What is Happening :

The California State Legislature is now in full swing. The legislators have their favorite legislation in the legislative hopper for this years session. February 25, 2000, was the last day for them to introduce new legislation. They have until June 2, 2000, to get their bills through the Assembly or Senate. So now is the time to contact them about legislation that you are interested in. MTBE still continues to have major interest in this Session with 8 new bills in this area. The major ones are discussed below.

The California Legislature like everyone else is on the Internet. There are two major sources of information on the web for the Legislature. For the Assembly it is: http://www.assembly.ca.gov. For the Senate it is: http://www.sen.ca.gov. In the legislative area of these web sites are search engines for looking for bills by looking for key words or the authors or bill numbers. And you can find out just where in the legislative process the bill is currently. There is even the full text of the bills on line. 

Senate Bills:

SB 1523 Figueroa. (This bill would provide that, with regard to field workers, compliance is met only if the pesticide regulations require the posting of warning signs when certain pesticides are applied.) On March 9 went to the Senate Committee on Industrial Relations.

SB 1971 Montjoy. (This bill would require the commission, in consultation with the state board, to develop a timetable to phase out and eliminate the use of MTBE in gasoline on or before December 31, 2000. ) On Feb. 28 the bill was read the first time in the Senate.

SB 1972 Montjoy. (Bill would appropriate $500K to the University of Calif. to study the effect of using oxygenates and alkylates in gasoline on human health and the environment) On Feb. 28 the bill was read the first time in the Senate.

Assembly Bills:

AB 1812 Oller. (Bill would require the study of the effect of MTBE on human health by leakage of MTBE into groundwater and migration to surface water.) On March 9, 2000 hearing was postponed by the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee. 

AB 2260 Shelly. (This bill would establish the Healthy Schools Act of 2000. The bill would require that the preferred method of managing pests at school facilities is effective least toxic pest management practices and would further require that the state take the necessary steps to ensure that the preferred method is carried out at school facilities. The bill would require each school site to maintain records of all

pesticide use and that licensed pest control operators include information on any school pesticide application se applicable pesticide use reporting requirements.) May be heard in Committee on Mar. 26.

AB 2287 Wildman. (This bill would allow a local agency to take any action that a regional board is authorized to take with regard to the abatement of unauthorized releases of hazardous substances from an underground storage tank. The bill would require the board to revise certain regulations to provide consistent guidelines for the investigation and remediation of MTBE in groundwater by each California regional water quality control board and each local agency authorized to implement a local oversight program.) Scheduled to be heard in Committee on March 26, 2000.

AB 2387 Keeley. (This bill would enact the California Ocean Resources Stewardship Act of 2000, which would establish the California Cooperative Ocean Program Agency (CalCOS) to serve as a coordinating agency for public and private governmental and non governmental ocean resource science agencies, institutions, and organizations in California.) On 13 March went to the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife.

AB 2422 Machado. (Bill is similar to above AB 2260in many of its requirements.) May be heard in committee on March 26. 

AB 2471 Wayne. (This bill would require the preparation of a biennial "State of the Environment" report containing specified information, and to transmit the report to the Legislature containing specified information, in addition to making the report available for public inspection.) Mar. 13 Referred to Committee on Natural Resources.