First Regular Session
Seventy-fourth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
INTRODUCED
LLS NO. 23-0996.01 Jennifer Berman x3286
SENATE BILL 23-266
Senate Committees House Committees
Agriculture & Natural Resources
A BILL FOR AN ACT
C
ONCERNING A REQUIREMENT THAT THE COMMISSIONER OF101
AGRICULTURE DESIGNATE NEON ICOTINOID PESTICIDES AS102
LIMITED-USE PESTICIDES.103
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
http://leg.colorado.gov
.)
The bill requires that, on or before January 1, 2024, the
commissioner of agriculture adopt rules designating neonicotinoid
pesticides as limited-use pesticides, limiting their use to licensed pesticide
applicators, and authorizing only licensed dealers to sell them. The
commissioner's rules must exempt certain products that contain
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Priola,
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Brown and Kipp,
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. neonicotinoid pesticides from the limited-use pesticide designation,
including products intended for use:
! As pet care products;
! By licensed veterinarians;
! As indoor personal care products related to lice or bedbugs;
! As agricultural products;
! For academic research; and
! As wood coating products.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:1
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly2
finds and declares that:3
(a) Colorado hosts nine hundred forty-six native bee species,4
ranking fifth in the nation for bee diversity;5
(b) Bees and pollinators are critical for our food system. One in6
every three bites of food we eat depends on pollinators. This includes7
apples, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, strawberries, cucumbers, pears,8
peppermint, potatoes, pumpkins, tomatoes, Palisade peaches, Rocky Ford9
melons, and the alfalfa needed to feed our dairy cattle.10
(c) In the United States alone, honey bees pollinate an estimated11
fifteen billion dollars worth of crops every year, and pollinators provide12
two hundred billion dollars annually in ecological services;13
(d) Neonicotinoids (neonics) are a class of insecticide that can be14
harmful to bees and other pollinators. These chemicals mimic the15
acetylcholine neurotransmitter and are highly neurotoxic to insects.16
Sublethal doses in bees cause immune deficiencies and disorientation,17
making it hard to forage, fly, return to their hive, and complete other18
essential tasks like ridding themselves of parasitic varroa mites.19
(e) In biological evaluations of three kinds of neonics published20
in June 2022, the federal environmental protection agency (EPA)21
SB23-266-2- determined that the three kinds of neonics, clothianidin, imidacloprid, and1
thiamethoxam, are "likely to adversely affect" more than sixty-seven2
percent of the one thousand seven hundred species studied and more than3
fifty percent of the eight hundred critical habitats studied;4
(f) Given the dangers of neonics to pollinators, in 2020 the EPA5
proposed restrictions on when pesticides can be applied to blooming6
crops in order to limit exposure to bees and proposed language on labels7
to advise homeowners not to use neonic products;8
(g) New data shows that the once-common western bumble bee9
has declined in Colorado's southern Rocky Mountain ecoregion by10
seventy-two percent over the last two decades due to climate change,11
drought, and increased use of pesticides like neonics; and12
(h) Colorado has a limited-use pesticide system that provides a13
way to ensure that certain pesticides can only be used under certain14
conditions.15
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 35-9-103, amend the16
introductory portion; and add (9.5) as follows:17
35-9-103. Definitions. As used in this article ARTICLE 9, unless18
the context otherwise requires:19
(9.5) "N
EONICOTINOID PESTICIDE" MEANS ANY PESTICIDE20
CONTAINING A CHEMICAL BELONGING TO THE NEONICOTINOID CLASS OF21
CHEMICALS, INCLUDING:22
(a) A
CETAMIPRID;23
(b) C
LOTHIANIDIN;24
(c) D
INOTEFURAN;25
(d) I
MIDACLOPRID;26
(e) N
ITENPYRAM;27
SB23-266
-3- (f) NITHIAZINE;1
(g) T
HIACLOPRID;2
(h) T
HIAMETHOXAM; OR3
(i) A
NY OTHER CHEMICAL THAT THE COMMISSIONER DESIGNATES4
BY RULE AS BELONGING TO THE NEONICOTINOID CLASS OF CHEMICALS .5
SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 35-9-118, add (7) as6
follows:7
35-9-118. Powers and duties of the commissioner - rules.8
(7) (a) O
N OR BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2024, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL9
ADOPT RULES DESIGNATING NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES AS LIMITED -USE10
PESTICIDES AND REQUIRING THAT:11
(I) O
NLY PESTICIDE APPLICATORS LICENSED UNDER ARTICLE 10 OF12
THIS TITLE 35 MAY USE NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES IN THE STATE ; AND13
(II) O
NLY PESTICIDE DEALERS LICENSED PURSUANT TO SECTION14
35-9-114
MAY SELL NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES IN THE STATE .15
(b) T
HE COMMISSIONER'S RULES MUST EXEMPT FROM THE16
CLASSIFICATION OF LIMITED -USE PESTICIDES ANY PRODUCT THAT17
CONTAINS NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES AND THAT HAS AN INTENDED USE :18
(I) A
S A PET CARE PRODUCT;19
(II) A
S A VETERINARY PRODUCT USED BY A VETERINARIAN20
LICENSED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 315 OF TITLE 12 AS PART OF THE21
VETERINARIAN'S LICENSED PRACTICE;22
(III) A
S AN INDOOR PERSONAL CARE PRODUCT RELATED TO LICE OR23
BEDBUGS;24
(IV) A
S A PRODUCT OF AGRICULTURE , AS DEFINED IN SECTION25
35-1-102
(1);26
(V) F
OR ACADEMIC RESEARCH; AND27
SB23-266
-4- (VI) AS A WOOD COATING PRODUCT .1
SECTION 4. Act subject to petition - effective date -2
applicability. (1) This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following3
the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the4
general assembly; except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant5
to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an6
item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item,7
section, or part will not take effect unless approved by the people at the8
general election to be held in November 2024 and, in such case, will take9
effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the10
governor.11
(2) This act applies to conduct occurring on or after the applicable12
effective date of this act.13
SB23-266
-5-