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House committee hears broad testimony on bill to limit neonicotinoid pesticide use
Summary
Representatives, agency staff, scientists and dozens of public witnesses told the Environment and Agriculture Committee that neonicotinoids threaten pollinators, aquatic life and human exposure. Sponsor Rep. John T. McDonald urged adoption of an amendment that narrows but restricts certain exterior uses and gives rulemaking authority to the Department of Agriculture.
The House Environment and Agriculture Committee heard hours of testimony on HB 14 31, a bill sponsored by Representative John T. McDonald that would restrict many nonagricultural uses of neonicotinoid insecticides while preserving targeted uses and giving the Department of Agriculture authority to reclassify products by rule.
Representative McDonald framed the bill as a collaborative, evidence-based response to declines in insects and documented environmental contamination. “Neonicotinoids are systemic insecticides designed to permeate the entire plant,” McDonald said in his opening remarks, arguing that widespread use has produced measurable exposures in New Hampshire residents and ecosystems. He described an amendment that narrows the bill’s scope, clarifies exemptions for structural and agriculture uses, and requires advance…
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