Bill Text: CA AB99 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Department of Transportation: state roads and highways: integrated pest management.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2023-09-01 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB99 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB99-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Senate
July 13, 2023 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
April 17, 2023 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 21, 2023 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 01, 2023 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 99
| Introduced by Assembly Member Connolly (Coauthors: Assembly Members Bauer-Kahan, Kalra, Jackson, Ting, Weber, and Wilson) (Coauthor: Senator McGuire) |
January 09, 2023 |
An act to add Article 16.8 (commencing with Section 13178) to Chapter 2 of Division 7 of the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to pesticides.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 99, as amended, Connolly.
Department of Transportation: state roads and highways: integrated pest management.
Existing law vests the Department of Transportation with possession and control of the state highway system and associated property. Existing law prohibits each state agency that has responsibility for roadside vegetation control operations on, or along, a roadway, including a state highway, from conducting a roadside vegetation control operation on a portion of the roadway for which a property owner has made a request for information related to the roadside vegetation control operation until certain conditions are satisfied, as specified.
This bill would require the Department of Transportation to adopt, on or before January 1, 2025, a statewide policy to use integrated pest management, as defined, on state roads and highways, as specified, and to implement the statewide policy in cities or counties that have adopted integrated pest
management approaches to road-side roadside vegetation management. The bill would require the Department of Transportation, in developing the statewide policy, to consult with the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. The bill would require the Department of Transportation, when operating in a city or a county that has a adopted an integrated pest management policy that is more restrictive approach
than the statewide policy, to the extent feasible, to operate in a manner consistent with the approach mandated by the
city or the county. city’s or county’s integrated pest management policy, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Transportation, on or before December 31, 2025, and annually thereafter, to make publicly available on its internet website the amount, location, and type of pesticides, and the pesticide formulation, by city and county, it uses, and, at least 24 hours before applying a pesticide, would require the Department of Transportation to provide on its internet website and mobile application, and through any other means of communication deemed appropriate by the applicable state transportation district, information on when and where it plans to apply the pesticide.
Under existing law, a violation of certain provisions and regulations related to pesticides is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than
$50,000, or by imprisonment of not more than 6 months, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
Because a violation of this bill’s requirements would be a crime subject to the provision above, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Article 16.8 (commencing with Section 13178) is added to Chapter 2 of Division 7 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:Article 16.8. Integrated Pest Management on State Roads and Highways
13178.
For purposes of this article, “integrated pest management” means an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on long-term prevention of pests or their damage through a combination of techniques, such as biological controls, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices, and use of resistant varieties, through which pesticides are used only after monitoring indicates they are needed according to established guidelines, treatments are made with the goal of removing only the target organism, and pest control materials are selected and applied in a manner that minimizes risks to human health, beneficial and nontarget organisms, and the environment.13178.1.
(a) It is the policy of the state that effective least harmful pest management practices should be the preferred method of managing pests on state roads and highways and that the state should take the necessary steps to facilitate the adoption of effective least harmful pest management practices on state roads and highways.(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that all Department of Transportation personnel who apply herbicides or pesticides on state roads and highways be trained in integrated pest management and the safe use of herbicides and pesticides in relation to the unique nature of state roads and highways.
13178.2.
(a) On or before January 1, 2025, the Department of Transportation shall adopt a statewide policy to use integrated pest management on state roads and highways.(b) In developing the statewide policy, the Department of Transportation shall consult with the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program.
(c) The statewide policy shall do all of the following:
(1) Restrict pesticide use to the least harmful product and application method.
(2) To the maximum extent feasible, require that any pesticide used be biodegradable, derived from natural sources, and be used for a limited time.
(3) Prohibit the use of pesticides, except in any of the following circumstances:
(A) Where no alternative vegetation management method has been proven effective.
(B) In high-fire severity areas, as identified by the Department of Transportation, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, fire hazard
severity zones, as classified or identified by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Section 51178 of the Government Code or Section 4202 of the Public Resources Code, for purposes of preventing, combating, or mitigating the risk of wildfire.
(C) For the eradication of invasive plant species or habitat restoration, but only if the use of nonchemical methods for prevention and management, such as physical, mechanical, cultural, and biological controls, are infeasible.
(d) The Department of Transportation shall implement the statewide policy in cities and counties that have adopted integrated pest
management approaches to roadside vegetation management.
(e) When operating in a city or a county that has a adopted an integrated pest management policy that is more restrictive approach than the statewide policy, the department Department of Transportation shall, to the extent feasible, operate in a manner consistent with the approach mandated
by the city or the county. city’s or county’s integrated pest management policy if the city or county has submitted to the Department of Transportation, in writing, the integrated pest management policy that it adopted and that is more restrictive than the statewide policy.
13178.4.
(a) The Department of Transportation shall, on or before December 31, 2025, and annually thereafter, make publicly available on its internet website the amount, location, and type of pesticides, and the pesticide formulation, by city and county, used by the Department of Transportation.(b) The Department of Transportation shall, at least 24 hours before applying a pesticide, provide on its internet website and mobile application, and through any other means of communication deemed appropriate by the applicable state transportation district, information on when and where it plans to apply the pesticide.
