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Poisonous Plants Bill Defeated in Idaho04-10-18 | Legislation

Poisonous Plants Bill Defeated in Idaho
Bill Would Have Required Labels on All Plants Dangerous to Animals or Humans

Legislation, which was intended to put labels on any potentially harmful plants, did not pass in Idaho. Two associations banded together to lobby against it because they felt it would be bad for business.

A "poisonous plants" bill failed to pass in Idaho, after it was met with strong opposition from the nursery and farming industries.

Senate bill 1272 would have required labels on all plants hazardous to humans or animals if ingested.

A red label with "poison" would have been put on all plants with the capacity, "to produce injury or illness to a human being or animal, domestic or wild, through ingestion of the plant," according to the bill.

The Food Producers of Idaho along with the Idaho Nursery and Landscape Association opposed the bill due to the implications and definition being used to define a "poisonous" plant.

The bill was sent to the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee in early February, but Senator Jim Rice said the bill was "vastly over-inclusive," and did not schedule a hearing for the bill following the opposition.

A public outreach and educational program would have also launched if the bill had passed.