Action Alert

The Mass. State legislature is considering several bills which would move our Commonwealth away from reliance on toxic biocides (life-killing chemicals) like glyphosate and toward life-honoring solutions for landcare and agriculture. Awareness and support among legislators has grown significantly and new science continues to emerge which validates our movement supporting swift action to protect the health and integrity of our communities, human and non-human alike.

You can use this form to send a quick message to your legislators asking them to support any/all of the below high priority pesticide reform bills introduced in January 2023.

UPDATE (Dec. 2023): Legislators returned from their summer recess in September, but little has happened since. Only one of the priority bills we are following has made it out of the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (Modernize Pesticide Reporting AND protect children from pesticide exposure (S.487/H.825) – see below for details). We need to remind our legislators that pesticide reform bills need to be a priority!

Bills must move out of their original committee by February 7th, or they are dead for this legislative session. Please ask legislators to co-sponsor and support movement of the following bills:

Create a Pesticide Reform Task Force (S.521/H.783) – A bill to create a “pesticide control modernization and environmental protection task force” was recommended and “ought to pass” last session and is our top priority this session, as it will help address a host of systemic concerns in a holistic manner. Whatever your concerns are re: pesticides, you have a reason to support this bill.

Return local control over pesticides (S.540/H.814) – This bill would return power to communities to protect their families, food and water from harmful pesticide exposure.

***Modernize Pesticide Reporting AND protect children from pesticide exposure (S.487/H.825)

UPDATE: This bill was recently reported out favorably to the House Ways and Means Committee! This combined bill, which was approved by both chambers last year, would create an online portal and database for pesticide use reporting records with clear, online public access to the annual data and it would require that pesticides be proven safe before being used on playgrounds and fields where children learn and play.

Learn more about these and other NOFA/Mass priority bills, here.