California waters down bill on toxic pesticides after industry lobbying

A California measure to ban PFAS chemicals from produce was gutted during the legislative process after spending by chemical and agricultural interests, leaving only a tracking and disclosure requirement for pesticide applications.

First covered Sep 9, 2026 · 6:19 PM PT · 1 article · no longer in the live window

California waters down bill on toxic pesticides after industry lobbying — Image via insideclimatenews.org

Coverage

17d Inside Climate News Industry Interests Spent Big Money to Stop California From Banning PFAS Pesticides — An ambitious bill to keep toxic “forever chemicals” off California produce lost its teeth after the chemical and agricultural industry spent hundreds of…

Primary sources

cdpr.ca.gov Mill Assessment

leginfo.legislature.ca.gov Bill Analysis - AB-1603 Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): Department of Pesticide Regulation.

maine.gov 7 Memo Dropped Pfas Ais (maine.gov)

More coverage from around the web

ewg.org California Advances Bill Against Toxic PFAS Pesticides

ewg.org California's Push to Ban Toxic PFAS Pesticides by 2035

cen.acs.org California PFAS pesticide bill fails but sets groundwork, sponsor says

ewg.org Landmark California bill that would track and disclose PFAS pesticide use heads to Newsom’s desk

lookout.co Industry interests spent big money to stop California from banning PFAS pesticides - Lookout Santa Cruz

Appeared in: 2026-09-10 (#18)

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