House Agriculture Committee approves bill deeming federal pesticide labels to satisfy state warning requirements

The Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources voted to pass House Bill 2476 as amended during a committee meeting. The bill would deem a pesticide that is registered under applicable state or federal law and labeled consistent with federal health assessments or federal carcinogenicity classifications to satisfy state statutory or common-law health and safety warning or labeling requirements.

The measure prompted extensive questioning and two formal amendments. Revisor Kyle briefed the committee, explaining the bill’s mechanics and that it is intended to limit suits framed solely as a ‘‘duty to warn’’ when federal labeling applies while leaving other bases for claims, such as strict product liability or negligence, available. "Plaintiffs usually include multiple claims within their lawsuits and have been successful on other claims other than a duty to warn," Kyle said, describing the rationale behind the first amendment that was adopted by the committee.

Representative Rozier offered and the committee adopted an amendment clarifying that nothing in the section shall preclude claims or causes of action unrelated to product warnings or labeling. After the amendment passed, Revisor Kyle said that "individuals would still, I believe, be able to file claims" but that such claims would have to rest on theories other than a duty to warn.

Representative Featherston later proposed a second amendment that would have struck language referencing statutory and common-law duties to warn or label; she said stakeholders wanted assurance the bill was a labeling bill, not a litigation bill. Opponents, including industry representatives, argued that removing the language would undermine the bill’s purpose. Brad Smoot, an attorney for Bayer Pharmaceuticals, told the committee that Kansas had previously had a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages that was later overturned by the Kansas Supreme Court and argued that codifying the labeling rule would provide statutory certainty. "We did have a cap on non economic damages... the Kansas Supreme Court has overturned that decision, which is precisely the problem with relying on a court decision and the reason why you probably wanna codify this," Smoot said.

The Featherston amendment failed on a committee vote. Representative Slingshaven moved to table the bill, citing an upcoming Kansas Supreme Court decision; the motion to table also failed after a roll-call-style count on the floor. Committee debate included members who said they were still unclear about the bill’s legal consequences and others who emphasized the need for regulatory certainty for agriculture. Representative Slingshaven said, "I just don't know that this bill isn't in fact a liability shield," and described being unable to translate the text into a clear effect for constituents. By contrast, Representative Rozier urged passage, saying the bill "is not a liability shield" and argued it would provide stability and predictability for farmers and agricultural innovation.

Representative Neely moved favorably for passage of HB2476 as amended; the motion was seconded and the chair announced that "the ayes do have it" and declared the bill passed as amended. Several members asked to have their no votes recorded; the chair recorded specific no votes including Representative Boatman and Representative Featherston among others. The committee provided committee copies of a sample pesticide label for members to review after the meeting.

What’s next: The committee advanced House Bill 2476 to the next step in the legislative process as a committee-passed bill. The chair said members should expect a busy schedule in the coming week and reminded members of other hearings on the calendar.

Sources and attributions: Quotations and attributions in this article are taken from committee proceedings and reflect statements recorded in the committee transcript. If a comment in the transcript was not tied to a named participant the article uses a functional label ("Revisor Kyle," "Chairman Rogers," or role-based labels) that appears in the transcript.