Bill Text: MN HF2908 | 2013-2014 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Bee death caused by pesticide poisoning compensation provided, pollinator emergency response team established, and money appropriated.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-04-03 - Author added Loeffler [HF2908 Detail]
Download: Minnesota-2013-HF2908-Engrossed.html
1.2relating to claims; providing compensation for bee deaths caused by pesticide
1.3poisoning under certain circumstances; establishing a pollinator emergency
1.4response team; appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2012,
1.5sections 18B.01, by adding subdivisions; 18B.03, by adding a subdivision;
1.618B.04; 85A.02, subdivision 2; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
1.7Statutes, chapters 18B; 19.
1.8BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.9 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18B.01, is amended by adding a
1.10subdivision to read:
1.11 Subd. 2a. Bee. "Bee" means any stage of the common honeybee, Apis mellifera (L).
1.12 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18B.01, is amended by adding a subdivision
1.13to read:
1.14 Subd. 2b. Bee owner. "Bee owner" means a person who owns an apiary.
1.15 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18B.01, is amended by adding a subdivision
1.16to read:
1.17 Subd. 4c. Colony. "Colony" means the aggregate of worker bees, drones, the queen,
1.18and developing young bees living together as a family unit in a hive or other dwelling.
1.19 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18B.01, is amended by adding a subdivision
1.20to read:
2.1 Subd. 11a. Hive. "Hive" means a frame hive, box hive, box, barrel, log gum, skep,
2.2or any other receptacle or container, natural or artificial, or any part of one, which is
2.3used as domicile for bees.
2.4 Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18B.01, is amended by adding a subdivision
2.5to read:
2.6 Subd. 20a. Pollinator. "Pollinator" means an insect that pollinates flowers.
2.7 Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18B.03, is amended by adding a subdivision
2.8to read:
2.9 Subd. 4. Pollinators. The commissioner may take enforcement action under
2.10chapter 18D for a violation of this chapter, or any rule adopted under this chapter,
2.11that results in harm to pollinators, including but not limited to applying a product in
2.12a manner inconsistent with the product's label or labeling and resulting in pollinator
2.13death or willfully applying pesticide in a manner inconsistent with the product label or
2.14labeling. The commissioner must deposit any penalty collected under this subdivision in
2.15the pesticide regulatory account in section 18B.05.
2.16 Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18B.04, is amended to read:
2.1718B.04 PESTICIDE IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT.
2.18(a) The commissioner shall:
2.19(1) determine the impact of pesticides on the environment, including the impacts on
2.20surface water and groundwater in this state;
2.21(2) develop best management practices involving pesticide distribution, storage,
2.22handling, use, and disposal; and
2.23(3) cooperate with and assist other state agencies and local governments to protect
2.24public health, pollinators, and the environment from harmful exposure to pesticides.
2.25(b) The commissioner may assemble a pollinator emergency response team of
2.26experts under section 16C.10, subdivision 2, to consult in the investigation of pollinator
2.27deaths or illnesses. The pollinator emergency response team may include representatives
2.28from local, state, and federal agencies; academia; or other professionals as deemed
2.29necessary by the commissioner.
2.30 Sec. 8. [18B.055] COMPENSATION FOR BEES KILLED BY PESTICIDE;
2.31APPROPRIATION.
3.1 Subdivision 1. Compensation required. (a) The commissioner of agriculture
3.2must compensate a person for an acute pesticide poisoning resulting in the death of bees
3.3owned by the person, provided:
3.4(1) the person who applied the pesticide cannot be determined;
3.5(2) the person who applied the pesticide did so in a manner consistent with the
3.6pesticide product's label or labeling; or
3.7(3) the person who applied the pesticide did so in a manner inconsistent with the
3.8pesticide product's label or labeling.
3.9(b) Except as provided in this section, the bee owner is entitled to the fair market
3.10value of the dead bees as determined by the commissioner upon recommendation by
3.11academic experts and beekeepers. In any fiscal year, a bee owner must not be compensated
3.12for a claim that is less than $100 or compensated more than $20,000 for all eligible claims.
