AB1486 - Climate resiliency: research farms: grant program.

Enrolled August 26, 2026 Passed IN Senate August 20, 2026 Passed IN Assembly August 24, 2026 Amended IN Senate June 10, 2026 Amended IN Assembly January 22, 2026 Amended IN Assembly April 03, 2025 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 1486 Introduced by Assembly Member Soria (Coauthors: Assembly Members Aguiar-Curry and Hadwick) February 21, 2025 An act to add Section 33319.1 to the Education Code, and to amend Section 93570 of the Public Resources Code, relating to climate resiliency. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1486, Soria. Climate resiliency: research farms: grant program. The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, approved by the voters as Proposition 4 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorized the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, wildfire and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity protection and nature-based climate solutions, climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands, park creation and outdoor access, and clean air programs. Of these funds, the act makes $300,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for improving climate resilience and sustainability of agricultural lands, including, among other things, by making $15,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture, for purposes of providing grants to public postsecondary educational institutions that are designated as Agricultural Experiment Stations or Agricultural Research Institutes, to develop research farms to improve climate resiliency, as specified. Existing law authorizes a state agency to furnish services, materials, or equipment to, or perform work for, any other state agency upon terms and conditions and for the consideration as they may determine, and to enter into agreements for that purpose, subject to approval of the Director of General Services. Existing law requires a state agency that furnishes the services, materials, or equipment to, or performs the work for, the other state agency to compute charges in a manner approved by the Director of Finance. Existing law authorizes a state agency to provide for the advancing of funds, as provided, to defray those charges. This bill would authorize the State Department of Education to advance a payment for a contract or agreement made with the Department of Food and Agriculture pursuant to the research farm provisions of Proposition 4, described above, in the 2026–27 and 2027–28 fiscal years. The bill would exempt those contracts and agreements from the above-described requirement of approval by the Director of General Services. The bill would provide, for purposes of those contracts and agreements, that developing a research farm pursuant to the research farm provisions of Proposition 4 includes constructing a new research farm and maintaining, altering, or improving an existing research farm previously constructed by the Agricultural Experiment Station or the Agricultural Research Institute. This bill would provide, for purposes of the research farm grants, that Agricultural Experiment Stations and Agricultural Research Institutes are designated by the University of California and the California State University. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 33319.1 is added to the Education Code, to read: 33319.1. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the department may advance a payment for a contract or agreement made with the Department of Food and Agriculture pursuant to Section 93570 of the Public Resources Code in the 2026–27 and 2027–28 fiscal years. A contract or agreement made by the department with the Department of Food and Agriculture pursuant to Section 93570 of the Public Resources Code in those fiscal years shall be exempt from the requirement of approval by the Director of General Services pursuant to Section 11256 of the Government Code. (b) For purposes of a contract or agreement specified in subdivision (a), developing a research farm pursuant to Section 93570 of the Public Resources Code includes both of the following: (1) Constructing a new research farm. (2) Maintaining, altering, or improving an existing research farm previously constructed by the Agricultural Experiment Station or the Agricultural Research Institute. SEC. 2. Section 93570 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 93570. Of the funds made available by Section 93500, fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture, for purposes of providing grants to public postsecondary educational institutions that are designated by the University of California and the California State University as Agricultural Experiment Stations or Agricultural Research Institutes, to develop research farms to improve climate resiliency. Funding provided pursuant to this section shall not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) per institution and shall be constructed and maintained with environmentally sustainable infrastructure practices.