Ag Commissioner Andy Gipson (Photo from Gipson Facebook)
- Gipson said the California law could impact agricultural and food industry entities headquartered in Mississippi, “mainly our big poultry and egg companies.”
Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson (R) signed an administrative order on Monday aimed at shielding the state’s agribusinesses from California’s new climate reporting mandates.
“Gavin Newsome should tend to his own State’s business, rather than trying to meddle with ours,” Gipson said on social media.
California’s Air Resources Board is finalizing rules to make it the first state to enact a law regarding corporate climate accountability reporting, requiring U.S.-based entities with more than $1 billion in annual revenue that do business in the state to annually report greenhouse gas emissions.
Another California law that would require companies doing business in the state with annual revenues exceeding $500 million to file a biennial climate-related financial risk report was temporarily paused from being implemented by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. However, the California Air Resources Board is also considered regulations to implement that law should the court rule in the state’s favor.
Similar meaures are now being considered in New York.
Gipson said the California law could impact agricultural and food industry entities headquartered in Mississippi, “mainly our big poultry and egg companies.”
The commissioner believes the California legislation is “an overreach of power by another state to incorporate regulations from international climate accords that have not been ratified in the United States and have the potential to hinder our state’s agricultural industry.”
“Our state agency is committed to safeguarding our hardworking farmers, ranchers, producers and agribusinesses from the undue compliance costs and bureaucratic hurdles that these foreign mandates attempt to impose on our soil,” Commissioner Gipson said.
The commissioner’s order states that no Mississippi agricultural producer, processor, or agribusiness is to be subject to the provisions of the California law or any international climate mandate that conflicts with Mississippi law.
Gipson goes on to declare that the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) will take no action to assist in the enforcement of the California reporting or disclosure standards and says he will coordinate with the Governor, Attorney General, and other state boards to ensure Mississippi enterprises “remain free from extraterritorial burdens.”
“We are sending a clear message to California and federal authorities – commerce conducted within Mississippi’s borders will be governed by Mississippi law, not by the legislative whims of Sacramento,” Gipson said.
You can read Commissioner Gipson’s full order below.
Frank Corder
