HOUSE BILL No. 5950

 

 

October 19, 2016, Introduced by Reps. Cochran, Poleski, Irwin, Hovey-Wright, Lane, Greig, Wittenberg and Darany and referred to the Committee on Agriculture.

 

     A bill to amend 1976 PA 412, entitled

 

"An act to provide for the suppression of serious diseases among

bees; to prescribe certain powers and duties of the director of the

department of agriculture; and to repeal certain acts and parts of

acts,"

 

(MCL 286.801 to 286.821) by amending the title, as amended by 1993

 

PA 108, and by adding section 3.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

TITLE

 

     An act to provide for the suppression of serious diseases

 

among bees and other pollinators; to provide for a protection plan

 

for pollinators; to prescribe certain powers and duties of the

 

director of the department of agriculture and rural development;

 

and to repeal certain acts and parts of acts.

 

     Sec. 3. (1) The department shall develop and implement a

 

pollinator protection plan to do both of the following:


     (a) Promote the health of and mitigate the risks to all

 

pollinator species.

 

     (b) Ensure a robust agriculture economy and industry for

 

honeybees and other pollinators.

 

     (2) In developing the pollinator protection plan, the

 

department shall seek the assistance of the department of natural

 

resources and the department of environmental quality. The

 

department shall establish an advisory group to advise it in

 

developing the plan. The advisory group shall be appointed by the

 

department and include representatives of affected groups, such as

 

beekeepers, agricultural producers, commercial pesticide

 

applicators, private pesticide applicators, pesticide

 

manufacturers, retailers, lawn and turf service providers,

 

agribusiness and farmer organizations, conservation interests,

 

public universities, and agricultural extension services. To aid it

 

in arriving at its recommendations, the advisory group may

 

establish subgroups to focus on particular areas such as habitat

 

loss for all pollinators, pesticide use as it affects all

 

pollinators, and honeybee and other pollinator health and disease

 

research.

 

     (3) The pollinator protection plan shall include practices for

 

the protection of pollinators that provide voluntary best

 

management practices for pesticide users, beekeepers, landowners,

 

and agricultural producers. The pollinator protection plan shall

 

support all of the following:

 

     (a) Communication between beekeepers and applicators.

 

     (b) Reduction of the risk to pollinators from pesticides.


     (c) Increases in pollinator habitat.

 

     (d) Maintenance of existing compliance with state pesticide

 

use requirements.

 

     (e) Identification of needs for further research to promote

 

robust agriculture and apiary industries.

 

     (f) Identification of additional opportunities for education

 

and outreach on pollinators.

 

     (4) By 1 year after the effective date of this section, the

 

department shall provide a report on its proposed plan to the

 

senate and house committees on agriculture and on natural resources

 

and to the governor and shall, upon completion of the plan but not

 

later than 2 years after the effective date of this section, report

 

on the implementation of the plan to those committees and the

 

governor.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.