00                            SENATE BILL NO. 288                                                                         
01 "An Act relating to the procurement, use, storage, and handling of pesticides and                                       
02 broadcast chemicals; and relating to notice and record keeping requirements pertaining                                  
03 to pesticides."                                                                                                         
04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
05    * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section                          
06 to read:                                                                                                                
07       LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. (a) The legislature finds that                                                   
08            (1)  in 1992, the National Parent Teacher Association passed a resolution                                    
09 calling for the reduction of pesticide use at schools and calling on policy makers to consider                          
10 all possible alternatives before using pesticides;                                                                      
11            (2)  the National Education Association and numerous other public interest                                   
12 organizations have announced support for the reduction of pesticide use at schools;                                     
13            (3)  more than 6,000 pesticides are registered for use in the state with little or                           
14 no screening of environmental or health effects;                                                                        

01            (4)  the Department of Health and Social Services' 2006 report "Asthma in                                    
02 Alaska" found that approximately 9,000,000 children in the United States under 18 years of                              
03 age have asthma; asthma is the most common chronic illness in children and the most                                     
04 common cause of school absences and can be triggered by pesticide exposure;                                             
05            (5)  the average cost of a hospital visit for a child under 15 years of age with                             
06 asthma is $7,333 and the total cost of hospital stays for a primary diagnosis of asthma in                              
07 Alaska in 2001 - 2004 was $17,000,000 overall and $4,487,664 for children under 15 years of                             
08 age;                                                                                                                    
09            (6)  the National Academy of Sciences estimates that 25 percent of learning                                  
10 and behavioral disabilities in children are because of exposure to neurotoxic pesticides;                               
11            (7)  pesticide exposure                                                                                      
12                 (A)  has been linked with cancer, birth defects, asthma, endocrine                                      
13       disruption, genetic mutations, acute poisoning, decreased sperm counts, impaired                                  
14       neurological development in fetuses and infants, lymphoma, leukemia, and other                                    
15       human health effects;                                                                                             
16                 (B)  is particularly dangerous to school age children, as their bodies and                              
17       brains are still developing and thus are more susceptible to the hazardous effects of                             
18       pesticides than adults.                                                                                           
19       (b)  It is the intent of the legislature to                                                                       
20            (1)  prevent unnecessary exposure of children attending and staff employed at                                
21 schools to chemical pesticides;                                                                                         
22            (2)  promote the use of nonchemical pest prevention and control measures first,                              
23 with pesticides used only as a last resort;                                                                             
24            (3)  allow use of the smallest amount of the least toxic formulation of a                                    
25 pesticide with the least potential for human exposure; and                                                              
26            (4)  provide notification to the parents and guardians of children in the rare                               
27 cases that pesticides are used at schools.                                                                              
28    * Sec. 2. AS 14.33 is amended by adding new sections to read:                                                      
29                      Article 5. Pesticide Use at Schools.                                                             
30            Sec. 14.33.300. Pest management in schools. (a) A person may not use,                                      
31       handle, dispose of, or store pesticides in or on the grounds of a public or private                               

01       elementary, middle, or secondary school except as provided in AS 14.33.300 -                                      
02       14.33.350.                                                                                                        
03            (b)  A pesticide may not be used or stored in or on the grounds of a public or                               
04       private school unless other available safe alternative nonchemical methods for                                    
05       eliminating pests at the school have been tried and failed. Alternative nonchemical                               
06       methods of pest prevention and control include education, physical barriers,                                      
07       mechanical modifications, and biological measures.                                                                
08            (c)  The governing body of a school district and the person in charge of a                                   
09       private school shall adopt a policy that                                                                          
10                 (1)  allows for approval of pesticide use in or on the grounds of a                                     
11       school only for the prevention of property damage or the avoidance of health effects                              
12       related to an identified pest;                                                                                    
13                 (2)  reduces exposure of children and school staff to potentially harmful                               
14       pesticides;                                                                                                       
15                 (3)  prohibits the use of a Toxicity Category I or II pesticide, as defined                             
16       by the Environmental Protection Agency under 40 C.F.R. 156.62, except in an                                       
17       emergency and when the use is approved by the Department of Environmental                                         
18       Conservation;                                                                                                     
19                 (4)  requires pest management and prevention strategies that will                                       
20       minimize the need for pesticides.                                                                                 
21            Sec. 14.33.310. Notification of pesticide use. (a) Except as provided in (b) of                            
22       this section, not less than 48 hours and not more than 120 hours before a pesticide is                            
23       used at a public or private school, the principal of the school or the superintendent                             
24       shall notify the students, each student's parent or guardian, and the school staff and                            
25       volunteers of the pesticide use by posting notices and by mailing the notice to the last                          
26       known address of the person to be notified. The notice must remain posted for not less                            
27       than 72 hours after pesticide use.                                                                                
28            (b)  The Department of Environmental Conservation may waive the 48-hour                                      
29       notification requirement under (a) of this section in an emergency, as defined by the                             
30       department.                                                                                                       
31            Sec. 14.33.320. Record keeping. A governing body of a public school and the                                

01       person in charge of a private school shall maintain a written or electronic record of all                         
02       pesticide use in or on the grounds of a school for not less than five years. A copy of                            
03       the record shall be made available to the public on request.                                                      
04            Sec. 14.33.350. Definitions. In AS 14.33.310 - 14.33.350,                                                  
05                 (1)  "pest" means a living organism or infectious, transmissible, or                                    
06       contagious disease of plants, that is, or is liable to be, dangerous or detrimental to                            
07       humans or to the environment, or that can create a nuisance;                                                      
08                 (2)  "pesticide" has the meaning given in AS 46.03.900;                                                 
09                 (3)  "private school" has the meaning given in AS 14.45.200.                                            
10    * Sec. 3. AS 46.03.330(a) is amended to read:                                                                      
11            (a)  An officer, agent, or employee of the state, [OR] of a borough or city of                               
12       any class, or of a school district or regional educational attendance area may not                            
13       direct, carry out, or participate in the spraying or application of a pesticide or                                
14       broadcast chemical in any program or project involving funds, materials, or equipment                             
15       of the state, borough, [OR] city, school district or regional educational attendance                          
16       area, except in accordance with regulations adopted by the department under                                   
17       AS 46.03.320.