I’m so happy to say that the Massachusetts House of Representatives’ version of the bill to restrict second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (SGAR) usage has been reported favorably out of committee.
This is an important step in the process for this bill, one that was achieved because of your support! Thank you!!
What’s next?
The House version of the bill (H5217) is now headed to the House Committee on Ways and Means. The Senate version (S2721) is already in the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. Many bills get stopped at this point, especially standalone bills like this one. So, we keep pushing! Groups across the state, including Save Watertown Wildlife, will be organizing meetings with legislators and asking them to advocate with their colleagues and legislative leadership for the bill to be added to the Mass Ready Act (S2542). Mass Audubon is also asking us to engage municipal officials and push for Home Rule Petitions, which will continue to show the legislature that municipalities are strongly in favor of this bill.
To learn more
- Check out this recorded training from Mass Audubon on engaging municipal officials on the rodenticide bill. There’s a template “letter to legislators” you can provide to officials, so they don’t need to start writing from scratch.
- How a bill becomes a law in Massachusetts, with points on when and how you can advocate.
- What is a Home Rule Petition?
- “In Massachusetts, cities have limited powers under state law. A Home Rule Petition is a request from a city for a new type of power from the state legislature—for example, the power to enact a new tax or regulation, or an exemption from an aspect of state law. If a proposed Home Rule Petition is passed locally, the city government sends the bill to its State Representatives and State Senators, who seek to pass it in the legislature as a state law that would only affect the one municipality.” – Somerville Community Corporation
