Final push to Ban Consumer use of Bee-killing neonics in Mass!

The Pollinator Protection Act is a commonsense set of restrictions on the pollinator-killing pesticides known as neonicotinoids ("neonics") and has over 75% of the Mass. state legislature signed on as cosponsors. A recent state-funded literature review even concluded that neonics harm pollinators. In "normal" times, we would expect the bill to move, but these are not normal times, and we need your help!


Update, 10/22/20: The 2019-20 legislative session was extended to the end of the year due to COVID and we House leaders are considering which non-COVID bills they will take up before December. Rep. Carolyn Dykema circulated a letter to Speaker DeLeo last week that garnered 100 signatures from her 160 legislative colleagues! We know this issue is back on the radar and now we need to keep the pressure up!

Please use and share this action page to send a message to your state legislators:

Pass Rep. Dykema's Pollinator Protection Act (H.763)


Note: Personal phone calls are worth 100X more than emails. We strongly encourage supporters to call their legislators directly about these bills in addition to sending an email. You can look up their names and phone numbers, here: openstates.org


Background on the Pollinator Protection Act (H.763):

Pollinators (which include honeybees and other pollinating insects and animals) are responsible for one in every three bites of food we eat. In Massachusetts, many of our most important crops require insect pollinators, including cranberries, blueberries, and apples. These and many other crops are threatened by the precipitous drop in pollinators, and an increasing number of studies point to a class of pesticides, known as neonicotinoids, as a primary culprit.

What are neonicotinoids and how are they currently regulated?

Since they first went on the market in the early 1990s, neonicotinoids-- a whole class of pesticides which are based on nicotine and attack receptors in insects' nervous systems—have come to dominate about thirty percent of the global pesticide market.

"Neonics," as they are often called, are:
 broad-spectrum (harmful to most insects),
  systemic (taken up by all plant parts, including roots and flowers),
 and persistent (sticks around in the environment for a long time, years in the case of soil)
and an increasing amount of research shows that they harm pollinators.

While the European Union suspended most uses of these pesticides in 2013, the U.S. EPA opted to allow current uses of neonicotinoids to continue while it conducts reviews that won't be completed for years, if ever. Legislation to impose a moratorium has stalled in Congress, and is not likely to move any time soon...


What can we do in Massachusetts?

Proposed legislation (H.763), i ntroduced by Rep. Carolyn Dykema, would place commonsense restrictions on neonics and promote pollinator habitats in the state.


This bill (H.763):

  • Restricts sale and use of neonicotinoid pesticides to certified commercial and private applicators and licensed applicators (taking neonics away from untrained consumers)

  • Requires pesticide applicators to obtain authorization to apply neonics on a client’s property prior to use.

  • Directs the Department of Agriculture to include pollinator protection in the licensing and evaluation materials for applicators.

  • Incorporates neonic limits into the existing pesticide penalty framework.

  • The Dept. of Transportation will be directed to identify opportunities for the introduction of pollinator habitats on department property (ie., along highways).


See a fact sheet explaining the bill, here. Or see the full text of the bill, here.


Take action within seconds

Use this form to send a quick email to your state legislators asking them to support Rep. Dykema's Pollinator Protection Act. The more people they hear from, the more likely they are to prioritize passing this bill before the session ends!

Please let your legislators know that you support their bold leadership on pesticides and urge them to pass this bill. Encourage them to stand up to the chemical industry lobbyists and take action to protect our pollinators. Please take action and share this page far and wide so that legislators know this is an important bill to pass this session!

Please use this form to take action, now!

Talking points are provided to help get you started (please change it up)!
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