Subject: PANUPS: Pesticide Use Reduct Legis

From: Pesticide Action Network North America Reg Ctr <[email-masked]>
Date: 16 Apr 93 12:26 PDT

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   PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK NORTH AMERICA UPDATES SERVICE
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PESTICIDE USE REDUCTION BILLS INTRODUCED IN THREE STATES 

April 16, 1993

	Three pesticide use reduction proposals originated by 
public interest groups are currently under consideration by 
state lawmakers in Oregon, California and New York.  
	Oregon's Senate Bill 195 seeks to reduce pesticide use 
through research and promotion of safer alternatives, 
increased fees on pesticide and applicator licenses, and 
holding pesticide users legally accountable for consequences 
of pesticide use, including costs of environmental cleanup.  
The bill also addresses farmworkers' and public information 
access, and requires licensed pesticide users to report all 
pesticide use to the State Department of Agriculture.  Oregon 
Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG), which developed the 
legislation to prevent ground water contamination by 
pesticides, remains cautiously optimistic that it will pass 
through the State Legislature, although major modifications 
are likely.  
 	In California, the Pesticide Use Reduction Act of 1993 
(Senate Bill 475) mandates a state program to "achieve a 
significant reduction in the use of the active ingredients in 
pesticides in California by the year 2000."  The bill passed 
the state Senate Toxics Committee early in April and will be 
considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee later this 
month.  If passed by the Appropriations Committee, the bill 
will be debated by the full Senate.  In its present form, SB 
475 seeks endorsement of the concept of pesticide use 
reduction as beneficial to the interests of Californians 
without addressing specifics; amendments detailing targets 
and approaches are likely to be added as the bill moves 
through the legislature.  The bill's supporters include the 
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), California Rural 
Legal Assistance, Sierra Club and PAN North America Regional 
Center.  Opponents include Western Growers Association, 
California Farm Bureau, and Western Agricultural Chemical 
Association.  
	In New York, the Pesticide Use Reduction Act (Assembly 
Bill 4774-A)  is now before the State Assembly. If passed, it 
would require state agencies and schools to use "least toxic, 
least impact" methods of pest control, and to cut their 
pesticide use by 50% over the next ten years.  The New York 
Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NYCAP), which has 
been working for passage of a pesticide use reduction bill 
for several years, reports that a similar bill passed the 
State Assembly in 1992, only to die in the State Senate 
without a sponsor.  In addition, the New York Attorney 
General's office has submitted a separate bill to the state 
legislature that would require commercial pesticide 
applicators to provide potential customers with information 
about less toxic or non-chemical controls; however this bill 
lacks a sponsor and is not under active consideration.  

SOURCES/CONTACTS:  Quincy Sugarman, OSPIRG, 1536 SE 11th 
Avenue, Portland OR 97214; phone:(503) 231-4181, fax:(503) 
231-4007.  
-Jennifer Curtis, NRDC, 71 Stevenson Street, San Francisco, 
CA 94105, USA; phone:(415) 777-0220, fax:(415) 495-5996.
-Tracy Frisch, NYCAP, 33 Central Avenue, Albany NY 12210; 
phone:(518) 426-8246.  
-Ann Goldweber, NY Attorney General's Office, 120 Broadway, 
26th Floor, New York, NY 10271; phone:(212) 416-8459, 
fax:(212) 416-6007.   
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The Pesticide Action Network North America Updates Service 
(PANUPS) is a pesticide-related news service from the 
Pesticide Action Network (PAN) North American Regional 
Center.  PANUPS is posted weekly on EcoNet, the APC computer 
network, RTK NET, GeoNet/GEO2, the ECONET echo on FidoNet, 
the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SANET) on BitNet, and on 
PENpages. It is available free by electronic distribution.  
Hard-copy compliations are also available. For info: PANNA 
RC, 965 Mission Street #514, San Francisco, CA 94103. Tel: 
(415) 541-9140. Fax: (415) 541-9253. Telex: 156283472 PANNA. 
E-mail address on EcoNet: [email-masked]
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