Bill H.733

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 775 FILED ON: 1/14/2013

HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 733

By Mr. Kaufman of Lexington, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 733) of Jay R. Kaufman and William N. Brownsberger for legislation to regulate the use of pesticides in the Commonwealth. Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 228 OF 2011-2012.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Thirteen

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An Act to prevent the use of the most dangerous pesticides.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 2 of chapter 132B of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out, in line 80, the words “food and agriculture” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- agricultural resources.

SECTION 2. Section 2 of chapter 132B of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after “Fungi” the following definitions:-

“Health care facility,” a health care facility as defined in section nine C of chapter one hundred and twelve.

“Hospital,” any hospital licensed under section fifty-one of chapter one hundred and eleven, the teaching hospital of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and any psychiatric facility licensed under section nineteen of chapter nineteen.

SECTION 3. Section 2 of chapter 132B of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “Integrated pest management” and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-

"Integrated pest management'', a comprehensive strategy of pest control whose major objective is to achieve desired levels of pest control in a way that minimizes public health risks and environmental damage by combining multiple pest control measures to reduce the need for reliance on chemical pesticides; more specifically, a combination of pest controls which addresses conditions that support pests and may include, but is not limited to, the use of monitoring techniques to determine immediate and ongoing need for pest control, increased sanitation, physical barrier methods, crop rotation, training, the use of natural pest enemies and a judicious use of lowest risk pesticides when necessary.

SECTION 4. Section 2 of chapter 132B of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after “Pesticide” the following definition:-

“Pesticide advisory subcommittee,” the subcommittee created by section 3B of this chapter.

SECTION 5. Section 2 of chapter 132B of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after “Plant regulator” the following definition:-

“Priority Toxic Pesticide,” any of the substances contained in the list promulgated by the Pesticide Advisory Subcommittee pursuant to Section 3B of this chapter.

SECTION 6. Section 2 of chapter 132B of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after “Protect health and the environment” the following definitions:-

“Public building,” any building owned, occupied, or used by any public entity including but not limited to the commonwealth and any county, city, town, authority, transit or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof.

“Public housing,” any federal, state or municipally subsidized housing or housing project.

SECTION 7. Section 2 of chapter 132B of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after “Registrant” the following definition:-

“Retailer,” any private business that sells a product in the commonwealth.

SECTION 8. Chapter 132B of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding after section 3A the following section:—

Section 3B. Pesticide advisory subcommittee. A subcommittee of the pesticide board shall be the pesticide advisory subcommittee and shall create a list of priority toxic pesticides. Said list shall be comprised of pesticides that are recognized as carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic to development or reproduction when used as directed. This list will be subject to no fewer than two public hearings in different regions of the commonwealth and an open public comment period of not less than 90 days. The pesticide advisory subcommittee shall update this list every two years or as health-related information becomes available regarding the toxicity of pesticides not on the list. The subcommittee shall be appointed by the commissioner of the department and shall consist of seven members: one representative from the Pesticide Board who shall chair the subcommittee, one representative from the environmental community, one representative from an occupational health group, one representative from the public health community, one representative who is a physician or registered nurse, one licensed pesticide applicator, and one representative from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Extension Integrated Pest Management Program.

SECTION 9. Within three months of the effective date of this act the pesticide advisory subcommittee shall be appointed by the commissioner of the department of agricultural resources pursuant to section 3B of chapter 132B.

SECTION 10. Section 6A of chapter 132B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “license.”, in line 7, the following words:- No individual certified or licensed as a pesticide applicator shall use any priority toxic pesticide as designated by the pesticide advisory subcommittee pursuant to section 3B of this chapter. This restriction shall not apply to certified or licensed pesticide applicators when applying priority toxic pesticides in commercial agricultural settings.

No state, municipality, school, daycare center, hospital, health care facility, or public housing buildings or grounds, shall use or permit to be used any priority toxic pesticide.

SECTION 11. Section 7A of chapter 132B of the General Laws, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:—

Section 7A. (a) The department shall establish and implement a pesticide use reporting system for use by government agencies, researchers, policy makers and the public to ensure the public health and safety and to protect the environment of the commonwealth. In establishing and implementing the system, said department shall design, develop and implement the system in order to collect, evaluate, summarize, retain and report information on the use of pesticides in each major category of use in the commonwealth, including agriculture, forestry, industrial, commercial and homeowner uses. Said department shall, at least one time each year, collect the best data practicable from each major category of pesticide use. This shall include, but not be limited to, sales data from pesticide retailers in the commonwealth and application data from each individual licensed or certified pesticide applicator, including the location of the application of the pesticide. Data shall be collected in a manner that will allow such data to be used for public health purposes, including, but not limited to, epidemiological studies, and for environmental protection purposes. Such data shall be collected in a manner which minimizes reporting costs. Said department shall begin operation of the required statewide data reporting program on or before January 31, 2013.

SECTION 12. Section 7A of chapter 132B of the General Laws, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 40, “2001”, and inserting in place thereof the following:- “2013.”

SECTION 13. Section 7A of chapter 132B of the General Laws, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 45, “2003”, and inserting in place thereof the following:- “2013.”

SECTION 14. Subsection (c) section 7A of chapter 132B of the General Laws, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- Said department shall develop a consistent format for data reporting for each major category or use and post said information on the web site.

SECTION 15: Chapter 132B of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 14 and inserting in place thereof the following section:—

Section 14. Any person who knowingly violates any provision of section 6 of this chapter shall be punished by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars and not more than twenty-five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both such fine and imprisonment, for each such violation, or shall be subject to a civil penalty not less than ten thousand dollars and not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars for each such violation, which may be assessed in an action brought on behalf of the commonwealth in any court of competent jurisdiction. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense.

Any person who violates any provision of sections 6A to 6K, inclusive, or section 7A, who violates any regulation adopted under the provisions of this chapter, (a) shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both such fine and imprisonment, for the second and each subsequent offense knowingly committed, or (b), shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars for any offense, which may be assessed in an action brought on behalf of the commonwealth in any court of competent jurisdiction. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense.

Any person who violates any order issued under the provisions of this chapter, (a) shall be punished by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars nor more than twenty-five thousand dollars or imprisonment for not more than two years, or both such fine and imprisonment, for each violation knowingly committed, or (b) shall be subject to a civil penalty not less than one thousand dollars and not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars for each violation, which may be assessed in an action brought on behalf of the commonwealth in any court of competent jurisdiction. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense.

The superior court shall have jurisdiction to enjoin violations of, or grant such relief as it deems necessary or appropriate to secure compliance with, any provision of this chapter or the terms of an order, license, certification, registration, permit or regulation issued or adopted thereunder.

Name:	District/Address:	Date Added:
Jay R. Kaufman	15th Middlesex	1/14/2013
William N. Brownsberger	Second Suffolk and Middlesex	1/16/2013