Rhode Island Passes Bill Restricting Use of Neonics

PROVIDENCE, RI — On June 22, Rhode Island legislators passed S. 2299, a bill that would restrict the use of neonicotinoids. The bill has been sent to Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee (D), who will determine whether to sign it into law.

The bill would restrict the use of pesticides containing neonicotinoids outdoors, allowing only certified applicators to purchase or use them.

Leonard Brown, director of public policy, National Pest Management Association, said NPMA and its members were able to get both House and Senate bills “deferred from a vote in the committee process,” but a late push by activist groups made Rhode Island legislative committee members reconsider.

Brown said NPMA is currently working with a coalition of agriculture and non-agriculture organizations to ask Gov. McKee to veto the bill. NPMA is running an active VoterVoice campaign for members that live in Rhode Island to tell the Governor to veto the bill. Click here for a link to this campaign.

In Rhode Island, restricted use products (RUPs) require direct line of sight supervision of licensed applicators, which will be the challenge for Rhode Island pest management professionals, according to Griggs & Browne Pest Control's Ted Brayton, who is the New England SPARR (State Policy Affairs Representative) for NPMA. “I don't know of any other states in the country like that, certainly not in New England,” he said.

Brayton said Rhode Island’s stringent RUP requirement was, understandably, created to ensure the safe, professional use of more volatile products (e.g., fumigants, subsurface liquid termiticide applications, rodent tracking powders, etc.) – not neonicotinoids. “That is really the sticking point,” he said.

The Rhode Island bill does include an exception for the use application neonicotinoids indoors by licensed professionals. However, as the bill is written that exception only applies if the product does not have an exterior application on the label and Brayton said to his knowledge there is only one neonicotinoid product that does not have exterior application language on the label.