House committee advances bill that ties pesticide liability to EPA-approved labels

Summary

House Bill 522, introduced by Rep. Jerry Schillinger, would make compliance with federal registration and label requirements the measure of a manufacturer's duty to warn and limit certain liability claims. The House Agriculture Committee heard hours of testimony from farm groups in favor and environmental and public-health advocates opposed; the

Representative Jerry Schillinger opened testimony for House Bill 522, telling the House Agriculture Committee the bill is intended to "maintain access to products for farmers that have gone through years long testing and review process and obtained a label from the EPA."

Supporters from across Montana's agricultural sector urged passage. Karli Johnson of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation described pesticide labels as the product of a lengthy federal approval process and said the bill would codify that the label satisfies a duty to warn. "Everything in that label has to be scientifically proven," Johnson said, summarizing how manufacturers and the Environmental Protection Agency review data under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.

Agribusiness groups, crop consultants and growers argued the law would protect farmers and local retailers from lawsuits that, they said, threaten access to crop-protection tools…

House committee advances bill that ties pesticide liability to EPA-approved labels

Summary

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