Bill Text: MN HF2798 | 2013-2014 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Plants treated with pollinator lethal insecticide prohibited from being labeled or advertised as beneficial to pollinators.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 20-4)

Status: (Passed) 2014-05-21 - Secretary of State Chapter 299 [HF2798 Detail]

Download: Minnesota-2013-HF2798-Engrossed.html

1.1A bill for an act
1.2relating to environment; prohibiting plants treated with pollinator lethal
1.3insecticide from being labeled or advertised as beneficial to pollinators;amending
1.4Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 18H.02, by adding a subdivision; 18H.14.
1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6    Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18H.02, is amended by adding a
1.7subdivision to read:
1.8    Subd. 28a. Pollinator lethal insecticide. "Pollinator lethal insecticide" means an
1.9insecticide absorbed by a plant that makes the plant lethal to pollinators. Pollinator lethal
1.10insecticide includes, but is not limited to, the neonicotinoid class of insecticides that affect
1.11the central nervous system of pollinators and may cause pollinator paralysis or death.

1.12    Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 18H.14, is amended to read:
1.1318H.14 LABELING AND ADVERTISING OF NURSERY STOCK.
1.14(a) Plants, plant materials, or nursery stock must not be labeled or advertised with
1.15false or misleading information including, but not limited to, scientific name, variety,
1.16place of origin, hardiness zone as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture,
1.17and growth habit.
1.18(b) All nonhardy nursery stock as designated by the commissioner must be labeled
1.19"nonhardy" in Minnesota.
1.20(c) A person may not offer for distribution plants, plant materials, or nursery stock,
1.21represented by some specific or special form of notation, including, but not limited to,
1.22"free from" or "grown free of," unless the plants are produced under a specific program
2.1approved by the commissioner to address the specific plant properties addressed in the
2.2special notation claim.
2.3(d) Nursery stock collected from the wild state must be inspected and certified
2.4prior to sale and at the time of sale must be labeled "Collected from the Wild." The label
2.5must remain on each plant or clump of plants while it is offered for sale and during the
2.6distribution process. The collected stock may be grown in nursery rows at least two years,
2.7after which the plants may be sold without the labeling required by this paragraph.
2.8(e) A person may not label or advertise an annual, bedding plant, or other plant, plant
2.9material, or nursery stock as beneficial to pollinators if it: (1) has been treated with and
2.10has a detectable level of a pollinator lethal insecticide; (2) has a pollinator protection box
2.11on the insecticide product label; or (3) has a pollinator, bee, or honey bee precautionary
2.12statement in the environmental hazards section of the insecticide product label. The
2.13commissioner of agriculture must develop a list of pesticide active ingredients that are
2.14lethal to pollinators. The commissioner may consult with interested parties in developing
2.15the list. The commissioner shall enforce this paragraph as provided in chapter 18J.
2.16EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective August 1, 2014.
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