State Level Legislation

Oregon

Pesticide Related Bills WE ACTIVELY SUPPORT in Oregon’s 2021 Legislative Session:

• HB 2406 - Toxics Free Schools

  • Requires the Oregon Department of Agriculture to convene a diverse Stakeholders Committee to include school districts, educators, students, health experts and environmental justice representatives to develop rules for School IPM programs that use least-toxic options and non-chemical approaches as the first line of defense against pests

  • Position Statement: We believe it imperative to protect children and the environment from the harms of pesticides used on and around school grounds. NCAP supports HB2406.
  • For more information visit Beyond Toxics’ information page.

• HB 2409 - Pesticide Application Within Planned Communities

  • Prohibits homeowners associations from requiring application of pesticide on owner's property. Requires association to notify owners prior to pesticide application on owners' property.
    Position Statement: We believe that homeowners and neighborhood residents should have the right to determine whether or not their property is sprayed with pesticides. NCAP supports HB 2409.

• HB 2192 - Establish Interagency Science Review Panel on Pesticides within Oregon Health Authority

  • This bill will require a panel to review registration applications for pesticides and devices containing pesticides not already holding valid registration with the State Department of Agriculture. 
  • Position Statement: With the goal of protecting human and environmental health from the harms of pesticides, we advocate for scientific review whenever possible. NCAP supports HB 2192.

• SB 404-2- Organic Action Plan: Establishes and Maintains Certain Positions Related to Organic Production (also see HB 2269)

  • From the Oregon Organic Coalition: This bill will provide targeted investments to assist Oregon farmers interested in transitioning to organic practices. It would also increase state support for Oregon’s existing organic sector by funding a comprehensive economic analysis. The bill would create two new positions at the Oregon Department of Agriculture to boost the agency’s ability to support organic farmers and build healthy soils. Finally, SB 404-2 ensures that low income Oregonians have access to organic foods through the Women, Infants, and Children public assistance program. NCAP supports SB 404-2.

Other Oregon Bills We Support:

• HB 2229 - Pre-emption in Josephine County: Exempts the county from rules that would otherwise prohibit Josephine from passing local regulations on GMO crop production.
• HB 2205 - Just Enforcement Act: This act allows workers and worker advocates to bring legal action when state officials lack enforcement capacity.
• HB 2366 - Voter Rights for Incarcerated Persons: Allows persons convicted of felony to register to vote, update voter registration and vote in elections while incarcerated. 
• HB 2488 - Equity and Climate in Land Use: Requires changes to land use planning goals to address climate justice by addressing climate change adaptation, mitigation and environmental justice for disadvantaged communities.
• HB 2503 / SB 239 -Childcare for Oregon: Expands eligibility for certain child care subsidy programs and access to employment related daycare
• HB 2813 - Outdoor Worker Respiratory Protections: Requires employers of employees who engage in outdoor work activities to take certain actions to mitigate employee's risk of exposure to unhealthy air quality from wildfire smoke
• HB 2819 - Leave No Worker Behind: Boosts wages for low wage workers by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit to workers who file taxes without a social security number.
• HB 2843 - Taking of Beavers on Federal Land: Will close federally-managed public lands to beaver trapping and hunting in order for Oregon’s human and wild communities to reap the benefits of this ecosystem engineer and keystone species.
• HB 2924 & SB 583 -Restrict CAFO licensing: Prohibits issue or renewal of license to allow construction or operation of new (or expansion of existing) industrial dairies. 
• HB 2358 - Farm Worker Overtime: Prohibits employers from permitting or requiring agricultural workers to work in excess of 40 hours in one workweek unless workers are compensated for overtime hours worked. 
• EO 20-04 - Oregon Climate Action Plan: Directs State Agencies to Take Actions to Reduce and Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Click for contact information for Oregon legislators

Washington

Washington Bills We Support:

• SB 5253 - Implement recommendations of the pollinator health taskforce: Helps prioritize and enact policy changes for pollinator protections. 
• HB 1395 - Ensuring equity in farming: Supports underrepresented BIPOC and urban farmers. 
• HB 1211 - Concerning salmon-safe communities: Utilizes existing framework of general municipal stormwater permits to reduce the urban heat island effect on salmon, with co-benefits of energy conservation and improved equity in human health. 
• RCW 49.46.130 - Overtime Rule: Creates minimum rate of compensation for employment in excess of forty hour work week. This would include agricultural laborers who are currently exempt.

