Demoratic sponsored HB 1178 to give local control to pesticide regulations

Democratic lawmakers at the State Capitol have started their efforts to allow local governments to regulate pesticides, despite testimony from farmers and their allies that pests and weeds don’t respect county boundaries.

House Bill 1178, sponsored by Representatives Cathy Kipp, Fort Collins, and Meg Froelich, Greenwood Village, would allow local governments to regulate which pesticides could be used within their borders.

The bill has been years in the making, but Republicans and rural Democrats have managed to keep state control of pesticides as the standard, including last year, when the Sta...