HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 577        FILED ON: 1/13/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 825

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

James K. Hawkins

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to pesticides.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 577        FILED ON: 1/13/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 825

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act relative to 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 6E of chapter 132B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the words “On or before November 1, 2001, each” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- Each.

SECTION 2. Said section 6E of said chapter 132B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “center”, in lines 2, 7 and 8, 9 and 18, the following words:-, public institution of higher education, as established in section 5 of chapter 15A.

SECTION 3. Section 6G of said chapter 132B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “center”, in line 2, the following words:-, public institution of higher education, as established in section 5 of chapter 15A.

SECTION 4. Said section 6G of said chapter 132B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-

Notwithstanding the foregoing, a school, child care center, public institution of higher education, or school-age child care program shall make reasonable efforts to use pesticide products that: (i) are classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as an exempt material pursuant to 40 C.F.R. 152.25, as amended; or (ii) include no active ingredients other than those published in the National List at 7 C.F.R 205.601, as amended; provided, however, that a school, child care center, public institution of higher education or school-age child care program may be granted a hardship waiver, at the discretion of the department, for use of a pesticide that does not meet such qualifications.

SECTION 5. Section 7A of said chapter 132B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 2, the word “a” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- an electronic.

SECTION 6. Said section 7A of said chapter 132B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “the”, in line 5, the second time it appears, the following word:- electronic.

SECTION 7. Said section 7A of said chapter 132B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “the”, in lines 6, 19, 37, and 46 the following word:- electronic.

SECTION 8. Subsection (a) of said section 7A of said chapter 132B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- Said department may use the ePlace Portal system established by the executive office of energy and environmental affairs to implement the requirements of this section.

SECTION 9. Said section 7A of said chapter 132B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “cost-effective”, in line 39, the following word:- electronic.

SECTION 10. Subsection (c) of said section 7A of said chapter 132B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- Annually, the department shall make available data on pesticide use in the Commonwealth.             

SECTION 11. Sections 3 to 10, inclusive, shall take effect 6 months after the effective date of this act.