San Francisco Chronicle

Bills target pesticide use in California cities

Friday, February 22, 2008

SACRAMENTO, (AP) -- State Assemblyman John Laird wants to make sure California is ready the next time it confronts an invasive pest.

He said the state was ill prepared to handle the light brown apple moth. The insect threatens more than 2,000 varieties of plants, including crops, trees and endangered species.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture has been criticized for its plan to spray much of the San Francisco Bay area with a chemical mist to kill the moth.

Laird, D-Santa Cruz, introduced legislation on Friday that would force the department to create a list of potential invasive species and how they can be eradicated. The department would have to explain what pesticide would be used and how it would be applied.

The bill is one of four that Assembly Democrats revealed Friday to deal with pesticides.

Legislation by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock of Berkeley would prohibit the agriculture department from approving pesticide use in urban areas unless the governor has declared a state of emergency.

Another by Assemblyman Jared Huffman of San Rafael would restrict the department's emergency powers. And a measure by Assemblyman Mark Leno of San Francisco would require an environmental impact report before pesticides targeting the light brown apple moth are used in an urban area.