SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Factory farms and slaughterhouses that expand existing operations or build new facilities could face fines up to $10,000 per day under new legislation that could be heard in committee on March 21. Assemblymembers Adrin Nazarian (D-Van Nuys) and Alex Lee (D-San Jose), who authored Assembly Bill 2764, said putting a halt to commercial animal feeding operations and slaughterhouses would be a step forward in preventing inhumane cruelty on animals and workers, while minimizing environmental and health impacts. “These operations have a notorious track record of poor working conditions where health and safety are sacrificed for the maximum profit. Although we can’t and shouldn’t replace it overnight, we can cease its expansion to give room for more worker and consumer-friendly operations to develop,” Nazarian said in a statement. Two animal rights activist groups sponsored the bill—Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) and Compassion Bay—echoed the lawmakers’ sentiments toward California’s agriculture industry. Cassie …