On Wednesday, May 10th, the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources held its hearing for the slate of bills concerning pesticides, including several related to rodenticide regulation.
An hour before the hearing began, Save Arlington Wildlife will be hosting a rally in front of the State House at 12 noon, which was covered by CBS WBZ News! The Boston Globe also published a top-page editorial in early July in favor of the Committee passing Arlington’s Home Rule petition to ban SGARs on private property and quoting SAW founder, Laura Kiesel.
If you missed the event you email the Committee at: JointCommittee.Environment@malegislature.gov
The following is a boilerplate template you can use for your email, BUT WE ARE ASKING FOLKS TO PERSONALIZE THEIR MESSAGES AND ADD THEIR OWN INFORMATION. This is because legislators may dismiss copy/paste messages as form letters. Here is an outline:
“Dear Committee Members,
As a constituent of Massachusetts, I am strongly urging your Committee to pass H.814/S.540, which would empower local towns and cities to restrict harmful pesticides, including rodenticides. I support this because….
I am also asking your Committee to pass H.804, which would grant Arlington’s Home Rule petition to ban Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs) from private properties. This is important to me because…
Finally, please pass H.825, otherwise known as the “Hawkins” bill, which would create a digital database to track these rodenticides. However, I am also asking the Committee Chair to add back in the language into the bill that would require pest control professionals to disclose the environmental impacts of SGARs and get signed consent from customers that they have been notified of the impacts prior to application. This is necessary because….
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Name
Name of Town/City and Zip Code