BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 304
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 8, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 304 (Williams) - As Amended: April 8, 2013
Policy Committee: Environmental
Safety and Toxic Materials Vote: 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR)
to adopt control measures to protect public health within two
years of determining pesticides are toxic air contaminants (TAC)
or hazardous air pollutant toxic air contaminants (HAPTACs).
Any pesticides determined to require control measures prior to
January 1, 2014 are also subject to the two-year requirement
going forward.
This bill also provides a process for reporting to the
Legislature and public if the deadlines are not met.
FISCAL EFFECT
Increased annual costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars
to DPR for the adoption of control measures and reporting.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale. The Toxic Air Contaminant (TAC) Act was
established in 1983 to protect public health from toxic
airborne pollutants, including pesticides. The author
contends that the law is not functioning as intended as
evidenced by the fact that DPR has listed only seven
pesticides and one pesticide related product over the last 30
years.
The author also contends that DPR has taken too long to adopt
mitigation measures for the listed products. For example, the
fumigant breakdown product methylisothiocyanate (MITC) was
AB 304
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declared a TAC in 2002; it took eight years for DPR to issue
suggested use restrictions that only partially mitigate
exposure to MITC.
This bill creates an enforceable timeline for DPR to adopt
mitigation measures meant to protect public health.
2)Background. According to DPR, the TAC program consists of two
phases: risk assessment (evaluation and identification) and
risk management (control).
The first phase involves an evaluation of the candidate
pesticide to assess potential adverse health effects and
estimate levels of exposure associated with its use.
Following the evaluation, the law requires the preparation of
a report for each pesticide that includes: an assessment of
exposure of the public to ambient concentrations of the
pesticide; a risk assessment; an overview of the environmental
fate and use of the pesticide; and the results of air
monitoring studies to measure the levels of the candidate
pesticide present in ambient air.
The report is reviewed by OEHHA and the ARB, and is made
available for public review. The draft then undergoes peer
review for scientific soundness by the scientific review
panel, a panel of experts representing a range of scientific
disciplines. Based on the results of this comprehensive
evaluation, the director of DPR determines whether the
candidate is a TAC. If the director determines the pesticide
meets the criteria to be a TAC, DPR declares the pesticide a
TAC in regulation, and adds it to the TAC list.
Once a candidate pesticide has been declared a TAC, it enters
the mitigation phase. In the mitigation phase, DPR, in
consultation with OEHHA, the ARB and local air pollution
control districts, investigates the need for, and appropriate
degree of, control for the TAC. If reductions in exposure are
needed, DPR must develop control measures to reduce emissions
to levels that adequately protect public health.
3)Recent related legislation . AB 1176 (Williams, 2011)
required DPR to adhere to a 180-day deadline for specified
steps in the TAC process. This bill also required DPR to
adopt, by regulation, annual control measures to protect
human health for at least two TACs.
AB 304
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AB 1176 was substantially amended to include language similar
to AB 304, and failed passage in the Assembly Agriculture
Committee in 2012.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081