Vermont House passes a bill to restrict a pesticide that is toxic to bees

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont’s House of Representatives on Friday passed a bill to severely restrict a type of pesticide that’s toxic to bees and other pollinators.

The bill will now go to the Senate. Representatives said Vermont was home to more than 300 native bee species and thousands of pollinator species, but many were in decline and some had disappeared altogether. Pollinators perform a vital role in allowing crops to grow.

The bill bans most uses of neonicotinoids — commonly called neonics — as well as the sale and distribution of seeds coated in the substance which are used to grow soybeans and cereal grains. The pesticides are neurotoxins and are the most widely used class of insecticides in the world, the House said.

Vermont’s move comes after New York Governor Kathy Hochul in December signed what she described as a nation-leading bill to severely limit the use neonics in New York.

In Vermont, the Conservation Law Foundation testified that just one teaspoon of the pesticide was enough to kill more than 1 billion honeybees.

Resident Kevin Mack was among those supporting the bill.

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