I read the actual proposition, and the requirements don't seem that stringent -- so it's not like it's a technicality that would force farmers to tear down "perfectly good coops". If the hens are that crowded, I'm with the animal rights people: they should probably be replaced. Sixteen years allows the farms to retool without having to come up with large amounts of cash quickly, which lets them pass along any costs for production more gradually... and for anyone who finds it too expensive, I expect the facilities will get taken up by another farmer who wants to give it a shot. I just don't see egg production in this state becoming scarce enough to create significant price hikes. Maybe I'm naive, but none of the opposition has managed to give me good numbers to demonstrate otherwise, and agriculture in California is resilient.

The line about the costs being offset by fines was in response to added inspection costing the state money, btw -- it had nothing to do with farmers' costs for upgrading. As for presuming firms actually fail... there are always places that are noncompliant, for one reason or another. Given that the added costs of inspection will be small, you don't need many fines to make up the difference.