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Committee debates bill requiring pesticide applicators to notify registered beekeepers; motion to pass by indefinitely carries
Summary
The Senate Agriculture Committee considered a bill that would require five‑day written notice to beekeepers on the BeeCheck registry before aerial or high‑height pesticide applications; after extensive testimony, the committee adopted a motion to pass the bill by indefinitely (12–1).
The Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee heard hours of testimony on a proposal that would force commercial and private pesticide applicators to notify beekeepers listed on the BeeCheck apiary registry at least five days before aerial or other pesticide applications that reach 12 feet or more above the ground.
Senator Bill Stanley, the bill's patron, told the committee the measure is a ‘‘notice’’ requirement, not a ban, and argued it is aimed at safeguarding pollinators that support agriculture. "If there's no bees, there's no food," Stanley said during his opening remarks.
The bill would require applicators to submit written notice containing the application location, total acreage, date and time, brand names of pesticides to be applied and contact information. Notices must go to any beekeeper who both is within a five‑mile radius of the application and appears on the BeeCheck apiary registry. The measure also…
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