PFAS Pesticide Bill Advances Following Significant Amendments
Published Friday, June 26, 2026
This week, Assembly Bill 1603 by Assemblymember Nick Shultz, D-Burbank, passed the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on a 4-2 vote and was referred to the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Prior to the hearing, the Senate Environmental Quality Committee proposed significant amendments in response to concerns raised by a coalition of agricultural, business and manufacturing organizations. The amendments remove provisions that would have classified PFAS-containing agricultural pesticides that contain PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, as restricted materials, eliminate new SprayDays notification requirements and instead require fluorinated active ingredients to be identified through California's existing Pesticide Use Report system. The bill, however, continues to prohibit the registration of new pesticide products containing intentionally added PFAS ingredients beginning Jan. 1, while allowing applications already in the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s registration pipeline to continue.
Although the amendments are meaningful improvements, California Farm Bureau and coalition partners remain opposed unless amended. The coalition continues to oppose the prohibition on future fluorinated pesticide registrations, arguing it would prevent growers, structural pest managers and other users from accessing new and innovative products that may be safer, more targeted and more effective than existing alternatives. The coalition also maintains that DPR already has one of the nation's most rigorous, science-based pesticide evaluation and reevaluation programs and is actively expanding its review process under reforms enacted last year.
The bill next heads to the Senate Agriculture Committee, where California Farm Bureau will continue advocating for amendments to remove the remaining prohibition on future product registrations.
Staff contact: Isabella Quinonez, iquinonez@cfbf.com.
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