(The Center Square) – The Tennessee Senate passed a bill that would limit the legal liability of pesticide makers as long as the labels meet federal standards.
Democrats said they were concerned that Senate Bill 527 would prevent consumers from suing chemical companies.
“It’s just amazing to me that we are taking away the rights of Tennesseans to defend themselves against harmful chemicals,” said Sen. Heidi Campbell, R-Nashville.
“The bill does not prevent anyone from suing,” said Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon. “It does limit the liability in the event that there is a claim related to the label.”
Farmers call the products “crop protection.” Smith County farmer George McDonald told the Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee in March that farmers are trained to use the products.
“If we keep chipping away at these tools that we have in our toolbox, we will not be able to use those tools and if we do not have these pesticides, taking them away from farmers will be like taking away tractors from farmers,” McDonald told the committee.
Passage was 21-7. The House version of the bill is on the calendar for next week’s meeting of the House Judiciary Committee.
A similar bill passed both chambers in Georgia and is now on Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk.
Bayer, who makes the popular weed killer Roundup, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that it is working to pass the bill in statehouses.
“Since litigation against glyphosate began, Bayer has paid out roughly $10 billion from an expensed & provisioned total of $16 billion to address these cases – funds that could be invested in R&D and used toward creating new technology for farmers, consumers and patients,” the company told the newspaper.
A Georgia jury awarded a man $2.1 billion in a lawsuit against Bayer. The man said the product caused his cancer.
