Bill aims to reduce liability for pesticides

Clayton Murphy

HELENA (UM Legislative News Service) An effort to protect Montana agriculture from pesticide lawsuits passed the House Agriculture Committee Wednesday. 

House Bil 522 would shield manufacturers, marketers, dealers, distributors, retailers and sellers from liability if a pesticide is labeled with a safety warning. Supporters said the bill would help farmers continue to use the products they might need.   

Karli Johnson with the Montana Farm Bureau Federation supported the bill. She brought examples of warning labels to her testimony and said these labels should help avoid lawsuits that can harm Montana production.

“And there's a couple important points about that label,” Johnson said. “Everything in that label has to be scientifically proven, not just by the manufacturer of the product, but also by outside sources,” Johnson said.

Johnson added that products with these labels take an average of 11 years to go through that process, including EPA and state registration. She said only about one in 10,000 products make it through the entire process.

But Peter Dudley with Montana Audobon opposed the bill and drew a comparison to vaccines.

 ”That's a product that was approved by the government that I assume folks are following the instructions of when they use them,” Dudley said. “Would we pass a law saying that folks can't sue that company if there are associated damages with that product?”

The bill ultimately passed committee on a 10-7 party-line vote that same day and will now head to the House floor for further debate.