SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) released the following statement after introducing her bill, Senate Bill 262, a reintroduction of the Farmworker’s Drought Resilience Pilot Project:

“No one should be going hungry in a State with the 4^th largest economy in the world,” said Senator Hurtado. “SB 262 will help provide desperately needed financial relief to struggling farmworkers and their families. This funding will be critical in the Central Valley where the impacts of climate disasters, like drought and floods, have left farmworkers without predictable wages or stable jobs.”  

Senate Bill 262 creates a state-funded supplemental pay program that will provide cash assistance to eligible farmworkers. The bill directs the Department of Social Services to develop and implement the program, ensuring they have the flexibility they need to carry out the pilot project, while also meeting the needs of the farmworker population.

Last session, Senator Hurtado introduced a bill identical to this one, SB 1066. SB 1066 passed through the Legislature with broad support, but was unfortunately, vetoed by the Governor.

About Senator Melissa Hurtado

Senator Melissa Hurtado represents a new generation of Latina leaders as the youngest woman ever elected to the California State Senate and a product of immigrant parents. Senator Hurtado represents the 16th Senate District and focuses on rural community issues that often go unheard — access to clean air and water, food insecurity and poverty, inequities in environmental policies, agriculture and access to health care. In July 2020, she was appointed to the national Biden Latino Leadership Committee alongside former Labor Secretary and current Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis – the only two California Latinas on the Committee.

For more information, visit Senator Hurtado’s Website here or find her on Twitter at @Senator_Hurtado

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