California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 304

Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

February 12, 2013

An act to amend Sections 14022, 14023, and 14024 of the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to pesticides.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 304, as introduced, Williams. Pesticides: toxic air contaminant: control measures.

(1) Existing law requires the Director of Pesticide Regulation, upon completion of an evaluation of a pesticide, to prepare a report on the health effects of any pesticide determined to be a toxic air contaminant that poses a present or potential hazard to human health due to airborne emission from its use, as specified. Existing law requires this report to be made available to the public, as specified. Existing law also requires the director to determine, in consultation with specified agencies, the need for and appropriate degree of control measures for each pesticide listed as a toxic air contaminant.

This bill would require the written determination regarding control measures for each such pesticide and all findings made by consulting agencies be made available to the public.

(2) Existing law requires, for those pesticides for which a need for control measures has been determined, the director, in consultation with specified agencies, to develop control measures designed to reduce emissions sufficiently so the source will not expose the public to the levels of exposure that may cause or contribute to significant adverse health effects. Existing law requires, after a public hearing, the director to adopt, by regulation, control measures, including application of the best practicable control techniques for those pesticides for which a need has been determined.

This bill would include pesticides identified by the director as toxic air contaminants within the list of pesticides for which the director is required to develop control measures, as specified above.

This bill would further require the director to follow specified consultation procedures and would require the director, within 2 years of the determination of the need for control measures or following a risk assessment of a pesticide identified as a toxic air contaminant, to adopt control measures to protect human health or report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature why control measures have not been adopted. The bill would require, with respect to any pesticide for which a determination of the need for control measures was made before to January 1, 2014, that the 2-year period described above commence on January 1, 2014.

This bill also would make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 14022 of the Food and Agricultural Code
is amended to read:

14022.  

(a) In consultation with the begin delete State Department of Health
Services end delete begin insert Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment end insert and
the State Air Resources Board, the director shall evaluate the health
effects of pesticides begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert may be or are emitted into the
ambient air of California and begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert may be determined to be
a toxic air contaminant begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert poses a present or potential
hazard to human health. Upon request of the State Air Resources
Board, the director shall include a pesticide for evaluation.

(b) The director shall complete the evaluation of a pesticide
within 90 days after receiving the scientific data specified in
subdivision (c) from the begin delete State Department of Health Services end delete begin insert Office
of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment end insert and the State Air
Resources Board. The director may extend the 90-day deadline
for a period not to exceed 30 days if the director transmits to the
Assembly Committee on Rules and the Senate Committee on
Rules, for transmittal to the appropriate standing, select, or joint
committee of the Legislature, a statement of reasons for extension
of the deadline.

(c) In conducting this evaluation, the director shall consider all
available scientific data, including, but not limited to, relevant data
provided by the begin delete State Department of Health Services end delete begin insert Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment end insert , the Occupational Safety
and Health Division of the Department of Industrial Relations,
international and federal health agencies, private industry, academic
researchers, and public health and environmental organizations.
At the request of the director, the State Air Resources Board shall
document the level of airborne emissions and the begin delete State Department
of Health Services end delete begin insert Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment end insert shall provide an assessment of related health effects
of pesticides begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert may be determined to pose a present or
potential hazard and each agency shall provide technical assistance
to the department as it conducts its evaluation.

(d) The director may request, and any person shall provide,
information on any substance begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert is or may be under
evaluation and begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert is manufactured, distributed, or used by
the person to whom the request is made, in order to carry out his
or her responsibilities pursuant to this chapter. Any person
providing information pursuant to this subdivision shall begin insert identify end insert ,
at the request of the director, begin delete identify end delete that portion of the information
submitted to the department begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert is a trade secret and, upon
the request of the director, shall provide documentation to support
the claim of the trade secret. Information supplied begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert is a
trade secret, as specified in Section 6254.7 of the Government
Code, and begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert is so marked at the time of submission shall
not be released to the public by the director, except in accordance
with Section 1060 of the Evidence Code and Section 21160 of the
Public Resources Code.

(e) The director shall give priority to the evaluation and
regulation of substances based on factors related to the risk of harm
to public health, amount or potential amount of emissions, manner
of usage of the pesticide in California, persistence in the
atmosphere, and ambient concentrations in the community.

SEC. 2.  

Section 14023 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
amended to read:

14023.  

