Legislators Open Oversight Hearing as Californians and Scientists Press DPR on Pesticide Risks and Reforms

Assemblymember Connolly, chair of the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, opened a joint hearing examining whether California's pesticide program is meeting its public-protection mandate. He said the session was intended to evaluate the Department of Pesticide Regulation's (DPR) work and recent reforms, noting that "In 2023, there were a 176,000,000 pounds of pesticides applied across the state." The scale of use, he said, makes oversight essential.

Senator Blake Spear, co-lead on the joint hearing, said communities from coastal suburbs to Central Valley farmworker towns deserve protection and pointed to ongoing investigations — including a state auditor review — as reasons the legislature convened the hearing.

Why it matters: the hearing brought together researchers, community members, county enforcement officials and regulated-industry representatives to assess gaps in data and enforcement and to test whether DPR's implementation of AB 2,113 and its SPM roadmap is producing measurable protections. Witnesses pressed DPR on three recurring themes: (1) measuring human exposure (not just pesticide use), (2) assessing cumulative and mixture effects of pesticides, and (3) resourcing and oversight at the county level.

The session included testimony from public-health researchers who described long-term studies linking prenatal exposure to developmental, respiratory and neurologic impacts; community witnesses who documented drift incidents, water contamination and inconsistent local implementation; industry and agricultural representatives who urged predictable, transparent registration timelines; and DPR Director Karen Morrison, who outlined recent staffing increases, new advisory committees (including SPARC), expanded grants and faster registration throughput.

The hearing closed with public comment from farmworkers and residents who urged field-level notifications, larger buffers around schools and systematic biomonitoring. Committee members flagged the legislature's continuing role in clarifying DPR’s authorities and funding to ensure consistent implementation across California.