Agriculture officials and environmental activists had mixed reactions Monday to reports that a 2,500-page state government "reorganization" plan proposes cutting state pesticide regulations.

The report, which included recommendations for sweeping changes to dozens of state departments, was reviewed by the Associated Press and was scheduled to be sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today.

The report said California's pesticide regulations often duplicate federal rules and slow the introduction of new pest controls that can protect the state's $27.5 billion agriculture industry without doing much to protect the public health or the environment.

Eric Larson, executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, agreed with that assessment Monday and welcomed the report's proposal to ease state regulations and rely more heavily upon federal guidelines for pesticide control.

"There is a duplication of effort," Larson said. "There are numerous reports out there (nationwide) about new pesticides -- pesticides that do a better job of killing insects and last in the environment for a much shorter period of time -- and the state doesn't accept them. That adds to the process … and makes it difficult to get them out to the market."

But Kathleen Thuner, the county director of agriculture, weights and measures, said it could be risky for California to rely solely upon federal regulations to govern pesticide use.

She said California grows more than 250 different kinds of fruits and vegetables, many of which are not grown in any other state. California has a plethora of different climates -- including five climate zones in San Diego County -- and a range of different types of soils.

Thuner said all of those factors affect how pesticides perform and what effects they have on surrounding environments. She said California's unique qualities are not always taken into account by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Thuner also said California, unlike many agriculture states, "is very populous."

"So we have a lot more potential for people to be interacting with (pesticides)," she said.

Federal officials, meanwhile, have also proposed streamlining their pesticide regulations, causing environmentalists to say the state should not put more reliance upon federal regulations.

The Bush administration has proposed ending a requirement that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency consult with federal wildlife agencies to find out if pesticides might harm plants and animals protected by the Endangered Species Act.

Larson said Monday he believed the reason federal officials were taking that action was because the wildlife agencies were not responding to EPA requests, and that the requests were a waste of time.

Paul Gosselin, acting director of California's Department of Pesticide Regulation, said the state can speed up its approval of new pesticides without harming what he called "the toughest pesticide health and safety standards in the nation."

Four California groups plan to protest the proposal Tuesday, saying the state is not doing enough to regulate airborne pesticides that can drift from farming to residential areas or onto farm workers.

California's farms lead the nation in agricultural production, generating more than $27.5 billion a year and growing more than 250 fruits and vegetables that are sent to the rest of the country and around the world.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.