Click for contact information for Washington legislators

Idaho

Pesticide Related Bills in Idaho:

• IDAPA 02.03.03 - Rules Governing Pesticide and Chemigation Use and Application

  • In the summer of 2020 negotiated rulemaking through the Idaho State Department of Agriculture took place which included proposed changes to how the aerial pesticide application industry is regulated. NCAP worked closely with partners to write comments and ensure representation at public hearings. Although we were successful in getting a definition of pesticide drift included, many things we brought up with ISDA were not addressed: including specific guidance for applicators to help prevent drift on rural housing, schools, hospitals, and other hazard areas, improved language access for Spanish speakers, addition of Worker Protection Standard requirements in to the Core Competency testing all state licensed applicator are required to pass, and increased regulation of organophosphates—a class of pesticides which were found in all the urine samples analysed by the BSU researchers in 2020.
  • Both the House and Senate Agriculture committees approved the proposed final rule. We testified in front of both committees, sharing our concerns, and ultimately supported the rules being approved. We are working with partners to address our concerns through non-legislative channels.

Other Idaho Bills We Support:

• Drivers Licenses for Undocumented Idahoans (not yet introduced)

  • Led by PODER of Idaho. Learn more and sign the petition on their website here. 
  • No one is illegal on stolen land. Individuals without legal status within the US deserve to live without fear and provide for their families. Many undocumented individuals also work as agricultural laborers, a population disproportionally impacted by pesticide exposure.

• Hemp Legalization (Bill Number TBD): Introduced by Idaho Farm Bureau

  • Learn more here.
  • We support this legislation because hemp is important for food, fiber, and medicine. Idaho is the only state in the country where hemp is not legal to grow.
• NCAP staff in Idaho participate within the Idaho Organization of Resource Councils grassroots organizing network. For more information about bills that improve the well-being of communities, sustain family farms and ranches, transform local food systems, promote clean energy, and advocate for responsible stewardship of Idaho’s natural resources visit their 2021 Legislative Tracker here.

Click for contact information for Idaho legislators

Federal Level Legislation

Chlorpyrifos:

Through rulemaking in 2020, Oregon now has a plan to phase out most uses of chlorpyrifos over the next few years. California, Hawaii, and New York are just some of the states with similar bans. NCAP supports a federal phase out. Read NCAP’s comment letter for more details on how the EPA’s chlorpyrifos assessment is flawed and under-protective.

Federal Legislation We Support:

• Protect Americans Child from Toxic Pesticides Act (PACTPA):

  • This bill was introduced last year, and we expect it to be reintroduced during the 117th Congress. PACTPA as written would ban dangerous pesticides including organophosphate insecticides (e.i. chlorpyrifos), neonicotinoid insecticides and paraquat herbicides; Close loopholes that have allowed the EPA to issue emergency exemptions and conditional registrations to use pesticides even before they go through full health and safety reviews; Create a petition process for the people which will allow citizens to request review of pesticides that would otherwise be approved for use indefinitely; Support local community protective actions from preemption of veto by state law; Protect farmworkers from harm by requiring injury reports, directing EPA review of these reports, improved pesticide label instructions and requiring labels in Spanish and any other language that can be shown to have 500 or more applicators using that language; and Broaden the knowledge base by requiring suspension and review of pesticides deemed unsafe by Canada or the European Union. 
  • Read more on the Pesticide Action Network website.

Other Federal Legislation We Support:

• Justice for Black Farmers Act
• Agriculture Resilience Act
• Improved funding for Federal Sustainable and Organic Research Programs advocated for by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), of which NCAP is a represented member.