Existing law, the Food and Agricultural Code, defines the term “integrated pest management” for purposes of the Healthy Schools Act of 2000, which requires the Department of Pesticide Regulation to promote and facilitate the adoption of voluntary integrated pest management programs for schoolsites, as provided. Existing law, the Food and Agricultural Code, uses the term “invasive species” in a variety of contexts, including, among others, by establishing in state government the Invasive Species Council of California to help coordinate a comprehensive effort to prevent the introduction of invasive species in the state, as provided.

This bill would define “integrated pest management” for purposes of the Food and Agricultural Code, excluding the Healthy Schools Act of 2000, to mean, among other things, a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic, health, and environmental risks. mean an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on long-term prevention of pests or their damage through a combination of techniques, as provided. The bill would define “invasive species” for purposes of the entire Food and Agricultural Code to mean nonnative organisms that cause, or are likely to cause, economic or environmental harm, excluding humans, domestic livestock, specified domestic or domesticated species, and nonharmful nonnative organisms.

Existing law establishes the Invasive Species Council of California to help coordinate a comprehensive effort to prevent the introduction of invasive species in the state and to advise state agencies how to facilitate coordinated, complementary, and cost-effective control or eradication of invasive species that have entered or are already established in the state, as specified.

This bill would require the council to prioritize principles of integrated pest management in all of its activities.