Bill > S07532

This bill, known as the "Restriction of Anticoagulant Pesticide Transactions for Online and Retail Stores Act" or "RAPTORS Act," aims to protect wildlife and people by restricting the sale and use of certain rodenticides. Specifically, it prohibits anyone from selling, offering for sale, distributing, or using pesticides containing first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs) or second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) within the state, with exceptions for those holding a valid purchase permit or certification. FGARs include ingredients like Diphacinone, Warfarin, and Chlorophacinone, while SGARs include Brodifacoum, Bromadiolone, Difenacoum, and Difethialone. The bill also mandates that neither FGARs nor SGARs can be used within 500 feet of a "wildlife habitat area," defined as parks, conservation areas, wetland buffer zones, nature preserves, or wildlife refuges. While these restrictions apply broadly, exceptions exist for specific public safety risks, critical infrastructure protection, or certain agricultural circumstances, provided that alternative pest control methods have been exhausted and regulations are followed. Certified pesticide applicators and commercial technicians can still use these rodenticides under specific conditions for agricultural activities in designated locations like food storage warehouses, processing sites, water storage facilities, and transportation infrastructure. The legislature's intent is to prevent harm to non-target wildlife, including raptors, and to reduce accidental poisonings of children and pets, referencing the tragic case of Flaco, a Eurasian eagle-owl exposed to these pesticides. This act will take effect one year after becoming law.