Pre-Notification Bill Introduced in Missouri

When legislators in New York passed a law last year requiring lawn care companies to notify neighbors of abutting properties before a pesticide application was made, many in the industry feared this law was the first of many we could expect across the country. Lawn care professionals in Missouri can now see just how such legislation makes its way from one state to another, thanks to a bill introduced in that state's legislature.

The proposed law reads: "Notice of the application of any insecticide or herbicide in or around a governmental building shall be conspicuously posted in such building forty-eight hours prior to and forty-eight hours after such application. The application of insecticides or herbicides in or around governmental buildings shall, whenever possible, be conducted after normal business hours at night or on the weekend to reduce the number of persons present in the building during such application."

"This is a 'foot in the door' to wider pre-notification legislation," warned the Mid-America Green Industry Council in its March newsletter, adding that there are several problems with this bill. "There are no definitions. What is a 'government building?' Does it apply to schools? How about the clubhouse at a municipal golf course? Is that a government building?

"In New York, pre-notification is required of everyone making a commercial application. That's not what we want or need here. The new 'environmental' tactic is to get a toehold and slowly work for expansion of regulations."

Lawn care professionals in Missouri are encouraged to contact their local legislator to communicate the lawn care industry's position on this issue. Missouri residents can find their representative at www.moga.state.mo.us or by calling 816/561-5323.