Section 261.500

Title XVII AGRICULTURE AND ANIMALS

Chapter 261

Effective - 28 Aug 2019   

  261.500.  Citation of law — definitions — scorecard, criteria for pollinator-friendly solar sites — permissible claims by owners. — 1.  The provisions of this section shall be known and may be cited as the "Missouri Solar Pollinator Habitat Act".

  2.  For purposes of this section, the following terms mean:

  (1)  "Native perennial vegetation", perennial Missouri wildflowers, shrubs, grasses, or other plants that serve as beneficial habitat, forage, or migratory waystations for pollinators;

  (2)  "Pollinators", any bees, birds, butterflies, or other animals or insects, including any wild or managed insects, that pollinate flowering plants;

  (3)  "Solar site", a ground-mounted solar system for generating electricity that is at least one acre in size;

  (4)  "Vegetation management plan", a written document that includes short-term and long-term site management practices that will provide and maintain native perennial vegetation.

  3.  The University of Missouri extension service, in consultation with other state and nongovernmental agencies with expertise in pollinators, shall publish a scorecard that sets forth criteria for making a claim that a solar site is pollinator-friendly or provides benefits to pollinators.  The scorecard shall be available on the website of the University of Missouri extension service within six months of August 28, 2019.

  4.  An owner of a solar site may follow practices at the solar site that provide native perennial vegetation and foraging habitat beneficial to pollinators.

  5.  An owner of a solar site implementing site management practices under this section may claim that the site is pollinator-friendly or provides benefits to pollinators only if the site and the site's vegetation management plan adhere to the criteria set forth in the University of Missouri extension service's scorecard described under subsection 3 of this section.

  6.  An owner making a claim that a solar site is pollinator-friendly or provides benefits to pollinators shall make the solar site's completed scorecard and vegetation management plan available to the public and provide a copy to the University of Missouri extension service and a nonprofit solar industry trade association of this state.

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(L. 2019 H.B. 266)