HF 2459

1st Committee Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/22/2009 12:38pm

1.1A bill for an act

1.2relating to agriculture; modifying pesticide application notice and record
1.3requirements; modifying fees; providing for disposition of certain revenue;
1.4classifying data; providing civil and criminal penalties;amending Minnesota
1.5Statutes 2006, sections 18B.09, subdivision 3; 18B.37, subdivisions 2, 5;
1.6Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section 18B.26, subdivision 3; proposing
1.7coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 18B.
1.8BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.9    Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 18B.09, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
1.10    Subd. 3. Warning signs for pesticide application. (a) All commercial or
1.11noncommercial applicators who apply pesticides to turf areas must post or affix warning
1.12signs on the property where the pesticides are applied.
1.13    (b) Warning signs must project at least 18 inches above the top of the grass line. The
1.14warning signs must be of a material that is rain-resistant for at least a 48-hour 96-hour
1.15period and must be placed 48 hours before the time of initial application and must remain
1.16in place up to 48 hours from the time of initial application.
1.17    (c) The following information must be printed on the warning sign in contrasting
1.18colors and capitalized letters measuring at least one-half inch, or in another format
1.19approved by the commissioner. The sign must provide the following information:
1.20    (1) the name of the business organization, entity, or person applying the pesticide;
1.21and
1.22    (2) the following language: "This area chemically treated. Keep children and pets
1.23off until ...(date of safe entry)..." or a universally accepted symbol and text approved by
1.24the commissioner that is recognized as having the same meaning or intent as specified in
1.25this paragraph. The warning sign may include the name of the pesticide used.
2.1    (d) The warning sign must be posted on a lawn or yard between two feet and five
2.2feet from the sidewalk or street. For parks, golf courses, athletic fields, playgrounds,
2.3or other similar recreational property, the warning signs must be posted immediately
2.4adjacent to areas within the property where pesticides have been applied and at or near the
2.5entrances to the property.

2.6    Sec. 2. [18B.093] PESTICIDE APPLICATION IN RURAL AREAS.
2.7    Applicators required to keep and submit application records under section 18B.37
2.8shall post the pending application of pesticides 48 hours in advance of the initial
2.9application on a Web site developed by the commissioner of agriculture under section
2.1018B.26. These applicators shall post notice of a pending application 48 hours in advance
2.11by placing red flags, two feet by two feet, on six-foot poles around the perimeter of the
2.12property to be sprayed.

2.13    Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section 18B.26, subdivision 3, is
2.14amended to read:
2.15    Subd. 3. Application fee. (a) A registrant shall pay an annual application fee for
2.16each pesticide to be registered, and this fee is set at 0.4 0.5 percent of annual gross sales
2.17within the state and annual gross sales of pesticides used in the state, with a minimum
2.18nonrefundable fee of $250. The registrant shall determine when and which pesticides
2.19are sold or used in this state. The registrant shall secure sufficient sales information of
2.20pesticides distributed into this state from distributors and dealers, regardless of distributor
2.21location, to make a determination. Sales of pesticides in this state and sales of pesticides
2.22for use in this state by out-of-state distributors are not exempt and must be included in the
2.23registrant's annual report, as required under paragraph (c), and fees shall be paid by the
2.24registrant based upon those reported sales. Sales of pesticides in the state for use outside
2.25of the state are exempt from the application fee in this paragraph if the registrant properly
2.26documents the sale location and distributors. A registrant paying more than the minimum
2.27fee shall pay the balance due by March 1 based on the gross sales of the pesticide by
2.28the registrant for the preceding calendar year. The fee for disinfectants and sanitizers
2.29shall be the minimum. The minimum fee is due by December 31 preceding the year for
2.30which the application for registration is made. The commissioner shall spend at least
2.31$400,000, not including the commissioner's administrative costs, per fiscal year from the
2.32pesticide regulatory account for the purposes of the waste pesticide collection program.
2.33The commissioner shall use at least 20 percent of the revenue from the application fee
2.34in each fiscal year for the purpose of developing and maintaining electronic means of
3.1receiving and storing the application records submitted under section 18B.37, subdivision
3.22, paragraph (f), including but not limited to a Web site that applicators may use to submit
3.3their records, a person may use to view these records, and applicators shall use to notify
3.4the public of pending applications of pesticides.
3.5    (b) An additional fee of $100 must be paid by the applicant for each pesticide to be
3.6registered if the application is a renewal application that is submitted after December 31.
3.7    (c) A registrant must annually report to the commissioner the amount and type of
3.8each registered pesticide sold, offered for sale, or otherwise distributed in the state. The
3.9report shall be filed by March 1 for the previous year's registration. The commissioner
3.10shall specify the form of the report and require additional information deemed necessary
3.11to determine the amount and type of pesticides annually distributed in the state. The
3.12information required shall include the brand name, amount, and formulation of each
3.13pesticide sold, offered for sale, or otherwise distributed in the state, but the information
3.14collected, if made public, shall be reported in a manner which does not identify a specific
3.15brand name in the report.
3.16    (d) A registrant who is required to pay more than the minimum fee for any pesticide
3.17under paragraph (a) must pay a late fee penalty of $100 for each pesticide application fee
3.18paid after March 1 in the year for which the license is to be issued.

