of farmworkers have incomes 200% below the federal poverty level, with higher poverty rates among undocumented farmworkers.”

California is the largest producer of agricultural goods in the United States, and farmworkers are critical in maintaining a stable and successful agriculture economy. Navigating water instability and farmland practices ranging from fewer crops to fallowed fields and drought-damaged farms means a reduction in work hours, further compounding farmworker poverty.

Senator Melissa Hurtado currently represents the 16th Senate District in the California Legislature, which includes portions of Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Kern Counties. Hurtado is Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, and a member of the Environmental Quality, Health, Human Services, and Natural Resources and Water Committees, and Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies. Website of Senator Melissa Hurtado https://sd16.senate.ca.gov/

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