Assembly committee advances AB 1603 to curb PFAS in water supplies

The Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee approved AB 1603 on Tuesday and sent the measure to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, advancing a bill that Assembly Member Shorts presented as a way to keep PFAS out of water supplies.

In the hearing, Shorts described AB 1603 as a drinking-water protection bill aimed at preventing PFAS contamination and avoiding rate increases, according to the Assembly committee audio. The committee later voted to move the bill forward as amended to Appropriations.

The measure drew opposition from a range of industry and trade groups, including Western Growers, Nutrien AG Solutions, the California Retailers Association, the American Chemistry Council and others, which testified against the bill during the hearing, the same audio record shows.

The committee hearing also included other environmental and consumer-protection bills, but AB 1603 was one of the measures that cleared the panel and advanced to the next step in the legislative process.