What's happening
This bill prohibits most pesticide use at children's overnight and summer day camps, with certain exceptions and emergency allowances.
Why it matters
Focuses on child health and safety by sharply limiting pesticide exposure in environments where children gather and play for extended periods, reflecting growing concerns about links between pesticides and developmental health risks.
Defines clear exceptions for specific, lower-risk pest control products (like certain baits, boric acid, and horticultural oils), which means camps can still address pest problems using methods considered safer for children.
Includes emergency use provisions, allowing for pesticide application only under urgent circumstances with official approval, emphasizing a strong preference for non-chemical solutions but retaining flexibility to address immediate threats.
Expands state agency responsibilities, requiring updated guidance and oversight from health and environmental departments, which could set a precedent for similar restrictions in other child-centered environments.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Pesticides at Kids' Camps
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Ban Pesticides at Kids' Camps
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Amy Paulin
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1371
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 9, 2017
Introduced by Sens. CARLUCCI, AVELLA, HOYLMAN, SAVINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the environmental conservation law, in relation to prohibiting the use of pesticides at children's overnight or summer day camp
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 1396 of the public health law is renumbered section 1397 and a new section 1396 is added to read as follows:
§ 1396. Pesticide alternatives. 1. For purposes of this section "pesticide" shall have the same meaning as set forth in subdivision thirty-five of section 33-0101 of the environmental conservation law, provided however that it shall not include:
(a) the application of anti-microbial pesticides and anti-microbial products as defined by FIFRA in 7 U.S.C. Section 136 (mm) and 136 q (h) (2);
(b) the use of an aerosol product with a directed spray, in containers of eighteen fluid ounces or less, when used to protect individuals from an imminent threat from stinging and biting insects, including venomous spiders, bees, wasps and hornets;
(c) the use of non-volatile insect or rodent bait in a tamper resistant container;
(d) the application of a pesticide classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as an exempt material under 40 CFR Part 152.25;
(e) the use of boric acid and disodium octaborate tetrahydrate; or
(f) the use of horticultural soap and oils that do not contain synthetic pesticides or synergists.
2. No camp defined in subdivisions one and two of section thirteen hundred ninety-two of this article shall apply pesticide to any play-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01068-01-7
S. 1371 2
grounds, turf, athletic or playing fields, other than those on publicly-owned or publicly-leased property in a city of more than one million, except that an emergency application of a pesticide may be made as determined by the county health department or for a county not having a health department, such authority as the county legislature shall designate, the commissioner or his or her designee or the commissioner of environmental conservation or his or her designee.
3. The commissioner shall have the power to exempt from this section any camp defined in subdivisions one and two of section thirteen hundred ninety-two of this article to the extent that it is not practicable to use pesticide alternatives as defined in subdivision one of this section.
§ 2. Subdivision 7 of section 33-0303 of the environmental conservation law, as added by chapter 85 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
7. The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of education and the commissioner of health, shall develop guidance on pesticide alternatives to facilitate compliance with section four hundred nine-k of the education law [and], three hundred ninety-g of the social services law and thirteen hundred ninety-six of the public health law.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately the department of health and the department of environmental conservation may promulgate any rule or regulation necessary for the timely implementation of this act on its effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law and the environmental conservation law, in relation to prohibiting the use of pesticides at children's overnight or summer day camp
Purpose
To extend New York State's school anti-pesticide laws to children's overnight and summer day camps. This act will ensure that no children's overnight or summer day camp applies pesticide to any playground, turf, athletic or playing field.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends the public health law by renumbering section 1396 as section 1397 and by adding a new section 1396. Section 1396 defines "pesticide" as set forth in subdivision thirty-five of section 33-0101 of the environmental conservation law and lists pesticide alternatives, which are not included in the definition of "pesticide." This section provides that no camp defined in subdivisions one and two of section 1392 of the public health law shall apply pesticide to any playground, turf, athletic or playing fields, other than those on publicly-owned or publicly-leased property in a city of more than one million, except that an emergency application of a pesticide has been determined. This section also provides that the commissioner shall have the power to exempt from this section any children's overnight camp or summer day camp to the extent that it is not practicable to use pesticide alternatives.
Section 2 amends subdivision 7 of section 33-0303 of the environmental conservation law, to extend the existing provisions related to guidance on pesticide alternatives to summer camps.
Section 3 provides the effective date.
Justification
New York State has already enacted anti-pesticide laws for public and non-public schools. As the American Academy of Pediatrics reported on November 26, 2012, "childhood exposure to pesticides is associated with pediatric cancers, decreased cognitive functions and behavioral problems." The National Academy of Sciences also reported that 396 of all neurobehavioral disorders in children are caused by toxic exposures in the environment and that another 25% are cause by interactions between the environmental factors and genetics.
Anti-pesticide legislation does not currently apply to children's overnight or summer day camps, where children play and spend time, exactly as they do in school. This bill with ensure that children can play in a safe and chemical-free environment, while taking into consideration emergency situations, in which the use of pesticide is determined as necessary by the competent authority for public safety reasons.
Also, the bill gives the power to the health commissioner to exempt camps to the extent that it is not practicable to use pesticide alternatives (e.g. camps operated on land which they do not fully control or maintain).
Legislative history
2015-16: S1420/A129 - Health/Passed Assembly 2013-14: S.5288-D/A.4841-D - Health Committee/Passed Assembly FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.