Introduced by Representatives Zuckerman of Burlington and Woodward of Johnson

BILL AS INTRODUCED H.247

2001 Page 1

H.247

Introduced by Representatives Zuckerman of Burlington and Woodward of Johnson

Referred to Committee on

Date:

Subject: Agriculture; genetic engineering; agricultural inputs; seeds

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to establish a moratorium on the planting of genetically-engineered seeds or plant parts and a registration process for the sale or distribution of genetically-engineered seeds or plant parts, to create a commission on the use in Vermont of genetically-engineered seeds or plant parts, and to require food products containing ingredients from genetically-engineered plants to have that information on the label.

AN ACT RELATING TO GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED AGRICULTURAL INPUTS

It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:

Sec. 1. 6 V.S.A. § 641 is amended to read:

§ 641. DEFINITIONS

As used in this chapter:

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(9) “Genetically-engineered seed” or “GE seed” means an agricultural, flower or vegetable whole seed, or its living progeny, that has been altered at the nucleic acid level, using the techniques collectively referred to as recombinant DNA technology. Such techniques involve the transfer of genes, regulatory sequences or nucleic acid between hosts by the use of vectors or laboratory manipulations, and include, but are not limited to, the insertion, excision, duplication, inactivation, or relocation of specific genes, regulatory sequences, or sections of nucleic acid. The term “genetically-engineered” does not apply to material or an organism developed exclusively through traditional methods of breeding, hybridization, or nondirected mutagenesis.

(10) “Genetically-engineered plant part” or “GE plant part” means a whole plant or plant part, including scions intended for planting, which contains material derived from a GE seed.

(11) “End user” means any person who plants or sows GE seeds or GE plant parts.

Sec. 2. 6 V.S.A. § 648 is amended to read:

§ 648. INSPECTIONS

(a) Inspection fees shall be paid to the commissioner by a manufacturer or processor which distributes seed in the state, except for those parties required to pay fees pursuant to section 649 of this title. Fees shall be established as follows:

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(c) For those seeds sold in containers of more than ten pounds, a report shall be filed semi-annually on August 1 and February 1 annually on January 15 on forms supplied by the commissioner regarding sales during the previous calendar year, and fees based on the 35 cent per hundredweight rate shall accompany the report. Reporting periods are January 1--June 30 and July 1-December 31.

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Sec. 3. 6 V.S.A. chapter 35, subchapter 3 is added to read:

Subchapter 3. Genetically-Engineered Seeds and Plant Parts

§ 649. LIMIT ON USE; FINDINGS; SUBSTANTIAL STATE PURPOSE

(a) Limit on use. During the period January 1, 2002 through January 1, 2004, no person shall plant in this state a genetically-engineered seed or plant part, the genetically-engineered properties of which are capable of release to an offspring as determined by the commissioner of agriculture, food and markets in consultation with faculty of the college of agriculture and life sciences of the University of Vermont. However, the commissioner may grant an exception to this moratorium upon the demonstration that use of such a geneticallyengineered seed or plant part would be within a controlled environment such that no other plant could unintentionally be affected.

(b) Findings. The Vermont general assembly finds that:

(1) The economic health of the Vermont agricultural sector is critical to the health of the overall Vermont economy, which depends in major part on the high reputation of Vermont farmers and of their agricultural products.

(A) Dairy production currently dominates Vermont agriculture, but is threatened by the economies of ever-increasing scale which drive national mass markets. Vermont dairy farmers have been granted a temporary reprieve by the Northeast Interstate Compact for Dairy Pricing. However, many Vermont dairy farmers are still struggling. Therefore, Vermont dairy farmers’ hopes must rest on maintaining a high quality product and the confidence of those consumers who value food quality.

(B) The future of Vermont agriculture also depends on continued, robust expansion in the production of a diversity of agricultural goods other than dairy. But the vitality of a diversified Vermont agriculture also depends heavily on the production of high quality commodities and processed foods which are being sought by consumers who are interested primarily in food quality and safety. Thus, the high reputation of Vermont farmers for producing quality products has become doubly important to the economic health of this state.

(2) Growth in genetically-engineered agricultural production has been swift and pervasive elsewhere in the nation. The quick acceptance of the new technology by American farmers may, however, pose serious consequences for conventional agriculture; consequences which scientists do not yet fully understand. Those consequences have created doubt within Congress and the farming community which has reduced the acceptance among farmers.

(A) The greatest potential harm is that the use of geneticallyengineered seeds and plants by any given farmer could, unintentionally, alter the crops being produced by a neighboring farmer, or alter other plants or animals, including insects and microorganisms, which interact with domestic crops, as well as plants and animals making up the natural environment.

(B)(i) No practical way of safeguarding against this risk is available, other than abstaining from use of such genetically-engineered material. The recent fiasco involving Starlink corn, a variety approved only for animal consumption because of its possible allergenic effect on humans, attests to this. Farmers who unwittingly planted the corn have had to accept prices for their crops well below their production costs. Grain elevators have had to test their inventories and attempt to segregate millions of bushels of contaminated stocks. Foreign markets have refused to accept shipments of U.S. corn. The European Commission is drafting regulations that include mandatory segregation and labeling of genetically-engineered crops. Two of the top three grocery chains in the United Kingdom have announced that they will only sell meat products from livestock fed feed from conventional non-genetically-engineered crops. The American Crop Growers Association is concerned that these recent actions may also have a negative effect on U.S. exports. Europe has increasingly turned to Brazil, where the cultivation and sale of genetically-engineered seeds are banned, to meet its need for animal feed.

