Since 2005, at least 16 farm workers have died due to heat illness.

AB 2676 requires that farm workers must be given “continuous, ready access” to shade and enough “suitably cool” water for each employee to drink one quart per hour throughout their eight- to 10-hour work shift. Employers would be guilty of a misdemeanor subject to a six-month jail term and a fine of up to $10,000, increasing to one year in jail and a $25,000 fine if the worker-victim suffers injury.

In California, farm workers don't have the same heat protections under the law as animals do. But there's a bill that could change that—if Gov. Jerry Brown will sign it:Another bill, AB 2346, would allow workers to sue employers who repeatedly violate requirements to provide workers with water and shade.

That doesn't sound unreasonable, does it? Not if you don't represent agribusiness, anyway. Agribusiness, of course, is freaking out in the same way it freaked out when back-breaking short-handled hoes were banned. And that freak-out means it's very much in question whether Brown will sign the bills. Even though what we're talking about are bills saying you can't treat a person worse than you'd treat an animal, and one that creates consequences for breaking the law.