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HF 2798

1st Unofficial Engrossment - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 05/14/2014 02:10pm

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.
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 plant, bedding plant, or other
2.9plant, plant material, or nursery stock as beneficial to pollinators if the annual plant,
2.10bedding plant, plant material, or nursery stock has been treated with and has a detectable
2.11level of systemic insecticide that: (1) has a pollinator protection box on the label; or (2)
2.12has a pollinator, bee, or honey bee precautionary statement in the environmental hazards
2.13section of the insecticide product label. The commissioner shall enforce this paragraph as
2.14provided in chapter 18J.
2.15EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective July 1, 2014.