Committee debates bill on agricultural chemical labeling and potential preemption; members plan caucus and further review

Senators in the Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committee spent extended time discussing a bill introduced by Representative Brandenburg that would interact with federal pesticide labeling and the ability of plaintiffs to sue over pesticide-related claims.

Chairman Lewick and committee members said much of the bill’s language is already in code but that the bill would add a subsection restricting affected landowners from voting in certain district cost-obligation elections if the landowner has failed to pay required assessments; committee counsel said they will seek a legal opinion on whether such a restriction is legal. Members also turned to broader questions with more public interest: whether federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) label approval and the role of registrants and the agency create an appropriate standard that state law should adopt or defer to.

Senator Weber said he has confidence in EPA’s science and that farmers have historically criticized EPA for being "too conservative" when approving labels. Senator Weston said her concern is that EPA largely evaluates the studies submitted by chemical companies rather than conducting independent studies, and she worried that shifting to label-based preemption could give registrants more runway and reduce plaintiffs' ability to seek redress. Chairman Lewick raised the idea of a sunset clause or delayed implementation to allow the state to revisit the policy after a trial period.

Committee members agreed to take the matter to caucus and to pursue additional legal research and comparative-state examples gathered by the research specialist and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). No committee vote was taken; Chairman Lewick said the committee would recess until the call of the chair and reconvene after caucus discussions.