3.13 Subd. 2. Applicator responsible. In the event a person applies a pesticide in a
3.14manner inconsistent with the pesticide label or labeling requirements as approved by the
3.15commissioner and is determined to have caused the acute pesticide poisoning resulting in
3.16the death of bees that are kept for commercial purposes, then the person so identified shall
3.17bear the responsibility of restitution for the value of the bees to the owner. In such cases
3.18the commissioner shall not provide compensation as provided in this section.
3.19 Subd. 3. Claim form. The bee owner must file a claim on forms provided by the
3.20commissioner and available on the Department of Agriculture's Web site.
3.21 Subd. 4. Determination. The commissioner must determine whether the death of
3.22the bees was caused by an acute pesticide poisoning, whether the pesticide applicator can
3.23be determined, and whether the pesticide applicator applied the pesticide product in a
3.24manner consistent with the pesticide product's label or labeling.
3.25 Subd. 5. Payments; denial of compensation. (a) If the commissioner determines
3.26the bee death was caused by an acute pesticide poisoning and either the pesticide
3.27applicator cannot be determined or the pesticide applicator applied the pesticide product in
3.28a manner consistent with the pesticide product's label or labeling, the commissioner may
3.29award compensation from the pesticide regulatory account. If the pesticide applicator can
3.30be determined and the applicator applied the pesticide product in a manner inconsistent
3.31with the product's label or labeling, the commissioner may collect a penalty from the
3.32pesticide applicator sufficient to compensate the bee owner for the fair market value of the
3.33dead bees and must award the money to the bee owner.
3.34(b) If the commissioner denies compensation claimed by a bee owner under this
3.35section, the commissioner must issue a written decision based upon the available evidence.
3.36The decision must include specification of the facts upon which the decision is based
4.1and the conclusions on the material issues of the claim. A copy of the decision must
4.2be mailed to the owner.
4.3(c) A decision to deny compensation claimed under this section is not subject to the
4.4contested case review procedures of chapter 14, but may be reviewed upon a trial de
4.5novo in a court in the county where the loss occurred. The decision of the court may be
4.6appealed as in other civil cases. Review in court may be obtained by filing a petition for
4.7review with the administrator of the court within 60 days following receipt of a decision
4.8under this section. Upon the filing of a petition, the administrator must mail a copy to the
4.9commissioner and set a time for hearing within 90 days of the filing.
4.10 Subd. 6. Deduction from payment. In order to be eligible for compensation under
4.11this section, a bee owner must document that at the time of the loss the bee owner had
4.12insurance sufficient to cover up to 50 percent of the total value of the owner's colony.
4.13The commissioner must reduce payments made under this section by any compensation
4.14received by the bee owner as proceeds from an insurance policy or from another source.
4.15 Subd. 7. Appropriation. The amount necessary to pay claims under this section,
4.16not to exceed $150,000 per fiscal year, is appropriated from the pesticide regulatory
4.17account in section 18B.05.
4.18 Sec. 9. [19.70] DEFINITIONS.
4.19 Subdivision 1. Scope. For the purposes of this chapter, the terms defined in this
4.20section have the meanings given.
4.21 Subd. 2. Apiary. "Apiary" means a place where a collection of one or more hives or
4.22colonies of bees or the nuclei of bees is kept.
4.23 Subd. 3. Abandoned apiary. "Abandoned apiary" means any apiary not regularly
4.24attended in accordance with good beekeeping practices and which constitutes a disease or
4.25parasite hazard to the beekeeping industry.
4.26 Subd. 4. Africanized honeybees. "Africanized honeybees" means Africanized
4.27honeybees using United States Department of Agriculture standards.
4.28 Subd. 5. Bee diseases. "Bee diseases" means infectious, contagious, or harmful
4.29diseases including but not limited to: American or European foulbrood; sacbrood;
4.30chalkbrood; Nosema; bee paralysis; or abnormal condition of egg, larval, pupal, or adult
4.31stages of bees.
4.32 Subd. 6. Bee equipment. "Bee equipment" means hives, supers, frames, veils,
4.33gloves, and any apparatus, tool, machine, vehicle, or other device used in the handling,
4.34moving, or manipulating of bees, honey, wax, or hives, including containers of honey or
5.1wax which may be used in an apiary or in transporting bees and their products and apiary
5.2supplies.
