California’s Prop 12 Delayed and Funding for Rural Internet

**The California Department of Food and Ag has agreed to a six-month extension allowing retailers to continue selling pork that doesn’t comply with the animal housing rules of Prop 12.

The extension follows a lawsuit from grocery and restaurant owners seeking postponement of the initiative passed by voters in 2018.

The Sacramento County Superior Court approved a stipulation allowing noncompliant pork already in the supply chain to be sold through the end of the year.

**Members of the House Ag Committee have formed a bipartisan

Ag Labor Working Group to address ag labor shortages and other workforce issues, including reforming the H-2A visa program.

In recent years the number of foreign nationals brought in to fill temporary, seasonal farm jobs has been insufficient to meet the year-round needs of livestock farmers.

The National Pork Producers Council supports expanding and reforming the H-2A program.

**The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced allocated funding for reliable high-speed internet.

States, D.C., and territories will use funding from the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program to administer grant programs within their borders.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says, “What this announcement means for people across the country is that if you don’t have access to quality, affordable high-speed Internet service now – you will.”

To view state-by-state funding across the Biden Administration's high-speed Internet portfolio, visit InternetforAll.gov.