3.19    Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 18B.37, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
3.20    Subd. 2. Commercial and, noncommercial, and private applicators. (a) A
3.21commercial or noncommercial applicator, or the applicator's authorized agent, must
3.22maintain a record of pesticides used on each site. Noncommercial and private applicators
3.23must keep records of restricted use pesticides. The record must include the:
3.24    (1) date of the pesticide use;
3.25    (2) time the pesticide application was completed;
3.26    (3) brand name of the pesticide, the United States Environmental Protection Agency
3.27registration number, and dosage used;
3.28    (4) number of units treated;
3.29    (5) temperature, wind speed, and wind direction;
3.30    (6) location of the site where the pesticide was applied;
3.31    (7) name and address of the customer;
3.32    (8) name and signature of applicator, name of company, license number of applicator,
3.33and address of applicator company; and
3.34    (9) any other information required by the commissioner.
4.1    (b) Portions of records not relevant to a specific type of application may be omitted
4.2upon approval from the commissioner.
4.3    (c) All information for this record requirement must be contained in a single page
4.4document for each pesticide application, except a map may be attached to identify treated
4.5areas. For the rights-of-way and wood preservative categories, the required record may
4.6not exceed five pages. An invoice containing the required information may constitute
4.7the required record. The commissioner shall make sample forms available to meet the
4.8requirements of this paragraph.
4.9    (d) A commercial applicator must give a copy of the record to the customer.
4.10    (e) Records must be retained by the applicator, company, or authorized agent for five
4.11years after the date of treatment.
4.12    (f) A commercial, noncommercial, or private applicator who applies pesticides
4.13to potato or hybrid poplar fields must file records of pesticide applications with the
4.14commissioner of agriculture on a monthly basis. Records may be filed electronically or
4.15by mail. The commissioner of agriculture shall make available to the public all of the
4.16information in the submitted records, as listed in paragraph (a), clauses (1) to (9), and shall
4.17electronically send the information to the commissioner of health each month.
4.18    (g) An applicator must not knowingly submit a false record or fail to submit a record
4.19of a pesticide application. The commissioner of agriculture must assess a penalty of $25
4.20to an applicator each of the first four times that the applicator fails to submit a required
4.21record by the monthly deadline.
4.22    (h) A person who uses the information submitted under paragraph (f) for data mining
4.23or other commercial purposes is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to the maximum
4.24penalty of $1,000.

4.25    Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 18B.37, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
4.26    Subd. 5. Inspection of records. The commissioner of agriculture or the
4.27commissioner of health may enter a commercial, noncommercial, or structural pest control
4.28applicator's business and inspect the records required in this section at any reasonable time
4.29and may make copies of the records. Unless required for enforcement of this chapter,
4.30the information in the records in this section, other than the information in the records
4.31submitted under subdivision 2, paragraph (f), is private or nonpublic. The information in
4.32the records identified in subdivision 2, paragraph (f), is public.