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Committee advances tourism budget and several bills, approves pesticide preemption measure 7–2
Summary
The Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee moved the Department of Tourist Development budget to Finance and advanced multiple bills to the calendar; the committee approved legislation limiting pesticide-related civil liability (SB 527) on a 7–2 vote.
The Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on March 26 advanced the Department of Tourist Development budget to the Finance Committee and recommended several bills to the final or calendar stages of the legislative process.
Votes at a glance:
- Department of Tourist Development budget: moved to Finance (motion by Chairman Reeves; second by Vice Chair Lowe). Vote: 9–0 to advance.
- Senate Bill 1140 (veteran hunting permits): moved to calendar (sponsor: Chairman Crowe). The bill, as amended in committee, allows issuance of temporary hunting permits to service-connected disabled veterans when provided for organized veteran hunting experiences. Vote: 9–0 to advance.
- Senate Bill 281 (farming activities/local size threshold): moved to calendar (sponsor: Chairman Watson). The bill narrows a previously enacted acreage threshold from 5 acres to 3 acres for a local provision affecting farming activities. Vote: 9–0 to advance.
- Senate Bill 965 (Blount County venue deannexation authority): moved to Finance (sponsor: Senator Hatcher). The amended bill permits the Blount County Tourism Development Authority to petition for deannexation of part of an outdoor event venue, subject to Blount County Commission approval. Vote: 9–0 to advance to Finance.
- Senate Bill 191 (comptroller review of high-risk local debt): moved to calendar (sponsor: Senator Taylor). The bill expands the definition of local governments subject to comptroller review for high-risk indebtedness and clarifies exclusions for certain federal lending programs. Committee recorded the motion; the tally was recorded as 8 ayes and 1 pass on the roll call.
- Senate Bill 527 (pesticide labeling / liability): sponsor Senator Stevens. The bill would bar civil liability “related to the labeling” of a pesticide if the label is federally approved; supporters said the change is needed to protect the state’s agricultural supply chain from litigation, while opponents said the language could preclude claims for harms not known when labels were issued. The committee approved the bill on a 7–2 vote. Mover: Senator Stevens; second: Vice Chair Lowe.
Why it matters: SB 527 sparked extended testimony from farm groups and manufacturers in support and from farmers, public-health advocates and plaintiff attorneys in opposition. Supporters argued that state-level protection is necessary to preserve access to crop-protection tools; opponents warned the bill could remove accountability for harms that emerge after registration and labeling.
Several of the other bills on the committee calendar were advanced with unanimous support and will appear on the final or subsequent calendars, or go to Finance for budget items.
