Ms. Katten — Ms. Katten is asked follow-up questions about pesticide reevaluation, specifically DPR's reevaluation process as a key tool for assessing the safety of registered pesticides and what improvements may be needed.
Ms. Lopez — Praised for testimony about community-level interaction with county ag commissioners.
Christopher Finarelli — Introduces himself and states he is speaking for the Household and Commercial Products Association.
Director Morrison — Credited, along with her team, for improvements to the registration system.
Taylor Truffo — Introduced testimony on behalf of a broad coalition representing California's food and agricultural community.
Dr. Morrison — Expected to speak about department activities including Spark and EJAC.
Dr. Molloy — Referenced as having made a similar point about expertise.
Hana Kauk — Begins introducing herself as the next witness after thanking the committee.
Hana Kahl — Introduces herself as a representative of Community Alliance with Family Farmers and describes her ecological pest management work.
Mr. Finarelli — A committee member addresses Mr. Finarelli about milestones, transparency, and the 2027 timeline requirement.
Ms. Call — Addressed as the person being asked about DPR programs and farmer support.
Karen Morrison — Karen Morrison is introduced as the expected director of DPR and then begins her testimony by thanking the committee and acknowledging the importance of the hearing on pest and pesticide management.
AB1963 — Cited as the bill passed in 2024 that required reevaluation of paraquat.
Elizabeth Pavia — Identified herself as an outreach worker with Leaders Campesinas in Merced and said she has been a farm worker her entire life.
Victoria Post — Identified herself as a farm worker member of Leaders Campesinas from Sacramento and noted that she first introduced herself in K'iche' from Guatemala.
Unnamed farm worker witness — The witness describes how farm workers are directly exposed to pesticides and chemicals while working in the fields, including during pruning of almond trees, and says these chemicals contaminate workers and the food supply. She emphasizes that farm workers plant and harvest tomatoes and vegetables yet remain unseen and unrecognized, and she asks the committee not to support practices that continue exposing workers and consumers to these harmful substances.
Gloria Cruz — Gloria Cruz, a member of Leaders Campesinas from Comité Fresno, testifies on behalf of workers who cannot attend and describes her own and her family’s health problems from pesticide exposure. She says she is exposed to pesticides while working in the fields and reports suffering from sclerosis, fragile muscles, and asthma. She also explains that much of her family has respiratory problems and that other relatives have been affected by pesticide-related conditions, including scoliosis and additional health issues.
Unnamed witness — Says her two children have adult health problems and convulsions that she attributes to pesticide exposure.
Blanca Gomez — Blanca Gomez, from Cantua Creek in Fresno County, describes her community as a farmworker area suffering from serious health problems such as asthma, allergies, cancer, and autism. She says local authorities and the Agricultural Commissioner are not adequately protecting residents from pesticide drift, and she urges DPR to prioritize human health over large companies. She emphasizes that homes, schools, and workplaces are surrounded by pesticides and asks for stronger protection for the community and workers.
Maria Lolita Dias — Maria Lolita Dias introduces herself and explains that she came to the area at age 14 and began field work early in life. She describes family health problems, including cancer, lupus, and allergies, and says she is from Cantua Creek. She then explains that she lives amid crop fields such as almonds, pistachios, garlic, and onions, and that conditions around her home are poor, including ants requiring pesticide use, bad water, and bad soil.
Mariela Fernandez de Balejo — Introduces herself as a resident of Fresno County and a member of TC's Caps 559.
Maricella Fernandez de Vallejo — Introduces herself as a Fresno resident and supports a protection zone.
Aulalia Mendoza — Introduces herself as an organizer with Project Misteco Indigena and Caps 805, and describes long-term agricultural work and pesticide exposure.
Yulalia Mendoza — Introduces herself as an organizer with Mixteco Indigena and Caps 805.
Tutui and born by Celia — The speaker identifies herself with a name that is difficult to parse and begins an indigenous-centered reflection.
Alina — Introduces herself as a young Indigenous woman from Santa Maria who has worked in the fields for 11 years.
