VIDEO: Historic pesticide preemption bill heard

Earlier this evening in VIDEO: Bill for truth-in-labeling for pollinator-friendly plants heard in Ag & Food Division, we wrote about one effort to give confidence to gardeners and landscapers who want feel confident that they are indeed pollinator-friendly.

But HF1908 wasn't the only bee bill heard in Tuesday's Ag and Food Division meeting. Here's video of the hearing for  HF 212,followed by an explanation from the Pesticide Action Network:

Our friends at the Pesticide Action Network sent us this handy press release about the hearing:

On Tuesday, the Minnesota House Agriculture and Food Finance and Policy Division committee heard HF 212  a bill that would allow four cities in Minnesota—Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, and Duluth—to regulate the application, use, and disposal of pesticides. The committee will consider the bill for inclusion in the committee’s omnibus bill.

 

This bill has been authored by Minneapolis Representative Jim Davnie for the last six years. This year, Representative Jean Wagenius also authored a bill on pesticide preemption, which went a step further, preposing the restoration of local control to all localities in Minnesota. This is the first year that any bill on pesticide preemption has been granted a hearing. Minnesota lawmakers voted to tie the hands of local lawmakers in 1989, and has overturned numerous local laws around pesticides since. 

 

Erin Rupp of Pollinate Minnesota brought to the committee’s attention the importance of city-level ordinances around pesticides, particularly in the context of pollinator declines. The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee—which HF 2070 named as Minnesota’s State Bee yesterday—was once one of our most common species. Last year, the bee was officially placed on the endangered species list. Its remaining habitat exists largely in the metro region of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The City of Minneapolis is among a number of cities that have asked for their local control back from the state—most recently, six city officials from across Minnesota led efforts to oppose preemption in the 2018 Farm Bill. 

 

Willa Childress of Pesticide Action Network added that many pesticide issues are regional, and require a regional approach. In the four cities of the first class that would be exempted from preemption by HF 212, most pesticide use is cosmetic, and not handled by certified professionals. 

 

"Working with farmers and beekeepers, both urban and rural families across Minnesota, it is clear to me that a blanket regulatory system for pesticides just isn’t working. And our preemption laws prevent communities from taking action when an issue arises.”

 

Proponents of the bill aren't asking Minnesota to be a national leader on pesticides, but rather to follow the model of many other states that never have had pesticide preemption laws, or worked to reverse them. Alaska, Maine, and Hawaii are among these states. 

We have seen rusty-patched bumblebees outside the metro on friends'  bee-friendly landscapes, proving that the creature is a One Minnesota thing for those who try hard enough.

A fun tweet from the hearing

An @LSPnow member, Margot Monson, is testifying in support of reinstating local control of first-class cities of pesticides. I learned she’s the chief author’s (@jdavnie’s) cousin, who didn’t know she was going to testify, and I love the photo I snapped of Margot laughing. 💚 pic.twitter.com/cY28aIr9Xb

— Amanda Babcock (@amandanbabcock) March 12, 2019

Photo: A rusty-patched bumblebee, an endangered species which has a good chance of becoming Minnesota's state bee, if another of Hansen's bills passes. Bumblebees and many small native bees are often more sensitive to neonics and other pesticides, according to testimony on Tuesday.  Photo via US Fish and Wildlife Service.

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