You probably have not read the current bee law. It was adopted in 1994. It’s the reason you get to register as many apiaries as you like for $10/2years. It funds your friendly neighborhood inspector, and it let’s them keep bees moving in and out of the state.

We have a new bee law coming. It is currently known as SB1198 23/24 or The Plant and Pollinator Act. There were previous SB1198’s that did not deal with pollinators. If you open that link above scroll down to page 61 and look at section 1629 (b) Pollinator Fees. The fees are going up drastically. If you have 51 colonies or more your fee will go up to $120/yr an increase of 2400%. That’s spicy! And you’ll have to pay $75 for your inspections, maybe pay extra if you’re selling bees.

Here is a video from Robyn Underwood about how a Bill becomes Law with some specific insights into how this bill became what it is now; but little discussion of the specifics of the bill. The video features Dana Rhodes an administrator with the Dept. of Agriculture. The one message they want you to take away is that everything is up in the air! This could all change! It’s not really worth talking about what’s in there now because who knows what will be there when and if it passes which could be months or years from now.

Writing as a beekeeper who will pay the higher fees I can understand why they don’t want to talk specifics, but have to say it’s not that big a deal. The current fee structure is a joke, and was a joke in 1994 I imagine. It could never fund the kind of workforce that we should have monitoring plants and pollinators. I mean, look around you. It’s not too much to say it’s scary out there and these are the people who are going to help us.

So, will this bite? A little? I am considering spending $750+ for an Oxalic vaporizer some time soon. I spend thousands every year on bees, sugar, treatments, queens, etc. This law will cost me a tiny fraction of that every year. Also, the inspectors and Karen Roccasecca are all worth investing in. So, whether the fees change or not – I hope they go down a little – I also hope that the Plant and Pollinator team gets the law and the funding they need.

What do you think? Please provide civil comments below.