Unidentified young farmworker speaker — The young farmworker speaker described how farmworkers are exposed to pesticides drifting from neighboring fields and emphasized that many workers are young, including children under 11, and pregnant women. She pushed back against the idea that parents are irresponsible for sending children to work, explaining that families often have no other choice because they need the income to pay for rent and food. She said she is speaking for herself, her family, friends, and other field workers, and that her motivation is to represent their experiences and continue her education to help her community.
Alicia Blanco — Alicia Blanco, a Santa Maria high school student, testified about a chemistry project examining campus water quality and said her main pesticide-related concern is agricultural runoff. She reported that testing of three school water fountains found unsafe nitrate levels for most of the school year, with only August showing safe water, and said 10 of 11 months measured nitrate levels between 80 and 160 ppm. She attributed the contamination to nearby strawberry fields and pesticide spraying close to the school.
Merali Lopez — Merali Lopez introduces herself as representing Campesinas Unidas in the San Joaquin Valley/Tulare County area and explains that she is speaking on behalf of mothers and children affected by pesticide exposure and related health problems.
Unidentified mother from Modesto — An unidentified mother from Modesto, Stanislaus County, said she wants to be informed about what is happening in her community and expressed concern that pesticides and herbicides are contaminating the air, water, and food. She urged an end to chemical use so children can grow up healthy and free from exposure to pollution.
Unidentified parent from Modesto, Stanislaus County — Said they joined the movement after learning how contaminated the air and water are, and emphasized protecting agricultural workers from pesticide exposure.
Melissa Kosso-Chuk — Identified herself as speaking for Western Growers and said her comments align with Ms. Truffo’s earlier remarks.
Ms. Truffo — Referenced as having provided earlier comments that Western Growers is aligning with.
Brenda Bass — Identified herself as speaking for KP Public Affairs on behalf of the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California.
Family nurse practitioner from the Central Valley — Testified that more research is needed before assuming pesticides are better than the disease risks posed by vectors.
Emily Marquez — Identified herself as a scientist with Pesticide Action and Agroecology Network and said PAN seeks to end reliance on hazardous pesticides.
Laura Placencia — Identified herself as working with Valley Improvement Projects and speaking as a concerned resident about cumulative chemical exposure.
Larry Ortega — Public commenter from Los Angeles County who strongly criticizes DPR and pesticide use near schools.
Alexia Angel — Public commenter from Greenfield and co-founder of Future Leaders of Change who urges prioritizing the most harmful pesticides.
Noemi Chico — Educator from Greenfield and member of Safe Act, Safe Schools who calls for advance notice and safer funding structures.
Ari — Public commenter from Monterey County and co-chair of the Central Coast Democratic Socialists of America.
Heather Galaher — Public commenter from Sonoma County who supports transition to alternative practices and stronger regulation.
Taylor Durgan — Introduces themself as a co-founder of a new nonprofit in Plumas County focused on herbicide spraying concerns.
Cesar Lara — Introduces themself as staff at the California Federation of Labor Unions representing multiple labor organizations.
Rosio Madrigal — Rosio Madrigal, speaking for CCEJN, introduced the organization and described community concerns about pesticide exposure. She called for informed notification, larger buffer zones around schools and farmworker communities, and stronger accountability from DPR. She also raised problems with reporting and investigations, including delays caused by language access barriers and the long timeline for investigations, and tied these issues to the real harms experienced by farmworkers and families affected by cancer.
Andrea Ventura — Andrea Ventura, legislative and policy director for Clean Water Action, introduced herself and explained that she was testifying because of serious concerns about pesticide use in Kern County, where community cancer rates have made the issue especially urgent. She said she wished a local colleague could speak instead, then continued by noting that Clean Water Action believes pesticide pest control can be done differently and more effectively.
Steve Bennett — Addressed as 'Assembly Member' for staying through the hearing; likely the speaker was thanking a committee member, but the exact member is not named in the transcript.
Juanita Chavez — Juanita Chavez introduced herself and explained that she was attending on behalf of her mother, Dolores Huerta, who was unable to be present in person.
Dolores Huerta — Juanita Chavez explains that she is testifying on behalf of her mother, Dolores Huerta, who regrets not being able to attend the hearing in person.
Sarah Aird — Identified herself as policy director with Californians for Pesticide Reform and thanked legislators for staying to listen.