Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signing pen is heating up as he dispenses with hundreds of bills. In another round of legislative dumps this week, he cast pivotal decisions on pesticide legislation.
The governor signed a ban on first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides. Assemblymember Laura Friedman of Glendale authored Assembly Bill 2552 to protect wildlife and build on an existing ban for certain rat poisons. An ag coalition successfully convinced Friedman to drop a controversial provision that would have enabled residents to sue pesticide retailers on behalf of animals.
Newsom also approved a bill on pesticides applied near schools. AB 1864 sets new requirements on notices of intent for applications within a quarter mile of public and private schools. Asm. Damon Connolly of San Rafael had removed a list of nonrestricted pesticides he had sought to specifically target with the requirements. That whittled the opposition down to county ag commissioners, who worried about implementation costs.
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Yet the governor vetoed Connolly’s proposed ban on glyphosate along roadsides under the guise of integrated pest management. AB 99 would have required CalTrans to abide by the county pesticide bans as well as other ordinances.
Newsom did not like the idea of overriding state standards and worried about the potential for billions of dollars in ongoing costs. In his veto statement, the governor claimed unclear terminology in the bill would lead to implementation and enforcement challenges as well as a complicated patchwork of regulations. Newsom instead promoted his Sustainable Pest Management agenda.
Up next: Newsom has yet to decide on AB 1963 on paraquat. The bill started as a ban but Friedman eventually narrowed it to mandating a reevaluation of the herbicide by 2029.
