BILL NUMBER: AB 1259 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Levine
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to add Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 8305)
to Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code,
amend Section 1745.2 of the Fish and Game Code, relating to
pesticides. bees .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1259, as amended, Levine. Pesticides: neonicotinoids:
planting on state-owned or state-managed lands: prohibition.
Bees: apiculture: state-owned lands.
Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to
consider permitting apiculture on department-managed wildlife areas.
Existing law requires the department, when developing or amending its
land management plans, to make certain determinations relating to
the use of the department-managed wildlife areas for apiculture.
This bill would instead require the department to consider
authorizing apiculture on department-managed wildlife areas.
The bill would authorize the department to authorize the temporary
placement of bee hives on department-managed wildlife areas through
simple agreements specifying appropriate conditions. The bill would
provide that these agreements are not contracts or leases for
purposes of competitive bidding provisions and other provisions
relating to public contracts in the Public Contract Code and the
Government Code.
The bill would authorize the department to continue any
authorization for apiculture on department-managed lands that it
granted before January 1, 2015, without taking further action.
Existing law generally regulates pesticide use, and requires the
Director of Pesticide Regulation to endeavor to eliminate from use
any pesticide that endangers the agricultural or nonagricultural
environment. Existing law requires pesticides to be registered by the
Department of Pesticide Regulation. Existing law requires that a
pesticide be thoroughly evaluated prior to registration, provides for
the continued evaluation of registered pesticides, and requires the
department, by July 1, 2018, to issue a determination with respect to
its reevaluation of neonicotinoids. Existing law requires the
department, within 2 years after making this determination, to adopt
any control measures necessary to protect pollinator health.
This bill would prohibit plants or seeds that have been treated
with a neonicotinoid pesticide from being planted on state-owned or
state-managed lands, as described. This bill would also prohibit
plants on state-owned or state-managed lands from being treated with
a neonicotinoid pesticide.
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. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) Bees and other pollinators are critical to agricultural
production and native ecosystems. Bees pollinate billions of dollars
of agricultural crops in the United States, including many of
California's most important agricultural crops.
(b) Bees are at significant risk of harm due to a condition known
as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In the United States alone, more
than 25 percent of the managed bee population has disappeared since
1990 and the number of hives is at its lowest number in 50 years. CCD
and the loss of bees is a significant threat to our state and
national food supply and economic security.
(c) While there is no single cause of CCD, a substantial and
growing body of evidence points to neonicotinoid pesticides as a
likely factor in bee colony collapse. Neonicotinoid pesticides are
absorbed into plant tissue, do not discriminate between target and
nontarget inspect species, and are harmful to bees, butterflies, and
other beneficial insects.
(d) The state has recognized the importance of protecting bees by
encouraging placement of bee hives on state lands such as wildlife
areas managed by the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
(e) Monarch butterflies, another important native pollinator, are
also severely threatened by loss of native milkweed upon which they
depend, loss of wintering habitat in California, pesticides, and
other factors. Monarch populations are in rapid decline. According to
the annual census taken at the monarch's wintering grounds in Mexico
in 2013, the monarch population dropped by 59 percent compared to
the prior year's census, bringing the monarch's numbers to the
smallest registered population in almost two decades.
(f) Vegetation maintained on lands managed by the state, such as
along roadways and utility rights-of-way, could help provide
beneficial habitat for bees, monarch butterflies, and other
pollinators if properly managed.
(g) The state should exercise caution when exposing bees and other
pollinators to plants that may harm them, especially on state lands
that may be utilized by bees.
(c) A viable and productive honeybee industry is dependent on
access to private and public lands to secure nectar and pollen
resources for nutritional foraging opportunities.
(d) There is a need for a streamlined and efficient method to
provide access to public lands for California beekeepers to ensure
that they have adequate foraging grounds for their bees.
(e) The Legislature's intended purpose in enacting Section 1745.2
of the Fish and Game Code is to increase apiculture bee foraging
opportunities on state lands managed by the Department of Fish and
Wildlife, and not to affect existing apiary sites on
department-managed lands previously approved for apiculture use.
(f) Due to the unique regional and seasonal nature of apiculture,
the public interest will be best served by authorizing such uses on
department-managed lands without competitive bidding.
SEC. 2. Section 1745.2 of the Fish and
Game Code is amended to read:
1745.2. (a) The department shall do both of the following:
(1) Consider permitting authorizing
apiculture on department-managed wildlife areas, where deemed
appropriate by the department.
(2) Determine, when developing or amending its land management
plans, the following:
(A) If the department-managed wildlife areas, or any portion of
the those areas, are suitable for apiculture and whether apiculture
is consistent with the management goals and objectives for those
areas on a temporary, seasonal, or long-term basis.
(B) If the administration of apiculture on department-managed
wildlife areas, where deemed appropriate by the department, is
meeting the management goals and objectives for those areas.
(C) The appropriate use or permit fee to be
assessed for conducting apiculture on department-managed wildlife
areas.
(b) The department, in implementing this section, may consult with
apiculture experts, including, but not limited to, the Department of
Food and Agriculture, the University of California, other academic
or professional experts, and interested stakeholders, for
permitting when considering authorizing
apiculture on department-managed wildlife areas consistent with the
respective management goals and objectives for those areas.
(c) Moneys collected for conducting apiculture on
department-managed wildlife areas pursuant to subparagraph (C) of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall be deposited by the department
into the Wildlife Restoration Fund and, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, be used to support the management, maintenance,
restoration, and operation of department-managed wildlife areas.
(d) The department may authorize the temporary placement of bee
hives on department-managed wildlife areas through simple agreements
specifying appropriate conditions. These agreements are not contracts
or leases for purposes of competitive bidding provisions and other
provisions relating to public contracts in the Public Contract Code
and Government Code.
(e) The department may continue any authorization for apiculture
on department-managed areas that it granted before January 1, 2015
without taking further action.
SEC. 2. Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section
8305) is added to Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to
read:
CHAPTER 4.5. PLANTING ON STATE-OWNED OR STATE-MANAGED LANDS
8305. For the purposes of this chapter:
(a) "State-owned or state-managed lands" include, but are not
limited to, roadside lands owned and maintained by the Department of
Transportation, wildlife areas managed by the Department of Fish and
Wildlife, parklands managed by the Department of Parks and
Recreation, and wildlife habitat lands owned or managed by a state
conservancy.
(b) "Treated" includes foliar and granular treatments, in addition
to seed coatings.
8306. (a) Plants or seeds that have been treated with a
neonicotinoid pesticide shall not be planted on state-owned or
state-managed lands.
(b) Plants on state-owned or state-managed lands shall not be
treated with a neonicotinoid pesticide.