A 9315: Requires any person including certified and licensed responsible pesticide applicators and commercial pesticide applicators and operators operating in the state to contact the division of plant industry of the department of agriculture and markets by phone at least forty-eight hours in advance of extermination of honey bees to obtain assistance in trying to relocate nuisance honey bee colonies or hanging swarms of honey bees, in lieu of destroying such honey bees; makes related provisions.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9315 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY December 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SCHIAVONI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to the preservation of honey bee colonies The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new 2 article 15-B to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 15-B 4 PRESERVATION OF HONEY BEE COLONIES 5 Section 175-v. Relocating honey bee colonies. 6 § 175-v. Relocating honey bee colonies. 1. To preserve honey bee colo- 7 nies in the state, any person, including certified and licensed respon- 8 sible pesticide applicators and commercial pesticide applicators and 9 operators operating in the state, shall contact the division of plant 10 industry of the department by phone at least forty-eight hours in 11 advance of extermination of honey bees to obtain assistance in trying to 12 relocate nuisance honey bee colonies or hanging swarms of honey bees, in 13 lieu of destroying such honey bees. Honey bees shall not be destroyed 14 without prior approval from such division. 15 2. In the event the division of plant industry is not reachable, any 16 person, including certified and licensed responsible pesticide applica- 17 tors and commercial pesticide applicators and operators, shall attempt 18 to contact no fewer than three beekeepers identified by the local beek- 19 eeping association found on the Cornell University's College Agricul- 20 tural and Life Science's website as swarm collectors servicing the 21 affected county, in order to obtain assistance in relocating nuisance 22 honey bee colonies or hanging swarms before nuisance honey bee colonies 23 or hanging swarms of honey bees may be destroyed. Where there are fewer 24 than three beekeepers listed on such website in the county where the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01860-01-5 
 A. 9315 2 1 swarm or nuisance colony is located, such person shall contact any 2 available beekeepers on the list in such county. 3 3. Where a swarm poses an imminent danger to any person or where a 4 beekeeper needs to use an insecticide while attempting to relocate a 5 swarm because such swarm is aggressive or diseased, such person shall be 6 exempt from the provisions of this section. 7 4. Any person, including certified and licensed responsible pesticide 8 applicators and commercial pesticide applicators and operators operating 9 in the state shall indemnify and hold harmless the state of New York in 10 any action or proceeding arising out of the relocation and preservation 11 of honey bees in accordance with the provisions of this article. 12 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 13 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 14 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 15 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 16 on or before such effective date.