Department of Transportation: state roads and highways: integrated pest management.

Existing law vests the Department of Transportation with possession and control of the state highway system and associated property. Existing law prohibits each state agency that has responsibility for roadside vegetation control operations on, or along, a roadway, including a state highway, from conducting a roadside vegetation control operation on a portion of the roadway for which a property owner has made a request for information related to the roadside vegetation control operation until certain conditions are satisfied, as specified. This bill would require the Department of Transportation to adopt, on or before January 1, 2026, a statewide policy to use integrated pest management, as defined, on state roads and highways, as specified, and to implement the statewide policy in cities or counties that have adopted integrated pest management approaches to roadside vegetation management. The bill would require the Department of Transportation, in developing the statewide policy, to consult with the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. The bill would require the Department of Transportation, when operating in a city or a county that has adopted an integrated pest management policy that is more restrictive than the statewide policy, to the extent feasible, to operate in a manner consistent with the city's or county's integrated pest management policy, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Transportation, on or before December 31, 2026, and annually thereafter, to make publicly available on its internet website the amount, location, and type of pesticides, and the pesticide formulation, by city and county, it uses, and, at least 24 hours before applying a pesticide, would require the Department of Transportation to provide on its internet website and mobile application, and through any other means of communication deemed appropriate by the applicable state transportation district, information on when and where it plans to apply the pesticide. Under existing law, a violation of certain provisions and regulations related to pesticides is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $50,000, or by imprisonment of not more than 6 months, or by both the fine and imprisonment. Because a violation of this bill's requirements would be a crime subject to the provision above, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.