[Botsocwash] Fwd: Please Support the Maryland Invasive Plant Species Bill (HB979/SB915)

[Kathy BILTON]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Judy Fulton <jfulton5 at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Feb 22, 2024 at 8:45 AM
Subject: Please Support the Maryland Invasive Plant Species Bill
(HB979/SB915)

Kathy, as discussed, please provide the information below and attached to
the Botanical Society of Washington.

Are you interested in supporting the Invasive Plant Species bill in the
current Maryland legislative session? The bill is also called the *Biodiversity
and Agriculture Protection Act* (HB979
<https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2024RS/bills/hb/hb0979F.pdf>/SB915
<https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2024RS/bills/sb/sb0915F.pdf>). If you'd like
to help get this bill passed, you have two options:

   1. Ask your Maryland legislators to support this bill. Click on this
   district look-up
   <https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/District> to pull up a
   page with your legislators names at the bottom. Clicking on their names
   will pull up their contact information. Then call or email them to ask them
   to vote in favor of the bill. Phoning will take you only a couple of
   minutes, and you don't need to know any of the bill details.

   2. Submit written testimony in favor of the bill. This is more involved;
   so, I'm attaching instructions on how to submit online, along with a fact
   sheet and FAQs written by Kirsten Hoffman and Marie LaPorte.

Here’s a summary of the bill (HB979
<https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2024RS/bills/hb/hb0979F.pdf>/SB915
<https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2024RS/bills/sb/sb0915F.pdf>), which is meant
to amend the existing invasive plant species law:

   - Increase the number of plant species prohibited from sale and
   propagation in Maryland. The State has banned just six (or 2%) of the
   almost 300 invasives listed by the Maryland Invasive Species Council. In
   the existing law, prohibited plants are called “Tier 1.”

   - Transfer the plant species that currently require signage at point of
   purchase (i.e., Tier 2) to the Prohibited List, with a reasonable
   transition period to minimize impact on the nursery trade. Tier 2 species
   are often more established and just as harmful as Tier 1. The existing
   assessment process does not allow plants that have been here at least 50
   years or have become widely established to be banned regardless of the harm
   they cause to the environment, economy, and human health. This limitation
   effectively gives up on destructive species like English ivy, Japanese
   barberry, and running bamboo.

   - Allow for the prohibition of aquatic invaders impacting our waterways
   and of plants not currently available for sale at local retailers. The
   existing law only addresses commercial terrestrial plant species; however,
   non-commercial species are increasingly sold online and could become
   available at Maryland nurseries at any time.

   - Replace Maryland’s existing, time-consuming risk assessment tool with
   a more efficient status assessment protocol. The State needs to address
   invasive plants more quickly to reduce eradication and management costs in
   the future. The proposed professionally recognized assessment tool is in
   use and has been proven effective by other Mid-Atlantic states, including
   Delaware.

The bill sponsors are Delegate Linda Foley and Senator Ben Brooks. If you
decide to submit testimony:

   - HB979: Written testimony for the House hearing needs to be submitted 8
   AM - 6 PM on *Feb. 26*. This is the required two days before the Feb. 28
   hearing in the Environment and Transportation Committee (ENT).
   - SB915: Written testimony for the Senate hearing needs to be submitted
   8 AM - 6 PM on *Mar. 4*. This is the required one day before the Mar. 5
   hearing in the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee (EEE).

In case you're interested in other environmental legislation, I'm also
attaching a chart with additional Maryland bills that are worth supporting.
If you have any questions, please give me a call at 410-337-3701 (landline)
or 410-404-8201 (cell).

Thanks for any support you decide to provide. We really need to get this
important invasive plant bill passed.

Judy
_______________________________________________

Judith P. Fulton
EcoPlant Consulting: Native and Invasive Plants
Vice President, Maryland Native Plant Society
Board, Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council
Chair, Maryland Invasive Species Council's Committee on Invasives Lists
Voice: 410-337-3701, Text: 410-404-8201
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