Plant pests: eradication: pesticide use: notice.

Existing law requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to, among other things, establish a telephone hotline for the public to report adverse health consequences and a process to evaluate and respond to adverse health consequences, if the department determines that an invasive pest has entered the state and an urban aerial application of a pesticide or a communitywide ground application of a pesticide is the selected response. This bill would require the telephone hotline number to be toll free and staffed by public health personnel familiar with the pesticide being applied. The bill would require the public health personnel to do certain things with respect to callers complaining of adverse health consequences. Existing law authorizes the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, by regulation, to proclaim any area within the state an eradication area with respect to a pest, prescribe the boundaries of the area, and name the pest or hosts of the pest that are known to exist within the area, together with the means or methods that are to be used to eradicate or control the pest. The secretary or county agricultural commissioner, when the secretary proclaims an eradication project in an urban area, is required to, among other things, notify residents and physicians practicing in the area, and the local broadcast and print media, before aerially applying a pesticide to effect the eradication. The notice is required to contain specified information, including a telephone number and address of public health personnel who are familiar with the eradication program. This bill would instead require the telephone number on the notice to be a toll-free telephone hotline number and would require that the purpose of the number be included on the notice as well.