MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) 鈥 Vermont's Republican Gov. Phil Scott has vetoed a bill to severely restrict a type of pesticide that鈥檚 toxic to bees and other pollinators, saying the legislation 鈥渋s more anti-farmer than it is pro-pollinator.鈥
The bill would have banned uses of neonicotinoids 鈥 commonly called neonics 鈥 as well as selling or distributing soybean and cereal grain seeds that are coated in the substance. The pesticides are neurotoxins and are the most widely used class of insecticides in the world, lawmakers have said.
The Democrat-controlled Vermont legislature may consider overriding the governor's veto during a special session next month.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to believe that the governor chose World Bee Day to veto this sensible legislation to protect bees and other pollinators from toxic pesticides while supporting farmers through a just transition to safer alternatives,鈥 Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, said a statement on Monday.
Vermont鈥檚 legislature passed the bill after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed what she described as a nation-leading bill last year to in her state.
Scott wrote in his veto message that nearly all corn seed sold in the country is treated with EPA-approved neonics, and Vermont grows about 90,000 acres of corn while the U.S. grows 90 million acres.
鈥淭his would put Vermont farmers at a significant disadvantage,鈥 he wrote, saying dairy farmers face rising costs and crop losses from the summer and winter floods, plus last鈥檚 year鈥檚 spring frost.
He suggested the state closely monitor and study the issue to protect both family farms and pollinators.
Scott is expected to veto a number of bills, saying there's a lack of balance in the Legislature that causes opposing perspectives and data to not be considered.
鈥淭his means some bills are passed without thinking through all the consequences, and therefore, could do more harm than good,鈥 he said in a statement on Monday. 鈥淒ue to the sheer number of bills passed in the last three days of the session, there are many that will fall into this category.鈥
