BILL NUMBER: SB 394 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator DeSaulnier
FEBRUARY 16, 2011
An act to add Sections 17610.2, 17610.3, and 17610.4 to the
Education Code, and to amend Section 13185 of the Food and
Agricultural Code, relating to the Healthy Schools Act of 2011.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 394, as introduced, DeSaulnier. Healthy Schools Act of 2011.
Existing law, the Healthy Schools Act of 2000, requires that the
preferred method of managing pests at schoolsites, as defined, is to
use effective, least-toxic pest management practices and requires
schoolsites to maintain records of all pesticides used at the
schoolsite for a period of 4 years. Existing law requires schools to
provide all staff and parents or guardians of pupils enrolled at a
school written notification of, among other things, expected
pesticide use at that schoolsite. These provisions also require the
Department of Pesticide Regulation to establish an integrated pest
management training program in order to facilitate the adoption of a
model Integrated Pest Management program and least-hazardous pest
control practices by schoolsites.
This bill would enact the Healthy Schools Act of 2011. The bill
would provide that only self-contained baits, gels, and pastes
deployed as crack and crevice treatments and spot treatments may be
used on schoolsites. The bill would prohibit use of a pesticide on a
schoolsite if that pesticide contains an ingredient known to the
state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity, as specified, or any
one of specified cholinesterase-inhibiting pesticides. The bill would
prohibit, on and after January 1, 2014, the use of a pesticide on a
schoolsite if that product contains certain toxic or dangerous
ingredients, as described, including any cholinesterase-inhibiting
active ingredient, as identified by the Department of Pesticide
Regulation, an active ingredient that is a groundwater or toxic air
contaminant, as specified, or a fumigant, as identified by the
Department of Pesticide Regulation.
The bill would also require all schoolsites, as defined and except
as specified, to send at least one person to one of the department
trainings at least once every 2 years. Because this provision would
impose additional duties on local public employees, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Healthy
Schools Act of 2011.
SEC. 2. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Pesticides have been linked to numerous acute and chronic
illnesses, including cancer and asthma.
(b) According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, children between six and 11 years of age have higher
levels of commonly used pesticides in their bodies than any other age
group, with an average of six pesticides per child. According to
research conducted by the University of California, San Francisco,
children's disease and conditions linked to pesticide exposure, which
include learning disabilities, cancer of the brain and leukemia,
birth defects, and asthma, have increased dramatically over the past
30 years. Because children's bodies and brains are still developing,
exposure to pesticides can have irreversible detrimental effects.
(c) Recognizing the impact of pesticides on the school community,
the Department of Pesticide Regulation has developed an Internet Web
site, written training materials, and conducted regional training
sessions to assist schools that have chosen to adopt least-toxic
integrated pest management techniques and to eliminate the use of the
most dangerous pesticides.
(d) However, many California public schools continue to use highly
toxic pesticides. Least-toxic pest management activities have
actually decreased from 2004 to 2007, inclusive, as measured by the
report titled 2007 Integrated Pest Management Survey of California
School Districts, prepared for the Department of Pesticide
Regulation. Forty-two percent of school districts that responded to
the survey stated that they were still broadcast spraying pesticides,
one of the highest risk practices for exposing children and staff
and contaminating the environment. Of the school districts that
claimed to be implementing integrated pest management practices, 62
percent stated that the costs were the same or less than using
chemical-intensive methods.
(e) According to the State Department of Education, there are over
1,000 school districts, and about 9,900 school sites in California
servicing over 6,000,000 pupils.
(f) It is necessary to take precautionary measures to protect the
health and safety of California schoolchildren and teachers, and
better ensure a safe learning and working environment.
SEC. 3. Section 17610.2 is added to the Education Code, to read:
17610.2. Only self-contained baits, gels, and pastes deployed as
crack and crevice treatments and spot treatments may be used on
schoolsites.
SEC. 4. Section 17610.3 is added to the Education Code, to read:
17610.3. The use of a pesticide on a schoolsite is prohibited if
that pesticide contains one or more of the following ingredients:
(a) An ingredient known to the state to cause cancer or
reproductive toxicity in accordance with Section 25249.8 of the
Health and Safety Code.
(b) Any of the following cholinesterase-inhibiting pesticides:
(1) Acephate.
(2) Chlorpyrifos.
(3) Ethephon.
(4) Malathion.
(5) Methamidiphos.
(6) Propetamphos.
(7) Trichlorfon.
SEC. 5. Section 17610.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:
17610.4. On or after January 1, 2014, the use of a pesticide on a
schoolsite is prohibited if that pesticide product comes within any
of the following descriptions:
(a) Contains any cholinesterase-inhibiting active ingredients as
identified by the Department of Pesticide Regulation.
(b) Contains active ingredients that are groundwater contaminants
as determined by the Director of Pesticide Regulation pursuant to
subdivision (d) of Section 13145 or Section 13149 of the Food and
Agricultural Code.
(c) Contains active ingredients that are designated as toxic air
contaminants pursuant to Section 14021 or 14023 of the Food and
Agricultural Code.
(d) Contains active ingredients that are fumigants as identified
by the Department of Pesticide Regulation.
(e) Is labeled with the signal word "danger" or "warning" pursuant
to regulations adopted by the secretary pursuant to provisions of
Division 7 (commencing with Section 12500) of the Food and
Agricultural Code governing the registration and labeling of
pesticides.
SEC. 6. Section 13185 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended
to read:
13185. (a) The department shall establish an integrated pest
management training program in order to facilitate the adoption of a
model IPM program and least-hazardous pest control practices by
schoolsites. All schoolsites, as defined in Section 17609 of the
Education Code, excluding family day care homes, as defined in
Section 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code, shall send at least
one person to one of the department trainings at least once every two
years. In establishing the IPM training program, the
department shall do all of the following:
(1) Adopt a "train-the-trainer" approach, whenever feasible, to
rapidly and broadly disseminate program information.
(2) Develop curricula and promote ongoing training efforts in
cooperation with the University of California and the California
State University.
(3) Prioritize outreach on a regional basis first and then to
school districts. For outreach to child day care facilities, the
department shall participate in existing trainings that provide
opportunities for disseminating program information broadly on a
regional basis.
(b) Nothing in this article shall preclude a schoolsite from
adopting stricter pesticide use policies.
SEC. 7. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.