September 08, 2023
In this Issue:
Take Action! Call your Senator to support an EJ Advisory Committee at DPR
Next week! People's Tribunal on Pesticide Use and Civil Rights Sept. 12
ACTION ALERT: Call Senators to support an Environmental Justice Advisory Committee at DPR!
Last week was another step forward in our campaign to increase the state's accountability to those most directly impacted by pesticide use in California. AB 652 (Lee), which would establish an Environmental Justice Advisory Committee at the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) passed its last committee and is heading to the Senate for a floor vote by September 14.

Thank you to all who made calls and sent e-mails! Our collective, statewide efforts reached the committee members.

Now, we need YOUR support to call all Senators across the state to request they vote YES on AB 652 during the floor vote.

Start by calling on your own State Senator(s) to to support the bill. If you have time, call more Senators across the state. See below for a sample call script.

To learn more about AB 652 visit our FAQ page here.
Use the sample script below when making calls and add your unique perspective and concerns to the message!
"Hi. I’m calling Senator_______ to request she/he vote YES on AB 652 to establish an Environmental Justice Advisory Committee within the Department of Pesticide Regulation.

We need our state government to take action to establish a public facing mechanism for community stakeholders to provide recommendations on how DPR can improve its operations to fulfill its obligations in protecting public health, environmental health and civil rights.

Along with California's Tribal leaders, environmental science, agro-ecological science and public health experts, farmworkers should be at the decision- making table on pesticide regulation. I urge you to VOTE YES on AB 652. Thank you for your time."
Join us September 12 for a
People's Tribunal on Pesticide Use and Civil Rights
Californians for Pesticide Reform and UC Irvine are hosting a People's Tribunal at the Lindsay Wellness Center in Tulare County on September 12, 2023, with generous funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

You can attend in person or online via a livestream. Remember to register here!

The Tribunal will feature community and expert testimony on subjects including: (1) Generations of work to address harms to farmworkers and schools from pesticide use in California, with a focus on regulatory gaps; (2) Scientific research to understand those harms, with a focus on links and relationships among pesticide use, exposure, and harm; (3) Local coalition testimony from across the region, with a focus on community experience, awareness of harms, and pressing concerns; (4) Binational and Indigenous perspectives, with a focus on the difficulty accessing enforcement and other services for those who speak Indigenous languages; (5) Community efforts to process, transform, and use public data to understand impacts and potential mitigation of pesticide use; (6) Legal requirements, including civil rights laws, and why they are under-utilized and difficult to enforce in the context of pesticide use; and (7) Potential violations of civil rights law. 

Please see below for the program-schedule.

You can spread the word by sharing our invitation on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. We hope to see you there!
Dr. Ann Lopez, the executive director of the Center for Farmworker Families, believes California farmworkers “make up a slave subclass modeled after the slavery model from the South.” Farmworker families experience poverty, live in fear of family separation and are suffering high rates of pediatric cancer, birth defects and pesticide-related illnesses, she says, because they lack rights and government safeguards. Here, she offers three steps we all can take to help transform the lives of farmworkers in Santa Cruz County.

Dr. Ann Lopez is one of the judges for the People's Tribunal on Pesticide Use and Civil Rights in California, which will take place next week on September 12th. Remember to register here.