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SD 1672

An Act to protect pollinators and public health

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Jamie Eldridge

By 2029, bans sale/use of neonicotinoid-treated corn, wheat, and soybean seeds unless a department-issued waiver earned via IPM training and pest risk assessment; boosts oversight.

House concurred
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Bill Summary · SD 1672

Summary: An Act to protect pollinators and public health (Senate Docket No. 1672)

Status: House concurred; Referred to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (2025-02-27)

Introduced: February 27, 2025

Purpose and intent
- The bill aims to protect pollinators and public health by restricting the distribution, sale, and use of seeds treated with neonicotinoids for corn, wheat, and soybean, with a defined waiver pathway for certain cases. It adds a formal definition of neonicotinoids and creates a regulatory framework to manage their seed treatments in specified crops.

What the bill would do (key provisions)
- Definition added: Neonicotinoid
- Establishes “neonicotinoid” as a class of pesticides that act on nicotine acetylcholine receptors, listing examples such as imidacloprid, acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, nithiazine, nitenpyram, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam, and any other pesticide identified as a neonicotinoid by the EPA or the department.

  • New waiver-based restriction (Section 17)
    • Effective date: Beginning January 1, 2029
    • Prohibitions:
    • No one may distribute, sell, or offer for sale any agricultural seed for corn, wheat, or soybean if the seed is treated with a neonicotinoid, unless a waiver is issued by the department.
    • No one may use such treated seed without a waiver.
    • Waiver authority and criteria:
    • The department may issue waivers upon application by the user.
    • Applicants must complete an integrated pest management (IPM) training, conduct a pest risk assessment, and submit the pest risk assessment report.
    • The department must determine, after review:
      • (i) whether a pest presents a significant risk to crops,
      • (ii) whether neonicotinoid-treated seed is effective in addressing that pest risk,
      • (iii) whether use would cause unreasonable adverse environmental effects (including on non-target organisms, surface water, and groundwater),
      • (iv) whether no other less harmful seed treatment, pesticide, or pest management practice would be effective.
    • Waiver specifics:
    • Waivers must specify the basis for determinations, geographic scope (potentially limited to properties in the pest risk report), start date, and duration (not to exceed one year).
    • Recordkeeping:
    • Waiver recipients must maintain pest risk assessment reports and records of use (date and location). These records may be reviewed by the department.
    • Regulatory framework:
    • The department, in consultation with the board, may establish regulations for waivers, including potential application fees.
    • Transparency:
    • Waivers are public records and must be made available online by the department.

Impact and who is affected
- Affected groups:
- Seed distributors, seed sellers, and farmers cultivating corn, wheat, or soybeans.
- Operators and users of seeds treated with neonicotinoids.
- The Massachusetts department responsible for implementing the waiver program (and the board it consults).
- Policy impact:
- By 2029, it creates a formal barrier to selling or using neonicotinoid-treated seeds for the specified crops unless a department-issued waiver is obtained.
- Encourages adoption of integrated pest management and pest risk assessment practices.
- Increases regulatory oversight and transparency around seed treatments through public waivers and records.

Procedural and timeline notes
- Effective date for the seed treatment prohibitions and waiver framework: January 1, 2029.
- The neonicotinoid definition is incorporated into existing law as part of Chapter 132B.
- Legislative actions recorded: House concurred (2025-02-27) and referral to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (same date).

Notes for readers
- The bill centers on pollinator and public health protection by limiting neonicotinoid seed treatments in key crops, while offering a narrowly tailored waiver mechanism that requires IPM training, pest risk assessment, and regulatory review.
- The waiver process emphasizes environmental safeguards and requires public access to waivers.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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