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Committee weighs extending neonicotinoid application ban to nursery starts and potted plants
Summary
Representative John O'Brien introduced H.372 to add nursery starts and potted plants to existing restrictions on neonicotinoid pesticide use. Legislative counsel said the bill prohibits in‑state application but does not ban sales of treated plants unless amended to add a nondiscriminatory sales prohibition.
Representative John O’Brien, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, introduced H.372, “an act relating to application of neonicotinoid pesticides in nursery starts and herbaceous plants,” describing the public‑policy rationale and the science lawmakers’ testimony has emphasized: neonics are systemic insecticides that can travel in water and persist in the environment, exposing pollinators and aquatic invertebrates.
“Neonics are neurotoxin, so they attack the nervous system of bugs,” O’Brien said, and committee discussion focused on whether banning application to nursery starts and small potted plants would reduce pollinator exposure and environmental transport. O’Brien noted prior bills and actions: the…
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