BILL NUMBER: AB 967 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ma
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to amend Section 11501 of the Food and
Agricultural Code, An act to add Chapter 2.7
(commencing with Section 5420) to Division 5 of the Public Resources
Code, relating to pesticides.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 967, as amended, Ma. Pesticides: safety : playgrounds and
dog parks .
Existing law provides that the purpose of certain statutes
relating to pesticides is to provide for the proper, safe, and
efficient use of pesticides, protect the environment, assure worker
safety, permit control of licensees by the Director of Pesticide
Regulation and county commissioners, assure consumers of proper and
appropriate labeling, and encourage pest management systems.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes in
that provision establish the Healthy Parks Act of
2009. The bill would prohibit the use on a playground or dog park of
certain pesticides. The bill would require the owner or operator of a
playground or dog park to maintain records of all pesticide use at
the playground or dog park for a period of 4 years and to make the
records available to the public upon request. The bill
would require the owner or operator of a playground and dog park to
post warning signs in an area of pesticide application at least 24
hours prior to application and to maintain the posting until 72 hours
after the application .
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2.7 (commencing with Section
5420) is added to Division 5 of the Public Resources Code
, to read:
CHAPTER 2.7. HEALTHY PARKS ACT OF 2009
5420. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Healthy Parks Act of 2009.
5420.2. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Antimicrobial" means those pesticides defined by the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136(mm)).
(b) "Crack and crevice treatment" means the application of small
quantities of a pesticide, consistent with the labeling instructions,
in a building into openings such as those commonly found at
expansion joints, between levels of construction, and between
equipment and floors.
(c) "Emergency condition" means any circumstance in which the
owner or operator of a playground or a dog park deems that the
immediate use of a pesticide is necessary to protect the health and
safety of persons using the playground or dog park.
(d) "Pesticide" means the same as that set forth in Section 12753
of the Food and Agriculture Code.
5420.5. (a) It is the policy of the state that effective least
toxic pest management practices should be the preferred method of
managing pests at playgrounds and dog parks and that the state, in
order to reduce the public's exposure to toxic pesticides, shall take
the necessary steps, pursuant to Article 17 (commencing with Section
13180) of Chapter 2 of Division 7 of the Food and Agricultural Code,
to facilitate the adoption of effective least toxic pest management
practices at playgrounds and dog parks. It is the intent of the
Legislature to encourage appropriate training to be provided to
playground and dog park personnel involved in the application of a
pesticide at a playground or a dog park.
(b) (1) An owner or operator of a playground or dog park, or the
owner's or operator's agent, who personally applies any pesticides on
any area in the playground or dog park, or any area specified in
paragraph (2) shall provide notice to the person using the playground
or dog park as described in paragraph (3) at least 120 hours before
the application, unless an emergency condition, as defined in Section
5420.2, exists.
(2) This subdivision also applies when an owner or operator, or
his or her agent, intends to personally apply pesticides on any area
within 10 feet of the perimeter of a playground or dog park.
(3) The notice required by paragraph (1) shall include the
following:
(A) The product name.
(B) The manufacturer's name.
(C) The active ingredients of each pesticide.
(D) The United States Environmental Protection Agency's product
registration number.
(E) The intended date of application.
(F) The areas of application.
(G) The reason for application.
(4) If the playground or dog park ceases to operate on the
property, this act shall no longer apply to the property.
5421. (a) (1) The use of a pesticide on a playground or dog park
is prohibited if that pesticide is granted a conditional
registration, an interim registration, or an experimental use permit
by the Department of Pesticide Regulation, or if the pesticide is
subject to an experimental registration issued by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, and either of the following is
applicable:
(A) The pesticide contains a new active ingredient.
(B) The pesticide is for a new use. This paragraph does not apply
to a conditionally registered pesticide that is approved for other
uses that has fulfilled all registration requirements that relate to
human health, including, but not limited to, the completion of
mandatory health effect studies pursuant to the Birth Defect
Prevention Act of 1984 (Article 14 (commencing with Section 13121) of
Chapter 2 of Division 7 of the Food and Agriculture Code). This
section does not impose any new labeling requirements.
(2) The use of a pesticide on a playground or dog park is
prohibited if the Department of Pesticide Regulation cancels or
suspends registration, or requires phaseout of use, of that
pesticide.
(b) Vendors or manufacturers of pesticides that are prohibited for
use on a playground or dog park pursuant to subdivision (a) are
prohibited from furnishing those pesticides to an owner or operator
of a playground or dog park either by sale or by gift.
(c) This section does not apply to public health pesticides or
antimicrobial pesticides registered pursuant to Section 12836 of the
Food and Agricultural Code.
5421.5. Sections 5420.5 and 5421 do not apply to a pesticide
product deployed in the form of a self-contained bait or trap, to gel
or paste deployed as a crack and crevice treatment, to any pesticide
exempt from regulation by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq.), or to antimicrobial
pesticides, including sanitizers and disinfectants.
5422. An owner or operator of a playground or dog park shall
maintain records of all pesticide use at the playground or dog park
for a period of four years and shall make this information available
to the public, upon request, pursuant to the California Public
Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7
of Title 1 of the Government Code). A owner or operator of a
playground or dog park may meet the requirements of this section by
retaining a copy of the warning sign posted for each application
required pursuant to Section 5422.5, and recording on that copy the
amount of the pesticide used.
5422.5. The owner or operator of a playground or dog park shall
post each area of the playground or dog park where pesticides will be
applied with a warning sign. The warning sign shall prominently
display the term "Warning/Pesticide Treated Area" and shall include
the product name, manufacturer's name, the United States
Environmental Protection Agency's product registration number,
intended date and areas of application, and reason for the pesticide
application. The warning sign shall be visible to all persons
entering the treated area and shall be posted 24 hours prior to the
application and remain posted until 72 hours after the application.
In case of a pest control emergency, the warning sign shall be posted
immediately upon application and shall remain posted until 72 hours
after the application.
5423. Section 5422.5 does not apply to an agency signatory to a
cooperative agreement with the State Department of Health Care
Services pursuant to Section 116180 of the Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 1. Section 11501 of the Food and
Agricultural Code is amended to read:
11501. The purposes of this division and Chapter 1 (commencing
with Section 12501), Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 12751),
Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 14001), and Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 14101) of Division 7 are as follows:
(a) To provide for the proper, safe, and efficient use of
pesticides that are essential for production of food and fiber and
for protection of the public health and safety.
(b) To protect the environment from environmentally harmful
pesticides by prohibiting, regulating, or ensuring proper stewardship
of those pesticides.
(c) To ensure the agricultural and pest control workers of safe
working conditions where pesticides are present.
(d) To permit agricultural pest control by competent and
responsible licensees and permittees under strict control of the
director and commissioners.
(e) To ensure consumers and users that pesticides are properly
labeled and are appropriate for the use designated by the label and
that state or local governmental dissemination of information on
pesticidal uses of any registered pesticide product is consistent
with the uses for which the product is registered.
(f) To encourage the development and implementation of pest
management systems, stressing application of biological and cultural
pest control techniques with selective pesticides when necessary to
achieve acceptable levels of control with the least possible harm to
nontarget organisms and the environment.