Lloyd: Imagine if inspectors in Florida, Arizona, California, New
Mexico, etc. considered it their duty to destroy all AHB hives.

* So far as I know, Arizona hasn't had bee inspection in many years

> Gov. Janet Napolitano signed into law a bill that adds wild honeybees to the list of public nuisances because they endanger public health. This means county officials can order a property owner to have a bee swarm removed at the owner's cost. If the bee swarm is located on public lands, the county will pay for the exterminator. All wild bees are considered Africanized

> Representative Jennifer Burns, sponsor, testified that this bill addresses killer bee attacks.  She advised that two people were attacked and died in Cochise County because of these attacks.  The fire department responds when someone has been attacked but does not respond prior to that.  This bill covers those situations where hives are in abandoned buildings and in trees in vacant lots which pose a threat to human safety and no one has the authority to remove them.  This bill grants the authority to the counties to remove the hives when they pose a threat to public health and safety.  She stated that this proposal is not an attempt to regulate the bee industry.  It asks beekeepers to post signs.  She related that according to the University of Arizona, 95 to 100 percent of the wild bees in Arizona are Africanized bees.

> Burns said that while she seeks to protect the public with her bill, she also wants to make sure the measure would not harm any of the roughly 300 beekeepers in the state. That's why it only applies to colonies that are not maintained by a beekeeper. The Arizona Department of Agriculture worked with several beekeepers to make sure they don't have concerns about the bill, said Ed Hermes, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Agriculture.

> H.B. 2306 designates hives or feral honeybee colonies that endanger the public's health or safety as public nuisances.  The bill exempts hives or colonies that are currently and actively maintained or controlled by a beekeeper. Ms. Bullington explained that the Ulmer six-line amendment dated 1/29/07 requires that the feral colony of honeybees be maintained by a beekeeper.  The amendment additionally requires that the hive or property be labeled with the beekeeper's name and phone number.

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