Sacramento - AB 2425, authored by Assemblymember Joe Coto (D-San Jose), requires the State Department of Public Health to convene a working group of interested parties whose purpose would be to increase public knowledge about the contamination of pharmaceuticals.   This group would conduct research and prepare reports on the impact of a variety of areas ranging from antibiotics to hormones in drinking water supplies, along with establishing best practices for industry and the public on the disposal of pharmaceutical drugs.

Approaching a policy deadline, this bill was approved earlier this week by the Senate Environmental Quality Committee and the Senate Health Committee.  The bill now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 2425 is an important piece of legislation that will begin to address the impact of pharmaceuticals found in the state’s drinking water supplies.  The existence of pharmaceuticals in the state’s drinking water was released in a report by the Associated Press earlier this year. 

Assemblymember Coto said, “Pharmaceuticals are manufactured to be taken by the individual who needs them and not by everyone in the state by means of the drinking water."  The lack of federal regulations and findings of an Associated Press report prompted Assemblymember Coto to push forward on this issue.