State Senate passes two pesticide bills

Bills would add a PNW representative to the EPA and make changes to the Washington Pesticide Application Act

Olivia Harnack, Whitman County Gazette | Mar 16, 20230

Washington State Senate Republican Caucus count

Two workers spray a field with pesticides.

COLFAX- Two bills related to crop-protection products passed in Olympia over the last week. Both bills were sponsored by Central Washington lawmaker, Nikki Torres, and are moving to the House of Representatives after receiving support from the Senate.

Senate Bill (SB) 5143 had a unanimous vote of 49-0 on the Senate floor on March 2. This bill would change the name and membership of the Commission on pesticide Registration and add a representative from the Pacific Northwest region of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as a non-voting member in Seattle.

The Senate also unanimously voted...