AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 22, 2024

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 2024

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 19, 2024

AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 10, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

93

CHAPTER 881

Statutes of 2024

[ Approved by Governor September 28, 2024. Filed with Secretary of State September 28, 2024. ]

Introduced by Senator Portantino

(Coauthors: Senators Blakespear, Rubio, and Wahab)

February 14, 2024

An act to add Section 116376.2 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to drinking water.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health. Existing law requires the state board to adopt a definition of microplastics in drinking water and to adopt a standard methodology to be used in the testing of drinking water for microplastics and requirements for 4 years of testing and reporting of microplastics in drinking water, including public disclosure of those results.

This bill would require the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to study the health effects of microplastics in drinking and bottled water to evaluate toxicity characteristics and levels of microplastics in water that are not anticipated to cause or contribute to adverse health effects, or to identify data gaps that would need to be addressed to establish those levels. The bill would require OEHHA to provide biennial status updates, and post a final report on its internet website. The bill would authorize the State Water Resources Control Board, after taking into consideration the findings of the report, to request that OEHHA prepare and publish a public health goal for microplastics in drinking water, as specified.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 116376.2 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

116376.2.

(a) The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall study the health effects of microplastics, consistent with Section 116365, in drinking and bottled water to evaluate toxicity characteristics and levels of microplastics in water that are not anticipated to cause or contribute to adverse health effects, or to identify data gaps that would need to be addressed to establish those levels. The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall provide biennial status updates that may contain the compilation of findings from the study into a report and post the final report on its internet website.

(b) After taking into consideration the findings published pursuant to subdivision (a), the State Water Resources Control Board may request that the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment prepare and publish a public health goal, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 116365, for microplastics in drinking water.