Governor Newsom's veto message cites concerns about limiting agency flexibility and the cost of implementation.
Thank you for supporting AB99. Thank you for all of the letters you wrote, calls you made, and conversations you had with friends and colleagues to gain their support. Thank you reading all of the updates and blog posts Sonoma SASS has sent out over the past 2.5+ years. Thank you.
AB99 was championed by a broad coalition of over 80 California public interest organizations including the Sierra Club and the Environmental Working Group, 26 farming and ranching organizations, 30 individual elected officials, and hundreds of individual citizens who showed up consistently to state hearings to make sure the voice of their communities was heard.
It is truly miraculous that this most recent attempt to reduce Caltrans' pesticide use made it all the way to the Governor's desk. For Sonoma SASS, this work started with an errant thought as I drove down (a very RoundUp sprayed) CA-116 to pick my kids up from school. I thought: how hilarious would it be if every property owner had a "no spray" sign on this road. What would Caltrans do? The thought wouldn't have gone further if several property owners along this stretch of road hadn't reached out to me that week. And still, I probably would have ignored it...until a community member called me later that month to tell me that he and a dozen other people had been stuck behind a spray truck along this 2-land rural state highway unable to escape the spray fumes. Clearly, this issue was one that wanted to be addressed.
One year later after a lot of research, numerous strategic conversations and several community meetings, our newly elected Assembly Member Damon Connolly submitted AB99 as an assembly bill in his first week of office (January 2023). Assembly Member Connolly and his staff have been committed to this bill from the start, refusing at every turn to dilute the bill's language and standing strong in the message that the contents of AB99 are not only reasonable but long overdue.
AB99 went through numerous ups and downs; from being vehemently opposed by the AgroChemical Companies and Big Ag, to being opposed by the Invasive Plant Council and other "environmental organizations" that believe pesticides are the best tool for removing non-native plants. AB99 was put in suspense in Senate Appropriations in 2023 after Caltrans tried to block the bill with an outrageous budget impact estimate. Connolly's office was able to convince Senate Appropriations that the budget was unreasonable and the bill was revived in 2024. AB99 peaked after it was approved on the Senate Floor and made it to the Governor's desk. Though AB99 was not supported by Governor Newsom, it was not only supported but co-authored by the Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire.
The need for AB99 was strong: data analysis of Caltrans' pesticide use over the last 30 years clearly points at at extreme overuse of pesticides like RoundUpTM on public land paid for with public funds. AB99 essentially would have helped the state avoid a lawsuit. AB99 was supported unanimously by the Board of Supervisors in Sonoma, Napa, Marin, and Humboldt Counties.
We live in a strange time where most politicians are aware of and support environmental reform but are not quite ready to lead society down a road that might entail real change or sacrifice. We like "win win" scenarios where industry approves, but are uncomfortable in instances where industry threatens to pull contributions or reduce commerce.
"It is clear that the elected officials who decide which bills are allowed to pass through the legislature are bowing to the special interests and bureaucracies who want to continue to use potentially harmful products because they are cheap and easy, regardless of the harm these actions may have on public health of the environment in local communities...It is extremely concerning that (the appropriations committee) blocked AB99, allowing the continuation of widespread pesticide spraying along our highways and local communities by Caltrans" Press Release from the office of Assembly Member Damon Connolly
Assembly Member Connolly has stated that he is committed to Caltrans pesticide reform for as long as he is in office.
Thank you again for joining Sonoma SASS on this journey.
Megan Kaun
Director, Sonoma SASS
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