Targeting Agriculture: Air Quality Policy in California’s San Joaquin Valley

Senate Bill 700 authored by California State Senator Dean Florez was signed into law in September of 2003. This legislation ended agriculture's exemption from national air permits in the state of California. At the same time, though, it allowed agricultural interests to define the terms of its own regulatory compliance. This paper examines the role of policy narratives on the design and implementation of this historic piece of legislation. It demonstrates how policy narratives shape the choice of target populations, policy tools, agents, and implementation structures. Finally, it illustrates the important link between policy design and implementation activities.