Room to breathe: California voters to decide whether hens, pigs and calves get more space
USA - Secretary of State Alex Padilla today announced that an initiative is eligible for the 6 November 2018, General Election ballot
27 June 2018
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In order to become eligible for the ballot, the initiative needed 365,880 valid petition signatures, which is equal to five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2014 General Election.
An initiative can qualify via random sampling of petition signatures if the sampling projects a number of valid signatures greater than 110 percent of the required number. The initiative needed at least 402,468 projected valid signatures to qualify by random sampling, and it exceeded that threshold today.
On 28 June 2018, the Secretary of State will certify the initiative as qualified for the 6 November 2018 General Election ballot, unless the proponent withdraws the initiative prior to that date pursuant to Elections Code section 9604(b).
The Attorney General's official title and summary of the initiative is as follows:
ESTABLISHES NEW STANDARDS FOR CONFINEMENT OF CERTAIN FARM ANIMALS; BANS SALE OF CERTAIN NON-COMPLYING PRODUCTS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Establishes new minimum space requirements for confining veal calves, breeding pigs, and egg-laying hens; requires egg-laying hens be raised in cage-free environment after December 31, 2021. Prohibits certain commercial sales of specified meat and egg products from animals confined in non-complying manner. Defines sales violations as unfair competition. Creates good faith defense for sellers relying upon written certification by suppliers that meat or animal products comply with new confinement standards. Requires State of California to issue implementing regulations. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Potential decrease in state and local tax revenues from farm businesses, likely not to exceed the low millions of dollars annually. Potential state costs ranging up to ten million dollars annually to enforce the measure. (17-0026)
The proponent of this initiative is Cheri Shankar. The proponent can be reached c/o Kurt Oneto at (916) 446-6752.
For more information about how an initiative qualifies for the ballot in California, click here
As reported by California Secretary of State
Ryan Johnson
Ryan worked in conservation from 2008 to 2017, during which time he operated a rainbow trout hatchery and helped to maintain public and protected green spaces in Canada for the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. As editor of The Poultry Site, he now writes about challenges and opportunities in agriculture across the globe.
