Bill > H845

This bill establishes an ecologically-based mosquito management program in the Commonwealth to protect public health. The key provisions include: - Creating a Mosquito Management Board to regulate and oversee all disease vector mosquito and related nuisance organism management activities in the Commonwealth, including developing an ecologically-based mosquito management plan and a state emergency arbovirus response plan. - Requiring the Mosquito Management Board to implement a public education and outreach campaign, establish programs for trapping and testing adult mosquitoes and monitoring and mapping larval breeding sites, and prioritize source reduction and wetlands restoration as the preferred mosquito management methods. - Limiting the use of larvicides and adulticides to specific, scientifically-based thresholds and only as a last resort after other non-pesticide control measures have been attempted. - Establishing Mosquito Management Districts and Councils to oversee district-level mosquito management activities, with municipalities able to opt-in or opt-out of certain services. - Prohibiting the use of pesticides containing PFAS chemicals for mosquito control. - Providing a process for residents to file complaints about violations of the law or management plans. The bill aims to transition the Commonwealth's mosquito management efforts towards a more ecologically-sustainable approach focused on prevention, monitoring, and least-toxic interventions.