The California Department of Food and Agriculture is asking lawmakers for $18.5 million a year to respond to a glassy-winged sharpshooter outbreak, according to remarks at a joint Assembly-Senate agriculture hearing.
Undersecretary Christine Birdsong said the money would support detection, monitoring and eradication efforts. The pest is a concern because it can spread Pierce’s disease, which can damage wine grapes and other crops.
Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry raised the outbreak during the hearing and pressed for immediate response funding, framing the pest as a near-term issue for the Legislature to address.
The hearing took place as lawmakers and agriculture officials discussed broader pressures on California agriculture, including water scarcity, regulatory costs and climate-related stress. CDFA also used the hearing to highlight a regulatory alignment study and a new California Ag Research and Innovation Roadmap.
The record reviewed for the hearing does not show whether legislators endorsed the $18.5 million request, rejected it or modified it.
