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Committee debates paraquat ban language, sets phased-in dates and permit rules
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Summary
Legislative staff and members debated chemical definitions, permit limits and multiple effective dates for a bill phasing out paraquat; the committee agreed on separate dates for the study, bill enactment and a final ban and asked counsel to update the draft for reporting.
Legislative counsel and committee staff outlined changes to a proposed paraquat ban aimed at capturing multiple chemical variants of paraquat, limiting special permits and directing the Agricultural Innovation Board to research alternatives.
Bradley, a staff drafter, told the committee the bill adds a third paraquat compound plus a catchall—"paraquat with the chemical name and all salts thereof"—to ensure different chemical names and salts are captured. He said the draft confines certain uses to "fruit producing tree orchards" and spells out permit content, including allowable uses, date ranges and geographic scope.
"If you apply for a permit under this section, you get it for 3 years," Bradley said, noting a permit issued close to the ban date would be shorter because the ban supersedes it. He also described instructions asking the Agricultural Innovation Board to "report on alternatives to the pesticide paraquat" and recommend practices in case paraquat becomes commercially unavailable before the ban.
Committee members pressed technical questions about brand names and chemical identifiers, asking whether popular trade names such as Gramoxone would be captured and how CAS registry numbers relate to the bill's language. Bradley recommended checking the product's chemical name on packaging to determine applicability.
The committee spent significant time on three separate dates in the bill: a study/report deadline, a bill enactment date and a final ban date. Members suggested dates that avoid the growing season and leave time for permitting and grower adaptation. After discussion the group settled on an approach Bradley summarized as: the study effective on passage, the bill effective 11/01/2026 and the pesticide ban effective 11/01/2030, with corresponding edits to related date references.
Why it matters: The bill would phase out a widely used herbicide by setting a future ban while retaining a permitting path and directing a state board to research alternatives. The timing and scope of permits are central to growers' ability to adapt and to enforcement clarity.
Next steps: Staff will update the draft to reflect the committee's decisions on chemical definitions, permit language and the three effective dates so members can consider the revised text for formal reporting.
