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Advocates warn Farm Bill language could strip Ulster County of pesticide controls
Summary
Environmental Working Group legislative director Jeff Horsefield told Ulster County’s energy and environment committee that language in the House Farm Bill (draft HR 7567) would remove state/local pesticide label addenda and bar political subdivisions from regulating pesticides beyond federal standards; the committee agreed to circulate a letter to Congressman Josh Riley urging him to oppose preemption.
Jeff Horsefield, legislative director for the Environmental Working Group, told the Ulster County Energy, Environment and Sustainability Committee that two measures under consideration in the House Farm Bill (referenced in the briefing as HR 7567) would sharply limit the ability of states and counties to attach local restrictions to pesticide labels and could bar local governments from regulating pesticides beyond federal requirements.
Horsefield said one provision would eliminate "label addenda," the locally specific information that states and counties use to notify applicators about restrictions near schools, parks or other sensitive sites. He described a second provision as a direct prohibition: political subdivisions of a state would not be allowed to regulate pesticides further than federal requirements. Horsefield said pesticide manufacturers support the change to reduce civil liability and to create a uniform national floor for warnings and restrictions.
"The label is the law when it comes to pesticides," Horsefield said, explaining that courts frequently look to state and local label addenda in litigation and that removing them would limit local options to protect students, workers and neighbors. He urged the committee to send a memorializing letter to U.S. Rep. Josh Riley — whose district includes parts of Ulster County and who sits on the House Agriculture Committee — asking him to oppose the preemption language and to support amendments that would strike it from the bill.
Committee members, including Legislator Amy Douly, asked about next steps. Horsefield urged local outreach to other members of the New York congressional delegation and offered to connect county legislators with advocacy contacts and materials. He cautioned that the measure still needs Senate consideration and that the timing for when any preemption would take effect depends on whether both chambers pass matching language.
Why it matters: committee members said local pesticide rules — such as school‑adjacent restrictions, notification requirements and county-level bans — are tools to protect public health and worker safety. Horsefield and committee members framed the campaign as an attempt to preserve municipalities’ ability to act if new scientific evidence about pesticide harms emerges.
The committee did not vote on a specific local policy at the meeting; members agreed to prepare and circulate a memorializing letter to the full legislature and to coordinate outreach to the federal delegation.
