Industry Members Continue Engaging on Legislative Issues this Summer

Editor's Note: The following article was authored by Michelle Moore, Josh Reynolds, Jackie Ramsey and JD Darr from the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) as a legislative update following the adjournment of 38 states legislative sessions, with five continuing into late summer/ early fall and seven hosting yearlong sessions.

WASHINGTON – While many states have concluded their work, industry members will continue engaging on bills that remain in active sessions throughout the summer. Throughout these sessions, our industry has accomplished significant victories while working diligently to mitigate any negative or burdensome outcomes in states with unfavorable political dynamics.

This year saw numerous bills that would ban or restrict the use of pesticides, which quickly became the most widespread issue.

In the eastern half of the U.S., advocacy efforts have been successful against unruly legislation that would make it virtually impossible to conduct daily operations. In Connecticut, Senate Bills 962 and 963 sought to prohibit the use of neonicotinoids and second-generation rodenticides across the state. NPMA, working with our State Policy Affairs Representatives (SPARs) and Association Leaders advocated against these bills and were successful in derailing their progression in the Senate, where they failed to pass before the adjournment date.

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We saw an additional rodenticide ban bill in New Hampshire; however, industry members quickly assembled a strong delegation to testify in opposition to its passage which resulted in its transformation to a more innocuous study bill accompanied by a task force that includes a member of our industry.

Bills banning products were not the only legislation seen in the east. Other onerous legislation that would restrict application locations and would increase reporting requirements to include confidential business information were handled swiftly.

In South Carolina, a bill was introduced that would prohibit barrier mosquitocide applications within a thousand feet of a body of water. Professionals in the state monitored this issue closely and acted quickly in opposition. A subcommittee voted unanimously to end the debate on the bill, making it unable to progress further.

We saw a more significant win in Maine, where there were attempts to enforce the inclusion of addresses where applications were made in annual reports. In response to this, a wide variety of trade organizations gathered in opposition, which resulted in the bill being changed to only enforce the complete shift to electronic uploads by removing the allowance of paper recording moving forward.

This session saw many victories in the east; however, in a handful of states like Indiana, we saw a few curveballs that passed through their respective legislative bodies. Indiana House Bill 1623, which originally was an overhaul of the processes of the state offices and administration and was not harmful to our industry, was amended in the late hours on the last day of the session.

This amended language restricts the pesticide lead regulatory authority on final decision-making power and instead hands that authority to the state legislature. The industry is currently working alongside our regulatory partners to understand which rules will be voided to stay in full compliance with the law moving forward.

Additionally, they are organizing to overturn some of these decisions to ensure the industry’s professionalism is protected in the future.

Through NPMA’s and our SPARs’ close relationships with State Lead Agencies, we are optimistic that common sense will prevail, leading to sensible and fair regulation that protects our industry and our customers.

In the west, our industry avoided burdensome neonicotinoid legislation by working with state legislators to ensure that state legislation does not hinder vital pest management efforts. In New Mexico, the pest management industry alongside a broad coalition, including the state association for professional beekeepers and the Farm Bureau, worked to strike down a bill that would have restricted neonicotinoid use in the state.

Industry professionals worked diligently in Nevada to amend a similar bill, Assembly Bill 162, to allow pest management professionals to use these products both for indoor and outdoor applications. With this industry protection included in the bill, it passed both legislative chambers and became law on May 30.

Perhaps our industry’s biggest legislative success in the west was our work in Colorado. Our industry became a target as the legislature had to review and renew the Pesticide Applicator’s Act (PAA) or let it sunset and deregulate our industry. Our industry advocated early and often, beginning in early 2022 through interviews with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) to prevent the PAA from becoming a vehicle to roll back statewide pesticide preemption in Colorado.

When the PAA was signed into law on June 5, it did not include any language-altering preemption in Colorado. Our industry also combatted a late effort to limit neonicotinoid use in the state, successfully amending Senate Bill 266 to make neonicotinoids a limited-use classification of pesticide that does not affect the day-to-day working of our industry.

This bill, which comes up every seven years, has been an activist target to hamstring our industry, but thanks to the hard work, ground game and continual advocacy, our industry has again risen to the challenge in defending pesticide preemption in a deep blue state.

Minnesota was another state that saw its political dynamic change heading into 2023. For the first time in nearly a decade, the Democratic party held a trifecta — control over both legislative chambers and the Governor’s office.

The Democratic-Farmer-Labor party took little time to exert its influence over Minnesota policies, passing a swath of Democratic priorities, including legalizing recreational marijuana use in the state. Minnesota also became a battleground for neonicotinoid use and statewide preemption.

Two bills were filed allowing localities to regulate the use of pesticide products with a “pollinator-lethal” label advisory. Ultimately, this language was included in the omnibus environment budget bill after neither standalone bill passed their respective chambers.

Our industry tirelessly advocated in the halls and committee about the need for statewide uniform pesticide regulation in Minnesota and continued to do so during the conference committee proceedings for the omnibus bill.

Due to our strong efforts, the final bill passed with revised language allowing Minnesota’s first-class cities (Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Rochester and Duluth) to regulate only these products. While this is a troublesome precedent, we are pleased that our efforts were able to stymie an all-out preemption rollback across the state.

In the west, our industry is currently engaging each of Minnesota’s first-class cities and their governments on the importance of allowing pest management professionals to use these products on the outside of structures to protect Minnesotans from public health and safety risks and unnecessary property damage.

Additionally, our industry is currently on the frontline in California, as Assembly Bill 1322, which prohibits the use of the first-generation rodenticide Diphacinone in the state until the Department of Pesticide Regulation reviews the product, moves in the California Senate. This legislation has the potential to severely limit successful rodent control in the state as all second-generation rodenticides are currently prohibited after

Assembly Bill 1788 was passed in 2020. Our industry is currently working with the Pest Control Operators of California (PCOC) to influence key California Senators to stop this bill from passing, so that pest management professionals can retain an effective tool to combat rodent infestations.

As we close the book on another busy state legislative cycle, we would like to extend a much-deserved thank you to all of our SPARs, State Association Leaders, Public Policy Committee and Member Advocates for your hard work in defending our industry.

Our association has a long history of state legislative accomplishments, and we feel that 2023 again demonstrates the unique influence our industry has as protectors of public health, property, and food.