California IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Malathion Injury Bill Fails

The state Senate defeated an Assembly-passed bill that would give people whose health was damaged by malathion spraying a clear path to sue governmental entities and the makers and suppliers of the controversial pesticide. The bill by Assemblyman Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles) failed on an 18-13 vote, three short of the 21 necessary for approval. Senators from agricultural districts teamed to block its passage. The bill would have given injured citizens the right to sue the manufacturer and supplier of malathion and the government entities which authorized the spraying up to a year after discovery of the alleged injury.