ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota lawmakers have stripped out legislation meant to help reduce the use of insecticides harmful to bees.

The fight over neonicotinoid insecticide has become a major environmental effort as bee populations decline in Minnesota and across the nation. State regulators sought greater authority to regulate certain seed treated with the insecticide.

Minnesota Public Radio News (https://bit.ly/2nAXXCX) reports that committees in the Republican-controlled House and Senate recently stripped that authority from a bill.

Rep. Paul Anderson says the agricultural community is concerned because the insecticide is necessary for raising corn.

Pesticide Action Network organizer Lex Horan calls the decision to remove that authority disappointing. He says inaction means the pollinator decline will continue to worsen.

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Information from: Minnesota Public Radio News, https://www.mprnews.org

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