5.3 Subd. 7. Beekeeper. "Beekeeper" means a person who keeps bees.
5.4 Subd. 8. Beekeeping. "Beekeeping" means the moving, raising, and producing of
5.5bees, beeswax, honey, related products, and pollination.
5.6 Subd. 9. Colony. "Colony" means the aggregate of worker bees, drones, the queen,
5.7and developing young bees living together as a family unit in a hive or other dwelling.
5.8 Subd. 10. Commissioner. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of agriculture
5.9or the commissioner's authorized agents.
5.10 Subd. 11. Department. "Department" means the Department of Agriculture.
5.11 Subd. 12. Exotic parasite. "Exotic parasite" means any parasite harmful to bees
5.12including but not limited to: Varroa jacobsoni, Tropilaelaps clareae, or Acarapis woodi.
5.13 Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 85A.02, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
5.14 Subd. 2. Zoological Garden. The board shall acquire, construct, equip, operate
5.15and maintain the Minnesota Zoological Garden at a site in Dakota County legally
5.16described in Laws 1975, chapter 382, section 12. The Zoological Garden shall consist
5.17of adequate facilities and structures for the collection, habitation, preservation, care,
5.18exhibition, examination or study of wild and domestic animals, including, but not limited
5.19to mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, crustaceans and mollusks. The board
5.20may provide such lands, buildings and equipment as it deems necessary for parking,
5.21transportation, entertainment, education or instruction of the public in connection with
5.22such Zoological Garden. The Zoological Garden is the official pollinator bank for the state
5.23of Minnesota. For purposes of this subdivision, "pollinator bank" means a program to
5.24avert the extinction of pollinator species by cultivating insurance breeding populations.
5.25 Sec. 11. BEE VALUATION PROTOCOL REQUIRED.
5.26No later than January 1, 2015, the commissioner must report to the house of
5.27representatives and senate committees with jurisdiction over agriculture finance the
5.28protocol that the commissioner developed, in consultation with experts, for determining
5.29the fair market value of bees, hives, colonies, apiaries, and queen apiaries for purposes of
5.30compensation under Minnesota Statutes, section 18B.055.
5.31 Sec. 12. APPROPRIATION.
6.1$100,000 in fiscal year 2015 is appropriated from the general fund to the
6.2commissioner of agriculture to compensate the pollinator emergency response team
6.3authorized in Minnesota Statutes, section 18B.04.
1.3poisoning under certain circumstances; establishing a pollinator emergency
1.4response team; appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2012,
1.5sections 18B.01, by adding subdivisions; 18B.03, by adding a subdivision;
1.618B.04; 85A.02, subdivision 2; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
1.7Statutes, chapters 18B; 19.
1.8BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.9 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18B.01, is amended by adding a
1.10subdivision to read:
1.11 Subd. 2a. Bee. "Bee" means any stage of the common honeybee, Apis mellifera (L).
1.12 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18B.01, is amended by adding a subdivision
1.13to read:
1.14 Subd. 2b. Bee owner. "Bee owner" means a person who owns an apiary.
1.15 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18B.01, is amended by adding a subdivision
1.16to read:
1.17 Subd. 4c. Colony. "Colony" means the aggregate of worker bees, drones, the queen,
1.18and developing young bees living together as a family unit in a hive or other dwelling.
1.19 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18B.01, is amended by adding a subdivision
1.20to read:
2.1 Subd. 11a. Hive. "Hive" means a frame hive, box hive, box, barrel, log gum, skep,
2.2or any other receptacle or container, natural or artificial, or any part of one, which is
2.3used as domicile for bees.
2.4 Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18B.01, is amended by adding a subdivision
2.5to read:
2.6 Subd. 20a. Pollinator. "Pollinator" means an insect that pollinates flowers.
2.7 Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18B.03, is amended by adding a subdivision
2.8to read:
2.9 Subd. 4. Pollinators. The commissioner may take enforcement action under
2.10chapter 18D for a violation of this chapter, or any rule adopted under this chapter,
2.11that results in harm to pollinators, including but not limited to applying a product in
2.12a manner inconsistent with the product's label or labeling and resulting in pollinator
2.13death or willfully applying pesticide in a manner inconsistent with the product label or
2.14labeling. The commissioner must deposit any penalty collected under this subdivision in
2.15the pesticide regulatory account in section 18B.05.
