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AB 732

Relating to: prohibiting noncommercial uses of neonicotinoid pesticides. (FE)

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Elijah Behnke and 3 co-sponsors

Allows counties to impose civil penalties up to $500 per acre (up to $1,000 if no good-faith abatement within 45 days) for neglected or abandoned plants that create pest-related nu

Read first time and referred to Committee on Environment
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Bill Summary · AB 732

AB 732 (Macedo) — Summary (civil penalties for pest‑related public nuisances)

Note on bill title: the bill information header referenced neonicotinoid pesticides, but the official bill text and committee analyses for AB 732 (authored by Assemblymember Macedo) establish a civil‑penalty framework for neglected or abandoned plants/crops that constitute pest‑related public nuisances. This summary describes the enacted provisions in the bill text.

Main purpose

Give county agricultural commissioners an alternative enforcement tool — civil monetary penalties — to address neglected or abandoned plants or crops that create pest‑related public nuisances threatening adjacent properties or local agriculture, while protecting bona fide biological control or conservation practices from being treated as pests.

Key provisions

  • Adds Article 5 (Sections 5646–5647) to Chapter 7, Part 1, Division 4 of the Food and Agricultural Code.
  • Definitions
    • “Good faith action”: a diligent and honest effort to abate the nuisance, judged by a reasonable person.
    • “Pest”: retains existing Section 5006 meaning, but explicitly excludes beneficial organisms used as biological control agents, conservation practice standards, or on‑farm management practices (including NRCS Field Office Technical Guide standards and practices identified through the Healthy Soils Program).
  • Civil penalty authority (in lieu of recording a lien)
    • Commissioner may levy a civil penalty when a violation of Section 5553 (maintaining a public nuisance) causes or would cause economic or ecological harm to adjoining/nearby property.
    • Penalty up to $500 per acre (amount determined by severity and ability to pay).
    • If the violator fails to take a good faith action within 45 days, the commissioner may increase the penalty up to $1,000 per acre.
  • Notice and due process
    • At least 30 days’ notice required before levying a penalty; the recipient has the right to review and present evidence and to be heard.
    • Notices must include the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program website and refer recipients to the nearest UC Cooperative Extension office.
    • Notices must contain a bilingual (English + any language spoken solely by >10% of county residents) statement explaining the violation and appeal rights (appeal under Section 5311).
    • If the recipient takes good faith abatement within 30 days of notice, no civil penalty is owed.
  • Evidentiary protection
    • Use/presence of biological controls, conservation standards, or Healthy Soils on‑farm practices do not by themselves constitute sole evidence of a Section 5553 violation (but do not bar abatement where pests are actually harbored).
  • Revenue and appeal
    • Moneys recovered are deposited into the county general fund.
    • Subdivision (d) of Section 5311 applies to penalties (appeal processes).
  • Sunset clause
    • These civil‑penalty provisions are set to be repealed on January 1, 2035.

Who is affected

  • Property owners and persons in charge of properties with neglected or abandoned plants/crops.
  • Adjoining and nearby property owners harmed or at risk from pest spread.
  • County agricultural commissioners (enforcement discretion).
  • University of California Cooperative Extension and UC IPM (referral and informational role).
  • Farmers/practitioners using biological control, NRCS conservation standards, or Healthy Soils practices (protected from being presumed pests).

Timeline / Status

  • Introduced: February 18, 2025.
  • Enacted: Approved by Governor and chaptered as Chapter 440, Statutes of 2025 (approved October 7, 2025).
  • Provisions repeal on January 1, 2035.

Administrative/fiscal notes

  • Bill reported “No” on state appropriation; fiscal committee review required (local fiscal impacts: penalty revenue to county general funds; enforcement may change county workload and methods).
  • Penalty amounts are discretionary within statutory caps and tied to severity and ability to pay.

If you want, I can prepare a one‑page explainer for property owners or a compliance checklist for county agricultural commissioners.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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