(a) Upon completion of the evaluation conducted
pursuant to Section 14022, the director shall, in consultation and
with the participation of the begin delete State Department of Health Services end delete
begin insert Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment end insert , prepare a
report on the health effects of the pesticide begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert may be
determined to be a toxic air contaminant begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert poses a present
or potential hazard to human health due to airborne emission from
its use. The report shall assess the availability and quality of data
on health effects, including potency, mode of action, and other
relevant biological factors, of the substance. The report shall also
contain an estimate of the levels of exposure begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert may cause
or contribute to adverse health effects and, in the case where there
is no threshold of significant adverse health effects, the range of
risk to humans, resulting from current or anticipated exposure.
The report shall include the findings of the begin delete State Department of
Health Services end delete begin insert Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment end insert . The report shall be made available to the public,
subject to subdivision (d) of Section 14022.

(b) The report prepared pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
formally reviewed by the scientific review panel established
according to Section 39670 of the Health and Safety Code. The
director shall also make available the data deemed necessary to
the scientific review panel, according to departmental procedures
established to ensure confidentiality of proprietary information.
The panel shall review, as appropriate, the scientific data on which
the report is based, the scientific procedures and methods used to
support the data, and the conclusions and assessments on which
the report is based. The panel shall submit its written findings to
the director within 45 days after receiving the report, but it may
petition the director for an extension of the deadline, which may
not exceed 15 working days.

(c) If the scientific review panel determines that the health
effects report is seriously deficient, the report shall be returned to
the director who shall revise and resubmit the report, within 30
days following receipt of the panel’s determination, to the panel
begin delete prior to end delete begin insert before end insert development of emission control measures.

(d) Within 10 working days following receipt of the findings
of the scientific review panel pursuant to subdivision (b), the
director shall prepare a hearing notice and a proposed regulation
begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert shall include the proposed determination as to whether
a pesticide is a toxic air contaminant. After conducting a public
hearing pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340)
of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the
director shall list, by regulation, pesticides determined to be toxic
air contaminants.

(e) The director shall determine, in consultation with the begin delete State
Department of Health Services end delete begin insert Office of Environmental Health
Hazard Assessment end insert , the State Air Resources Board, and the air
pollution control districts or air quality management districts in
the affected counties, the need for and appropriate degree of control
measures for each pesticide listed as a toxic air contaminant
pursuant to subdivision (d). Any person may submit written
information for consideration by the director in making
determinations on control measures. begin insert The written determination
and all findings made by the consulting agencies shall be made
available to the public. end insert

SEC. 3.  

Section 14024 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
amended to read:

14024.  

(a) For begin insert pesticides identified by the director as toxic air
contaminants, as described in subdivision (b) of Section 14021,
and for end insert those pesticides for which a need for control measures has
been determined pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 14023 and
pursuant to provisions of this code, the director, in consultation
with the agricultural begin delete commissioners and end delete begin insert commissioners, end insert air
pollution control districts begin insert , end insert and air quality management districts in
the affected counties, shall develop control measures designed to
reduce emissions sufficiently so that the source will not expose
the public to the levels of exposure begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert may cause or
contribute to significant adverse health effects. begin delete Where end delete begin insert If end insert no
demonstrable safe level or threshold of significant adverse health
effects has been established by the director, the control measures
shall be designed to adequately prevent an endangerment of public
health through the application of best practicable control
techniques.

(b) Best practicable control techniques may include, but are not
limited to, the following:

(1) Label amendments.

(2) Applicator training.

(3) Restrictions on use patterns or locations.

(4) Changes in application procedures.

(5) Reclassification as a restricted material.

(6) Cancellation.

begin insert

(c) (1) The director shall follow the consultation procedures
set forth in subdivision (a) and, within two years of the
determination of the need for control measures pursuant to
subdivision (e) of Section 14023 or following a risk assessment of
a pesticide identified as a toxic air contaminant pursuant to Section
14021, shall adopt control measures to protect human health or
submit a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature
setting forth the reasons that this requirement has not been met.

end insert begin insert

(2) Reports submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.

end insert begin insert

(d) For purposes of this section, with respect to any pesticide
for which a determination of the need for control measures was
made before to January 1, 2014, the two-year period described in
subdivision (c) shall commence on January 1, 2014.

end insert begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  After conducting a public hearing pursuant to Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title
2 of the Government Code, the director shall adopt, by regulation,
control measures, including application of the best practicable
control techniques enumerated in subdivision (b) or any other best
applicable control technique, for those pesticides for which a need
has been determined.