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Clear to partly cloudy. Low 63F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph..
Clear to partly cloudy. Low 63F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
Your Local News Source Since 1963 SERVING DUBLIN, LIVERMORE, PLEASANTON, SUNOL
Since 1963, The Independent has helped create a great community!
Since our founding in September of 1963, The Independent has been dedicated to giving Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Sunol readers the news they need to be in-the-know about what's going on in the Tri-Valley region.
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Alameda County – A handful of Tri-Valley Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s bills are now on their way to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.
One that recently passed the state legislature was Assembly Bill (AB) 2146, which is designed to limit the use of five pesticides that kill bees, birds and butterflies. The Senate voted 30-4 on Aug. 29 to pass AB 2146. The next day, the Assembly concurred 53-18.
If Newsom signs it into law, the action will curb the use of neonicotinoid, or neonic, pesticides in non-agricultural settings, such as home gardens and golf courses.
“Our pollinators are dying,” Bauer-Kahan said in a statement. “We know the cause, and it’s time to take action. The European Union has already banned many of these pesticides altogether. We need to catch up to the rest of the world in protecting bees and human health.”
Products containing the chemicals imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran and acetamiprid can easily be purchased online and in stores. They are found in hundreds of products, including insect sprays, seed treatments and flea treatments for dogs and cats. Imidacloprid, for example is found in BioAdvanced 3-in-1 Ready-To-Use Insect Disease & Mite Control and Merit Insecticide Granules; Dinotefuran is in Green Light Tree & Shrub Insect Control, manufactured by The Scotts Company and in Ortho Tree & Shrub insecticide.
Although they are meant to kill annoying insects, the chemicals also kill bees needed to pollinate California’s crops, proponents of the law said.
According to Bauer-Kahan, California’s beekeepers lost nearly 42% of their colonies last year, the second worst year on record. Bees, she said, are critical to pollinate many of California’s crops, including strawberries and almonds, worth more than $11 billion annually.
Recent studies show the neonicotinoids are linked to the decline of European bees and about 1,600 other varieties, birds, Monarch butterflies and insects, Bauer-Kahan’s office said.
“The damage inflicted by neonics is far greater than the fleeting value they purport to offer,” Laura Deehan, director of Environment California, said in a statement. “A perfectly manicured lawn or rose garden isn’t worth the destruction of our bee populations, which are vital to our environment and our food systems.”
Ben Grundy, conservation associate with Environment California, said the pesticides also have been found in bodies of water in Northern and Southern California. Maine, New Jersey and New York already have implemented similar limits.
“By passing this legislation, California reaffirms itself as an environmental leader and demonstrates that we are taking the necessary steps to protect our pollinators – and therefore, our food supply,” Grundy said. “Environment California is calling on Gov. Newson to sign the bill to save the bees and protect our pollinators.”
Karen Reardon, a spokesperson for the pesticide trade group, Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE), said the non-agricultural use ban, if signed into law, was unnecessary. Describing neonic pesticides as significant advancements over other chemicals, Reardon said they are helpful products for home gardeners who cannot afford professional services for issues like bed bugs and insects that bore into trees.
“They are a very safe class of chemistry for the people applying them,” Reardon said. “We look at this scientifically from a fact basis. Something has been lost here with these products being prohibited in that marketplace in California.”
Reardon said neonicotinoids went through processes for approval and registration with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and the Environmental Protection Agency. She said those procedures have integrity.
“When we’re looking at a law like this, it misses the mark on being science-based, fact-based,” Reardon said. “It’s unclear to us the problem that’s being solved.”
Reardon said the ban “makes people feel potentially that they’ve done something,” but the industry disputes whether the pesticides are harming bees.
“There is not a body of data that is showing that those populations are imperiled from pesticides versus studies that do show the impact of the loss of habitat due to development and changes in landscaping practices, where there are not the flowers or those nectar rich sources of food for them in some landscapes.”
Reardon said consumers will be able to find other pesticides to replace them.
Bill to Eliminate the ‘Pink Tax’
In other action at the close of the legislature’s season, Bauer-Kahan’s bill to eliminate the so-called “pink tax” – AB 1287 – passed the Assembly and Senate and was sent to the governor. Studies have found products aimed at women, including razor blades, deodorant, shaving cream and shampoo, are often sold at higher prices than similar products for men.
“The ‘Pink Tax’ is a sexist penalty based purely on gender,” Bauer-Kahan said. “Paying a financial cost for being a woman is unjust and only adds to the gender wage and wealth gaps. This type of arbitrary gendered pricing has no place in California. It’s past time to ensure price equality.”
Bill to Protect Utility Ratepayers
The legislature also passed Bauer-Kahan’s AB 2083 Utility Ratepayer Protections bill that restricts power companies from raising rates for customers to pay off criminal or civil settlement agreements where a utility has been deemed negligent for starting a fire. This bill also was sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“In the last five years California suffered an unprecedented number of wildfires caused by utilities,” Bauer-Kahan said. “Charging ratepayers for this negligence is unethical and must end.”
Bill to Increase Fines for Illegal Dumping
Bauer-Kahan’s AB 2374, which will strengthen fines against those caught illegally dumping garbage and waste and give judges more discretion in sentencing, was approved in both houses and sent to Newsom.
For a complete list of Bauer-Kahan’s legislation and bill statuses, visit a16.asmdc.org/2022-legislation.
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The Silicon Valley Pipe Band, above, leads the way onto the track in front of the grandstands at the Alameda County Fairgrounds for the closing ceremonies of the Caledonian Club of San Francisco’s 156th Scottish Highland Gathering and Games.