BOISE, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
A bill determining the future of pesticide-related lawsuits is headed to the Idaho Senate floor.
The Senate Commerce and Human Resources committee heard testimony on Sen. Bill 1245 on Tuesday afternoon. Sen. Mark Harris, R-Soda Springs, said the bill would add language to existing Idaho laws “to protect agricultural pesticide products our farmers and ranchers depend on.”
As written, the bill says that any pesticide approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and bearing the required warning label regarding potential threats to human health and safety would be considered to have given sufficient warning of the risks.
The legislation is anticipated to provide immunity to pesticide manufacturers from most lawsuits about health conditions that arise from the use of pesticides.
The bill comes to the Idaho Senate in the wake of several years of lawsuits in which plaintiffs across the country argued that exposure to the glyphosate-based herbicide, Roundup, caused them to develop cancer and other health conditions. Bayer, the manufacturer of Roundup, has been ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages in multiple cases to different plaintiffs.
Discussion topics at the hearing included the ability of pesticide manufacturers and companies that produce their components to continue operations, the integral nature of pesticides in farming, and the right of Idahoans to seek litigation against chemical companies.
Bayer Deputy Chief of Government Relations James Curry testified in favor of moving the bill forward, citing studies that say glyphosate-based herbicides like Roundup pose no health risks when used according to the label.
The legal costs faced by the company because of lawsuits are “significant,” Curry said, adding that the company would prefer to dedicate such resources to product research and innovation.
“It’s becoming more and more untenable to see a path forward without some sort of legislative certainty,” Curry said.
Curry noted that Soda Springs, Idaho, is the only location in the western hemisphere mining elemental phosphorus, which is transformed into one of the key ingredients in Roundup. The company’s subsidiary there, P4, employs about 800 people and has mined phosphate ore in Southeast Idaho since 1952, he said.
Others testifying in favor of the bill included farmers from around the state who said they use Roundup and other pesticides to produce crops like sugarbeets. Sugarbeets and other crops have often been genetically engineered to withstand pesticide spray.
Larry Hollifield, a farmer from Hansen, said grain producers often use Roundup to clear their fields of weeds before planting, enabling conservation practices like reduced tilling. Such products, and the companies that make them, need protections, he said.
“If not addressed, this will directly impact farmers by limiting the availability of these essential products, resulting in lower yields, threatening farmer livelihoods and domestic food security, and ultimately raising the price for consumers amidst record-high inflation,” Hollifield said.
Some testifying against moving the bill ahead said it should be revised so that it could offer better protection to people to bring future litigation.
Warning labels on products “tend to warn of immediate danger, like precautions about swallowing a chemical, but not for long-term use or exposure,” said Lance Giles, speaking on behalf of the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association.
He asked the committee to amend the bill to include “a sliver of opportunity to hold manufacturers accountable if their products make Idahoans sick.”
Jonathan Oppenheimer, government relations director for the Idaho Conservation League, questioned the “sweeping” nature of the bill in applying to litigation against a wide array of manufacturers. He noted there are similar bills being considered in Iowa, Florida, and Missouri.
“If pesticide manufacturers need immunity for products they know to be safe, why do they need immunity?” Oppenheimer said. “There are already systems in place to eliminate frivolous lawsuits. ... It’s a very high bar currently to be able to prove the definitive link between pesticide use and personal damage, and we urge you to leave that in place.”
Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Viola, moved to hold the bill, while Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon, made a substitute motion to move the bill forward to the Senate floor with a do-pass recommendation.
Foreman said that it concerned him that the bill as written gives future approval to any EPA decisions approving a chemical, and potentially prevents lawsuits against companies.
“What really troubles me is if there’s anything in this bill that precludes the citizens’ ability to bring a cause of action against an applicator, a producer, a manufacturer, then that just troubles me because the way we decide issues like this is through our courts and our courts are very adept and capable at dealing with these issues,” Foreman said.
Guthrie characterized what juries have awarded to plaintiffs in Roundup cases as excessive, evidence of a justice system that is “biased and flawed in an unfair way.”
“I think this is maybe hitting that balance to where we can temper some of those obscene awards that have been handed down, and hopefully keep our business and mining industry and those kinds of things in a healthy position so we can have the things that we need for the sustainability of life actually,” Guthrie said.
The committee voted 5-3 to send the bill to the Senate floor with a do-pass recommendation; those voting in favor were Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa; Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon; Sen. Doug Ricks, R-Rexburg; Sen. Linda Hartgen, R-Twin Falls; and Sen. Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls.
Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Viola; Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa; and Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, voted no. Sen. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, was absent.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
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