Agricultural workers harvest onions in a California field in this Library of Congress photo. Immigrants in the state face a dual threat from cuts to federal Medicaid and state Medi-Cal health coverage, as well as federal enforcement actions and deportation threats for undocumented immigrants. Photo: Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress.

Two Bakersfield lawmakers have joined forces on legislation designed to boost farmworker earnings while supporting California’s struggling agricultural sector.

State Senators Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) and Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) introduced Senate Bill 921, which would create a payroll tax credit for agricultural employers to offset the cost of overtime wages. The California Farm Bureau and California Association of Winegrape Growers are co-sponsoring the measure.

“This means more overtime hours and better take-home pay for the folks who put food on America’s tables,” Grove said. “This is a win-win solution for both the business and our farmworkers who want to work more hours during their peak season.”

Hurtado emphasized the human impact: “Behind every meal is a story of love, sacrifice and hard work in the fields. SB 921 honors the sweat and sacrifice behind our food with a modern, fair approach to wages.”

The bill addresses consequences of California’s 2016 agricultural overtime law, which phased in time-and-a-half pay for farmworkers exceeding 40 hours weekly — down from the previous 60-hour threshold. Research by UC Berkeley’s Dr. Alexandra Hill found that farmworkers now work between 4.2 and 4.7 fewer hours weekly compared to 2012, with annual earnings declining by $2,800.

“Farmers warned the Legislature a decade ago that changes to the agricultural overtime law would reduce work hours and cost farmworkers wages, and those concerns have proven true,” said California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass. “This tax credit is a practical solution that puts money directly into the hands of farmworkers.”

The proposal mirrors programs in Oregon and New York, which offer similar credits through 2028 and 2032 respectively. SB 921 is modeled after California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program, which received a $420 million annual increase in 2025.

Natalie Collins, president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers, noted the disparity: “Last year, California found $420 million to expand a tax credit for the entertainment industry. California invests in what it values, and agriculture is asking to be valued.”

The tax credit could impact roughly 415,000 California farmworkers, significantly more than the film industry’s recent allocation benefiting an estimated 8,900 cast and crew members, Collins said.

However, the bill faces opposition from labor unions. When a similar measure, SB 628, came before the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee last year, the California Federation of Labor Unions led the opposition. Sara Flocks, legislative and strategic campaigns director for the federation, characterized the proposed tax credit as subsidizing farm employers for a cost other employers must bear on their own, stating it “drains funding from the general fund” and “takes away from every other priority of the public,” according to testimony at the April 2025 hearing reported by Ag Alert.

State Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles), who chairs the labor committee, made a similar criticism, saying the bill would transfer the cost of doing business onto the rest of California, and warned that giving an overtime tax credit to farm employers could cause other sectors to demand the same support, according to Westside Connect. The committee ultimately rejected SB 628 in a 4-1 party-line vote, with the Democratic majority opposing the measure.