2.16 Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18B.04, is amended to read:
2.1718B.04 PESTICIDE IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT.
2.18(a) The commissioner shall:
2.19(1) determine the impact of pesticides on the environment, including the impacts on
2.20surface water and groundwater in this state;
2.21(2) develop best management practices involving pesticide distribution, storage,
2.22handling, use, and disposal; and
2.23(3) cooperate with and assist other state agencies and local governments to protect
2.24public health, pollinators, and the environment from harmful exposure to pesticides.
2.25(b) The commissioner may assemble a pollinator emergency response team of
2.26experts under section 16C.10, subdivision 2, to consult in the investigation of pollinator
2.27deaths or illnesses. The pollinator emergency response team may include representatives
2.28from local, state, and federal agencies; academia; or other professionals as deemed
2.29necessary by the commissioner.
2.30 Sec. 8. [18B.055] COMPENSATION FOR BEES KILLED BY PESTICIDE;
2.31APPROPRIATION.
3.1 Subdivision 1. Compensation required. (a) The commissioner of agriculture
3.2must compensate a person for an acute pesticide poisoning resulting in the death of bees
3.3owned by the person, provided:
3.4(1) the person who applied the pesticide cannot be determined;
3.5(2) the person who applied the pesticide did so in a manner consistent with the
3.6pesticide product's label or labeling; or
3.7(3) the person who applied the pesticide did so in a manner inconsistent with the
3.8pesticide product's label or labeling.
3.9(b) Except as provided in this section, the bee owner is entitled to the fair market
3.10value of the dead bees as determined by the commissioner upon recommendation by
3.11academic experts and beekeepers. In any fiscal year, a bee owner must not be compensated
3.12for a claim that is less than $100 or compensated more than $20,000 for all eligible claims.
3.13 Subd. 2. Applicator responsible. In the event a person applies a pesticide in a
3.14manner inconsistent with the pesticide label or labeling requirements as approved by the
3.15commissioner and is determined to have caused the acute pesticide poisoning resulting in
3.16the death of bees that are kept for commercial purposes, then the person so identified shall
3.17bear the responsibility of restitution for the value of the bees to the owner. In such cases
3.18the commissioner shall not provide compensation as provided in this section.
3.19 Subd. 3. Claim form. The bee owner must file a claim on forms provided by the
3.20commissioner and available on the Department of Agriculture's Web site.
3.21 Subd. 4. Determination. The commissioner must determine whether the death of
3.22the bees was caused by an acute pesticide poisoning, whether the pesticide applicator can
3.23be determined, and whether the pesticide applicator applied the pesticide product in a
3.24manner consistent with the pesticide product's label or labeling.
3.25 Subd. 5. Payments; denial of compensation. (a) If the commissioner determines
3.26the bee death was caused by an acute pesticide poisoning and either the pesticide
3.27applicator cannot be determined or the pesticide applicator applied the pesticide product in
3.28a manner consistent with the pesticide product's label or labeling, the commissioner may
3.29award compensation from the pesticide regulatory account. If the pesticide applicator can
3.30be determined and the applicator applied the pesticide product in a manner inconsistent
3.31with the product's label or labeling, the commissioner may collect a penalty from the
3.32pesticide applicator sufficient to compensate the bee owner for the fair market value of the
3.33dead bees and must award the money to the bee owner.
3.34(b) If the commissioner denies compensation claimed by a bee owner under this
3.35section, the commissioner must issue a written decision based upon the available evidence.
3.36The decision must include specification of the facts upon which the decision is based
4.1and the conclusions on the material issues of the claim. A copy of the decision must
4.2be mailed to the owner.
4.3(c) A decision to deny compensation claimed under this section is not subject to the
4.4contested case review procedures of chapter 14, but may be reviewed upon a trial de
4.5novo in a court in the county where the loss occurred. The decision of the court may be
4.6appealed as in other civil cases. Review in court may be obtained by filing a petition for
4.7review with the administrator of the court within 60 days following receipt of a decision
4.8under this section. Upon the filing of a petition, the administrator must mail a copy to the
4.9commissioner and set a time for hearing within 90 days of the filing.
