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Committee debates 'right to grow' language and whether to include rabbits in municipal agriculture bill
Summary
Members discussed adding a "right to grow plants" to H.941 and sparred over whether the statute should explicitly allow rabbits on small parcels, with some members citing cultural practices and others warning of regulatory and ecological risks.
Committee members on the Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry committee revisited municipal-regulation language in H.941, weighing whether to adopt a broad "right to grow plants" and whether to explicitly allow rabbits on small parcels. The committee did not take a vote and agreed to continue the discussion at a later meeting.
Michelle, a committee member, said she "liked the way Carolyn framed" a right to grow plants but warned the phrase might not cover tenants or potted plants and recommended carefully preserving the original protections for growers. "I would like to not add rabbits to the list," Michelle said, saying she did not want to "incentivize people raising rabbits" and was concerned about encouraging backyard rabbit production.
Other members pushed back, arguing inclusion could reflect cultural practices and small-scale producers. One member responded that allowing rabbits could support culturally appropriate foodways, while another warned that the committee should gather more information about animal husbandry standards and potential public-health or ecological impacts if rabbits escaped. "We need more information about... What kind of cage space do they need? How many are there around?" one member said.
Members also debated numeric thresholds for small-poultry flocks. One committee member said "6 birds is too small," and another suggested 20 to 30 birds as a reasonable cap, while others cautioned that leaving "small" undefined could let municipalities reach different conclusions and invite legal challenges.
The committee discussed reconstituting a stakeholder group to gather data on prevalence, husbandry practices and any municipal bans before deciding whether to add species-specific language. No motion was made; members agreed to hold the conversation open and to revisit H.941 at a later time.
