Hazardous Pesticides Bill

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a Senate bill that would have required all schools in California to use the least hazardous pesticides available.

He vetoed SB 1157, authored by state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, because it would have required the Department of Pesticide Regulation to reimburse all local agencies and school districts for costs associated with creating integrated pest management programs.

However, Schwarzenegger wrote in response to the bill that he supported voluntary school pest management programs.

"Unfortunately, I cannot support paying for this school program out of an alternative fund at DPR," he wrote. "To do so would start a dangerous precedent for finding unrelated revenue sources to fund, expand, or create K-12 programs outside of the Proposition 98 (schools funding) guarantee."