Davis to Sign School Pesticide Bill

Despite opposition from farmers, Gov. Gray Davis has agreed to sign legislation that will encourage use of less harmful pesticides at schools and will require that parents be notified of pesticide use around their children’s classrooms.

The bill, by Assemblyman Kevin Shelley (D-San Francisco), is weaker than a similar Shelley measure that Davis vetoed last year and is not as strong as some environmentalists wanted. It does not actually require use of less toxic pesticides at schools.

Nevertheless, a wide coalition of environmental and education groups--from the Sierra Club to the PTA of California--strongly supported AB 2260 as a step toward attacking what has become a growing concern. A recent study by the California Public Interest Research Group found that pesticide use at the state’s 15 largest school districts was “the rule rather than the exception” and that the pesticides used were often “particularly hazardous” ones.

Though the bill specifically deals with pest control measures at schools and in no way affects agricultural pesticides used around schools, groups such as the Farm Bureau objected on grounds that it could lead to new measures against agribusiness. The use of agricultural pesticides near schools has become an increasingly heated issue as more suburban schools are built on the fringes of farmland.

Davis is scheduled to sign the legislation Monday in the playground at Balboa Gifted Magnet School in Northridge. He has already included $608,000 in the budget to help schools adapt to the new rules.

Under the so-called Healthy Schools Act, each school will be required to maintain records of all pesticides used at the school site for four years, including copies of the warning signs posted after pesticides are applied.

Moreover, schools will have to notify parents annually of expected pesticide applications in the coming year. Schools must provide notices to parents 72 hours before a pesticide is used, if the application was not included in the annual notice, or if a parent requests the extra information.

The state Department of Pesticide Control will also develop a model pest-management program for school districts that will advocate fighting pests as much as possible without using toxic chemicals. It will also develop a training program and guidebook for school districts that choose to adopt the program. Several districts, including San Francisco Unified and Los Angeles Unified, already have similar policies.

Davis vetoed the following measures:

Bicycle registration--Would have allowed cities and counties to require that bicycles be registered on the Internet to assist in the recovery of lost and stolen bikes. In his veto message, Davis said he sympathized with the problem, but said the database needed to be much more organized to help. SB 1997 by Sen. Don Perata (D-Alameda).

Medi-Cal costs--Would have required the state Department of Health Services to review Medi-Cal cost reporting and auditing processes, which some consider outdated, and to make recommendations to the Legislature by 2002. In his veto message, Davis said the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development already conducts similar reviews. SB 2103 by Sen. Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside).