Dear Friends, May 18, 2017
We deeply appreciate the Montgomery County residents who were able to attend the court hearing yesterday in support of the Healthy Lawns Act, and the County Attorney’s office for the great effort defending the preemption challenge. The lawsuit threatens not only our protection from routine unnecessary use of dangerous lawn pesticides, but threatens the authority of all Maryland local governments to legislate on pesticides.
Finally, thank you to those who have made donations. We continue to raise funds to help the law firm assisting with the defense of this lawsuit on behalf of Safe Grow Montgomery, Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, Central Maryland Beekeepers Association, Beyond Pesticides, MD Pesticide Education Network, MD PIRG, Food and Water Watch, Center for Food Safety, and Organic Consumers Association.
Help us defend the right to be protected from toxic pesticides.
Donate at: http://safegrowmontgomery.org/donate/
If you were not able to attend, below is our update on the hearing:
The hearing before Judge McGann lasted almost 2 hours. The County attorney argued first, followed by attorneys representing the landscapers and pesticide industry. The plaintiffs’ attorneys attempted to argue against the merits of the law which was outside the scope of the hearing on preemption. The main issue was implied preemption– whether state pesticide regulations prevent the county from enacting stronger laws, and whether the state has intended that the pesticide laws be uniform across the state.
We will share updates we receive on the ruling, which Judge McGann said he intends to expedite.
The hearing was also covered by the Washington Post.
Thank you for your support,
Safe Grow Montgomery volunteers