Bill on pesticide labeling
Rep. Ryan Bivens, R-Hodgenville, listens to discussion on Senate Bill 199 on the House floor Tuesday. The legislation would change legal duties related to pesticide labeling. A high-res version is available here.
FRANKFORT — A bill that would clarify legal duties around warning labels on certain pesticides advanced off the House floor Tuesday.
Under Senate Bill 199, pesticides that display a warning label approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will have met legal standards concerning the duty to warn consumers about potential health effects.
Before voting Tuesday, the House amended the legislation to limit the bill’s effect to only products that have an agricultural use label.
Rep. Ryan Bivens, R-Hodgenville, presented the measure on the chamber floor on behalf of the bill’s primary sponsor, Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray.
Bivens said the legislation would essentially give the EPA control of warning labels for agricultural pesticides and establish “the EPA-approved label as a manufacturer’s duty to warn in a lawsuit.”
The bill precipitated significant debate on the House floor as supporters argued that the proposed law would protect much-needed agricultural products from dubious lawsuits. Critics charged that the change would prevent Kentuckians from seeking financial damages if a pesticide leads to illness.
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Rudy, R-Paducah, pointed to his farming experience, highlighting the struggles farmers face in the current economy.
“We are desperate in agriculture right now. We just want to have the products that we need to feed you,” he said. “The farmers that I know — who are heroes and are begging for this legislation — are saying, ‘just give me a fighting chance.’”
But Rep. Matthew Lehman, D-Newport, said that the bill would limit litigation from consumers harmed by potentially dangerous products.
“This bill forces a judge’s hand to dismiss the case at the very start. You can’t prove that they are hiding the truth if this law slams the door shut before you’re even allowed to look behind it,” he said. “You can sue them if you have proof, but it makes it impossible to find that proof.”
Rep. Anne Gay Donworth, D-Lexington, urged fellow legislators to vote no, saying the product should be studied before legislation is passed. She pointed to one large pesticide company that has settled nearly $20 billion in lawsuits over the past few years.
“That’s a lot of money to dole out if you don’t think you’ve done anything wrong,” she said. “We know throughout history that corporations can’t be trusted to do the right thing by the consumer. I urge you to not pass this legislation until we have more research on the products.”
House Majority Caucus Chair Suzanne Miles, R-Owensboro, emphasized using products as intended. She noted that even toothpaste labels tell consumers to seek medical advice if they swallow excessive amounts.
“That’s what we’re talking about today — simply follow the labeling directions,” she said. “We don’t know, but we’re hoping that all the tests that go into anything we consume, that we expose our loved ones to, are safe. We have burdens that we employ on these people to do our testing.”
Bivens underscored that the bill does not grant businesses immunity, but ensures that claims brought forward are valid.
“As a person who uses these products on a daily basis, if I ever discover that one of them has made me sick — my family sick or my employees sick — I can guarantee you that I’m going to go after someone,” he said. “But I have to be able to prove it.”
SB 199 will need to return to the Senate for concurrence on changes made to the legislation in the House before it can go to the governor’s desk.