California Farm Bureau, 15 county bureaus line up against billionaire tax

Seventeen farm organizations — the California Farm Bureau, Western Growers and 14 county farm bureaus — are campaigning against Proposition 40, the Nov. 3 ballot measure that would impose a 5% one-time tax on an estimated 200 California residents whose net worth exceeds $1 billion.

Butte County Farm Bureau Executive Director Colleen Cecil, whose family grows walnuts, framed the opposition in fiscal terms: "From a policy standpoint, Farm Bureau is opposed to tax increases and regardless of who it's on, it's a tax increase." She told Agri-Pulse that one-time or sunsetting taxes in California have a track record of becoming permanent.

"They toss that word 'billionaire' around, and not everyone fits into that category," Cecil said. "But people have a lot of assets. Agriculture is land-rich and tax-poor. … I just think it's bad policy for California to support tax increases when California has not always been honest about them."

Who's opposing, and who's paying?

Joining Butte County in opposition are the farm bureaus of Contra Costa, Fresno, Humboldt, Kern, Lake, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, Placer, San Diego, San Joaquin, Shasta and Sonoma counties, according to a campaign news release. The No on 40 effort draws funding from the California Business Roundtable Issues PAC, the United Domestic Workers of America and Planned Parenthood, alongside doctors, teachers, healthcare providers, labor unions, firefighters and civil rights leaders.

The measure, proposed by Service Employees International Union—United Healthcare Workers West, taxes individuals and trusts holding covered assets above $1 billion and directs revenue to healthcare and food assistance.

There's no official census of farm operations with assets above that threshold. Most of California's 63,134 farms are family-owned or privately held partnerships, so they don't publicly disclose balance sheets, debt-to-asset ratios or internal property valuations. The state's largest operators give a sense of the scale at stake:

• The Wonderful Co. — controls more than 190,000 acres in the Central Valley
• J.G. Boswell Co. — owns extensive acreage and historic water rights
• Sierra Pacific Industries — nearly 2 million acres of timberland plus multiple lumber mills, making it California's largest private landowner

What does this change for farm margins?

California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass said growers' exposure runs through the broader economy: "Farmers depend on a strong, predictable economy to sustain their operations, support local jobs, and pass their land down to the next generation."

The farm groups argue the tax would land while growers already face rising input costs and mounting financial pressure — and that farmers and ranchers depend on reliable infrastructure and a stable business environment to keep workers on payroll and invest ahead.

Steven Fenaroli, the California Farm Bureau's director of public affairs and communications, raised a governance concern: Proposition 40 "gives the Legislature power to change what and who's taxed rather than going back to voters, which is traditional." He added that reassessing expiring taxes normally requires a return to the ballot, so handing lawmakers "a whole heap of new power is pretty concerning."

A CalMatters fact check complicates that argument. California courts do allow lawmakers to amend ballot initiatives when the original text permits it, but attorney Michael Colantuono told the outlet that power isn't unlimited — and the measure includes language restricting future legislative changes. CalMatters also notes opponents' ads omit that Proposition 40 writes the tax into the state constitution, not just statute, so expanding it would likely require another ballot measure.

Supporters, polls and the exit factor

SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan told KGO-TV in San Francisco: "We are facing an actual collapse of our healthcare system. And the worst, the worst cuts are going to take effect come January 1st of 2027. Responsible elected officials need to tell people, what are we doing to deal with that?"

Supporters, citing CalMatters, argue the taxpayers in question benefited most from recent federal tax reforms, while Congress cut tens of billions from Medicaid — Medi-Cal in California — cuts they say could close hospitals and clinics. Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, Democratic organizations, unions and community leaders number among hundreds of endorsers.

A mid-October Politico/UC Berkeley Citrin Center poll found 46% in favor and 43% opposed. Several billionaires have already left the state ahead of a potential levy, including Alphabet co-founder Larry Page and PayPal and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg agreed to stay in California for eight years under a deal with his board.

Proposition 40's fate also hinges on the ballot's other initiatives. If Proposition 41, requiring audits of programs funded by new state special taxes, or Proposition 42, prohibiting new state personal property taxes and certain retroactive taxes, draws more votes than Proposition 40, the billionaire tax would be nullified.