(The Center Square) – State legislatures across the country are considering bills that would limit legal liability for pesticide makers.
The bills would protect pesticide makers from lawsuits as long as they have a label that meets U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards. The bill passed the Georgia House of Representatives on March 13 and is now on Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk.
The legislation passed in Georgia days before a jury awarded a man $2.1 billion in a lawsuit against Bayer, the makers of Roundup Weed Killer. The Georgia man said the product caused his cancer.
Bayer officials said in a statement the company would appeal the verdict and it stood behind its Roundup product.
“The company remains committed to trying cases, having secured favorable outcomes in 17 of the last 25 trials,” the company said. “Our track record demonstrates that we win when plaintiffs’ attorneys and their experts are not allowed to misrepresent the worldwide regulatory and scientific assessments that continue to support the products’ safety.”
The Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee heard a similar bill this week and received an earful from those opposed to the legislation.
Amy Miller accused Bayer of a “fear campaign.”
“It is taking away our ability to fight for truth, for discover and if we get harmed,” Miller told the committee.
Bayer officials told the Atlanta Journal Constitution it is working to pass the bill in statehouses.
“Since litigation against glyphosate began, Bayer has paid out roughly $10 billion from an expensed & provisioned total of $16 billion to address these cases – funds that could be invested in R&D and used toward creating new technology for farmers, consumers and patients,” the company told the newspaper.
Farmers call the products “crop protection.” Smith County farmer George McDonald told the Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee that farmers are trained to use the products.
“If we keep chipping away at these tools that we have in our toolbox, we will not be able to use those tools and if we do not have these pesticides, taking them away from farmers will be like taking away tractors from farmers,” McDonald told the committee.
The Tennessee bill passed the Judiciary Committee 6-2 and goes to the full Senate for approval. The Tennessee House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on their version on Wednesday.
Other states are considering similar bills.
The Missouri House of Representatives passed the bill in February and a Senate committee passed it on Thursday, according to its website.
The Iowa Senate passed it on Monday, according to WKRG. The bill moves to the House, where it failed last year.
Montana’s bill never made it out of the House of Representatives and missed the deadline for general bill transmittal, according to Montana Legislative Services.
