Introduced in November 2023, this Bill removes the requirement of a medically documented condition by a physician for someone to be added to the Pesticide Notification Registry and increases the distance for notification from 100 feet to 500 feet from a linear boundary line. In addition, this Bill add the requirement that notification be done for mosquito applications.
If passed as currently written, SB 645 would greatly expand Michigan’s Pesticide Notification Registry potentially adding thousands of people that professional pesticide applicators would have to notify prior to an application. This would dramatically increase the amount of time and resources you spend making pre-notification calls that are often confrontational and always a distraction from your ability to focus on what matters – operating your business.
Additionally, the bill sets a precedent that pesticides are dangerous which will lead to more regulations and potential bans.
Bill Status
There was no movement on this Bill until April of this year when it was put on the agenda of the Senate Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee. The Green Industry came in force to testify in opposition of this Bill as written. Our Legislative Committee has put together compromises that we’ve actively promoted with the Bill’s Sponsor and are waiting to hear if the Bill sponsor has any willingness to consider our changes.
If our compromises are not accepted, stopping this Bill will be our priority. Should this happen we’ll need to engage our grassroots network and will be reaching out to our membership with a Call to Action. This will be a focused Call to Action to our members in the districts of Senators on the Senate Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee and we’ll provide detailed instructions on who you should call and talking points.