(ii) The staggering economic cost of caused by a geneticallymodified crop has forced the Environmental Protection Agency to consider reclassifying the corn after the fact. International food and commodities companies have rushed to insulate themselves from the problem. The biotechnology company producing the genetically-modified corn in question has removed the product from the market and removed themselves from the market. Recently the company reached agreement with 17 states to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to farmers and processors who lost money because of the contamination. Consequently, caution has become the watchword, as recently evidenced by the global Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, and by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cautionary proscriptions on planting genetically-engineered corn.

(3) The use in Vermont so far of genetically-engineered seeds and plants is believed to be slight. But a significant increase in their use could jeopardize the health of Vermont agriculture by creating a cloud of doubt about Vermont agricultural products purportedly grown by conventional methods known to be safe and of the highest quality when measured by conventional standards.

(c) Substantial state purpose.

(1) Therefore, the Vermont general assembly affirms that a substantial and legitimate state purpose exists in temporarily prohibiting the planting of certain types of genetically-engineered seeds and plant parts, during which period a search may be undertaken for a less discriminatory means of protecting against the threat posed by unregulated use of the technology.

(2) This subchapter seeks to serve this purpose through its moratorium, its informational requirements, and the commission it creates to guide future decisions on the use of genetically-engineered seeds and plant parts in this state.

§ 650. GE SEEDS AND PLANT PARTS

(a) Notice of intent; approval. Any person intending to distribute or sell GE seeds or GE plant parts in this state, by means of wholesale, retail, direct mail, or other type of transaction, shall first so notify and receive the approval of the commissioner to so distribute or sell such seeds or plant parts in this state. Such notice shall be filed by January 15 of each year for that calendar year, and may be amended during the calendar year, provided the amendment is filed with the commissioner prior to the seeds or plant parts being distributed or sold in the state. Each annual notice and amendment thereof shall be on forms provided by the commissioner, and shall include:

(1) the name, address, and telephone number of the distributor or seller;

(2) the brand name of each seed or plant part;

(3) the variety of each seed or plant part, plus a statement pertaining to each variety as to whether it contains genetically-engineered properties capable of release to an offspring;

(4) the size of the package of each seed or plant part variety, or that the seed or plant part is sold in bulk; and

(5) an estimate of the quantity of each seed or plant part variety to be distributed or sold in the state during that calendar year.

(b) End user records; reports.

(1) Records. Each person distributing or selling GE seeds or plant parts directly to an end user shall maintain a record of each such transaction, including the name and address of the end user, the brand, variety, and quantity of each seed or plant part distributed or sold, and whether it contained genetically-engineered properties capable of release to an offspring. Such records shall be available to the commissioner or his or her designee, the attorney general or his or her designee, other law enforcement officers designated by the attorney general, and to the courts as requested by a court in an enforcement proceeding pursuant to this subchapter.

(2) Reports. Each person distributing or selling GE seeds or plant parts directly to an end user shall, by each January 15, report to the commissioner on such transactions during the previous calendar year. Such reports shall be on forms provided by the commissioner.

(3) Each end user of GE seeds or GE plant parts shall notify the commissioner by March 15 as to the location of such use, and the commissioner shall maintain a list of those end users planting GE seeds and GE plant parts according to the location. The information as to who and where GE seeds or GE plant parts are being used is public information. The information shall be made available within 15 days upon written request to the department.

(c) Written information and directions to end user. Each person distributing or selling GE seeds or plant parts directly to an end user shall provide to such end user a written statement which shall identify the seed or plant part as having been genetically engineered, and which shall give directions for use of the seed or plant part, prescribing planting, cultivation, and harvesting methods to prevent adverse effects on other plant or animal life, including separation distances from other fields and refugia requirements.

§ 651. RULEMAKING; ENFORCEMENT

(a) The commissioner shall make rules and regulations, when necessary and proper to carry out the purposes of this subchapter.

(b) The commissioner may seek enforcement remedies pursuant to sections 1, 12, 13, 16, and 17 of this title, and may also assess an administrative penalty pursuant to section 15 of this title, against any person violating provisions of this subchapter.

§ 652. LIABILITY

(a) All end users when purchasing GE seed or plant parts are regarded under Vermont law as consumers, as this term is defined by section 2451a of Title 9. Any misleading information contained in the written statement required by subsection 650(c) of this title regarding the identity of and directions for use of such GE seed or plant parts, or any adverse consequence from using the GE seed or plant parts in the manner prescribed in the written statement, is an unfair or deceptive act or practice in commerce, and shall be a violation of section 2453 of Title 9. Any disclaimers with regard to contracts involving GE seed or plant parts are inherently unconscionable, and consequential damages shall be available for economic injury. The attorney general is authorized to conduct civil investigations and to bring civil actions with respect to such acts and practices of the manufacturer or the distributor of GE seed or plant parts.

(b) At the request of any party to an action brought pursuant to this section, the court may conduct all legal proceedings in such a way as to protect any proprietary or trade secrets of any party.

Sec. 4. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON GENETIC ENGINEERING

(a) Committee created.

(1) A committee to advise the commissioner on genetic engineering (GE) is created, consisting of 17 members as provided by subsection (d) of this section.

(2) The commissioner shall chair the committee and select a vice chair from its membership. The committee shall meet at the call of the chair, and be staffed by the department. Legislative members of the committee shall be compensated only for travel expenses in attending committee meetings, at the rate provided by section 406 of Title 2.