Test Drive Our New Site! We have some improvements in the works that we're excited for you to experience. Click here to try our new, faster, mobile friendly beta site. We will be maintaining our current version of the site thru the end of 2024, so you can switch back as our improvements continue.
Legislation Quick Search
Advanced Search
Pennsylvania State Senate
05/19/2024 05:07 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20230&cosponId=42506
Share:
Home / Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Subscribe to PaLegis Notifications
NEW!

Subscribe to receive notifications of new Co-Sponsorship Memos circulated

By Member | By Date | Keyword Search


Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: April 11, 2024 04:19 PM
From: Senator Carolyn T. Comitta
To: All Senate members
Subject: Plant and Pollinator Protection Act
 
In the near future, I will introduce the Plant and Pollinator Protection Act.

Since 1921, Pennsylvania has had a Bee Law to protect bees from American Foulbrood, a bacterial disease that remains a costly threat to the apiary industry. Pennsylvania has also had a Plant Pest Law since 1937 to protect nurseries and other retail plant sources from pests.

The Bee Law and the Plant Pest Law have not been updated in 30 years. In those years, there have been significant changes in industry practices, in the understanding of plant and pollinator health, in the understanding of the Department’s enforcement authority, and in the cost of simply doing business.

This new bill, the Plant and Pollinator Protection Act, establishes a risk-based system that allows the Department to prioritize inspections based on risk of spreading diseases and pests that can harm Pennsylvania’s plants and pollinators. This approach would build a robust early detection system to prevent the spread of pests that harm our environment and our pollinators. Currently, the Department conducts over 3,000 plant inspections and 1,100 apiary inspections annually.

This bill will also increase the fees that fund inspections and allow the Department to protect consumers and respond to threats to plants and pollinators. Stakeholder groups agree that increased fees will allow the department to maintain the level of service the industry currently expects.

The drafting of this bill involved extensive stakeholder outreach. Industry groups were involved in crafting the language of this bill, and it has strong stakeholder and industry support.

Here in Pennsylvania, the nursery and landscaping industries generates $4.1 billion in direct output and is responsible for over 63,000 jobs. Nationally, honeybees contribute nearly $20 billion to the value of U.S. crop production. Additionally, over 80% of plants use pollinators to reproduce.

Please join me in co-sponsoring the PPPA, which will help sustain a healthy ecosystem by protecting all pollinators from pest threats.


Introduced as SB1198