4.10 Subd. 6. Deduction from payment. In order to be eligible for compensation under
4.11this section, a bee owner must document that at the time of the loss the bee owner had
4.12insurance sufficient to cover up to 50 percent of the total value of the owner's colony.
4.13The commissioner must reduce payments made under this section by any compensation
4.14received by the bee owner as proceeds from an insurance policy or from another source.
4.15 Subd. 7. Appropriation. The amount necessary to pay claims under this section,
4.16not to exceed $150,000 per fiscal year, is appropriated from the pesticide regulatory
4.17account in section 18B.05.
4.18 Sec. 9. [19.70] DEFINITIONS.
4.19 Subdivision 1. Scope. For the purposes of this chapter, the terms defined in this
4.20section have the meanings given.
4.21 Subd. 2. Apiary. "Apiary" means a place where a collection of one or more hives or
4.22colonies of bees or the nuclei of bees is kept.
4.23 Subd. 3. Abandoned apiary. "Abandoned apiary" means any apiary not regularly
4.24attended in accordance with good beekeeping practices and which constitutes a disease or
4.25parasite hazard to the beekeeping industry.
4.26 Subd. 4. Africanized honeybees. "Africanized honeybees" means Africanized
4.27honeybees using United States Department of Agriculture standards.
4.28 Subd. 5. Bee diseases. "Bee diseases" means infectious, contagious, or harmful
4.29diseases including but not limited to: American or European foulbrood; sacbrood;
4.30chalkbrood; Nosema; bee paralysis; or abnormal condition of egg, larval, pupal, or adult
4.31stages of bees.
4.32 Subd. 6. Bee equipment. "Bee equipment" means hives, supers, frames, veils,
4.33gloves, and any apparatus, tool, machine, vehicle, or other device used in the handling,
4.34moving, or manipulating of bees, honey, wax, or hives, including containers of honey or
5.1wax which may be used in an apiary or in transporting bees and their products and apiary
5.2supplies.
5.3 Subd. 7. Beekeeper. "Beekeeper" means a person who keeps bees.
5.4 Subd. 8. Beekeeping. "Beekeeping" means the moving, raising, and producing of
5.5bees, beeswax, honey, related products, and pollination.
5.6 Subd. 9. Colony. "Colony" means the aggregate of worker bees, drones, the queen,
5.7and developing young bees living together as a family unit in a hive or other dwelling.
5.8 Subd. 10. Commissioner. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of agriculture
5.9or the commissioner's authorized agents.
5.10 Subd. 11. Department. "Department" means the Department of Agriculture.
5.11 Subd. 12. Exotic parasite. "Exotic parasite" means any parasite harmful to bees
5.12including but not limited to: Varroa jacobsoni, Tropilaelaps clareae, or Acarapis woodi.
5.13 Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 85A.02, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
5.14 Subd. 2. Zoological Garden. The board shall acquire, construct, equip, operate
5.15and maintain the Minnesota Zoological Garden at a site in Dakota County legally
5.16described in Laws 1975, chapter 382, section 12. The Zoological Garden shall consist
5.17of adequate facilities and structures for the collection, habitation, preservation, care,
5.18exhibition, examination or study of wild and domestic animals, including, but not limited
5.19to mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, crustaceans and mollusks. The board
5.20may provide such lands, buildings and equipment as it deems necessary for parking,
5.21transportation, entertainment, education or instruction of the public in connection with
5.22such Zoological Garden. The Zoological Garden is the official pollinator bank for the state
5.23of Minnesota. For purposes of this subdivision, "pollinator bank" means a program to
5.24avert the extinction of pollinator species by cultivating insurance breeding populations.
5.25 Sec. 11. BEE VALUATION PROTOCOL REQUIRED.
5.26No later than January 1, 2015, the commissioner must report to the house of
5.27representatives and senate committees with jurisdiction over agriculture finance the
5.28protocol that the commissioner developed, in consultation with experts, for determining
5.29the fair market value of bees, hives, colonies, apiaries, and queen apiaries for purposes of
5.30compensation under Minnesota Statutes, section 18B.055.
5.31 Sec. 12. APPROPRIATION.
6.1$100,000 in fiscal year 2015 is appropriated from the general fund to the
6.2commissioner of agriculture to compensate the pollinator emergency response team
6.3authorized in Minnesota Statutes, section 18B.04.
