Kentucky: Stop The Pesticide Industry Bill
Published: Feb 16, 2026
Our Stand: At-A-Glance
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SB 199 is disguised as a “labeling” provision, but it’s actually a sweeping liability shield that protects pesticide companies from lawsuits. It says that if the EPA approved a pesticide’s label, that label is automatically considered a “sufficient warning” under Kentucky law—meaning companies can’t be sued for failing to warn consumers about health risks. The only exception is if the EPA formally finds the company committed fraud, which virtually never happens. In practice, this strips Kentucky citizens of their right to hold pesticide manufacturers accountable in state courts for concealing long-term health dangers like cancer, neurological damage, and birth defects—even when internal company documents prove they knew about the risks all along.
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Here’s how SB 199 creates a pesticide manufacturer liability shield:
- EPA approval = automatic legal protection – If a pesticide has an EPA-approved label, the company automatically gets a “sufficient warning” defense against any state law failure-to-warn claims
- Federal approval overrides state law – Companies can point to federal EPA registration to defeat state tort claims, even if victims were never adequately warned about long-term health risks
- Shifts burden entirely to EPA – Companies no longer responsible for warning about risks they know about—they only need EPA label approval to be shielded from liability
- Protects products with known risks – As long as EPA approved the label at some point, companies are protected even if new health risks emerge or become better understood
- “Most recent risk assessment” clause – Companies get protection based on whatever EPA’s latest assessment says, even if that assessment is outdated, incomplete, or industry-influenced
THE EXCEPTION (That Doesn’t Work):
- Only loses protection if EPA makes formal finding of fraud – Shield only falls away if EPA specifically determines the company “knowingly withheld, concealed, misrepresented, or destroyed material information”
- EPA rarely/never makes these findings – Based on research, EPA has essentially never made formal fraud determinations against pesticide companies, even when evidence of concealment exists
- Gives EPA—a captured agency—veto power over state courts – State juries can’t hold companies accountable unless EPA (with its revolving door to industry) first declares fraud
- “Material information” loophole – Company only loses shield if EPA finds they hid “material” information—gives companies wiggle room to argue information wasn’t “material enough”
WHY IT’S A SHIELD, NOT PROTECTION FOR CONSUMERS:
- Removes company duty to independently warn – Companies no longer have common law duty to warn about risks they discover or know about—federal label becomes their only obligation
- Ignores EPA’s systematic failures – Treats EPA approval as gold standard despite evidence of:
- Waived safety studies
- Reliance on industry-funded research
- Failure to scrutinize company data
- Decades-long delays in identifying risks
- Blocks state courts from protecting their citizens – Takes away state jury’s ability to hold companies accountable based on state consumer protection laws
- Creates federal preemption by state law – Kentucky is voluntarily giving up state sovereignty to shield companies from state-based liability
- Protects companies even when they knew more than EPA – Company can have internal studies showing cancer risk, never share them with EPA, and still get shield as long as EPA hasn’t formally found fraud
REAL-WORLD IMPACT:
- Roundup example – Monsanto could point to EPA approval to defeat failure-to-warn claims in Kentucky courts, even though internal documents showed they knew about cancer risks
- Chlorpyrifos example – Even though Dow falsified studies (which EPA didn’t catch), unless EPA makes formal fraud finding, company keeps liability shield
- Long-term exposure risks – Consumers exposed for 20-30 years who develop cancer/neurological damage would be blocked from suing, because EPA-approved label is deemed “sufficient”
- Children’s health – Parents whose children develop brain damage, reduced IQ, or other developmental harm from pesticide exposure cannot sue for failure to warn if EPA approved the label
BOTTOM LINE: This bill makes EPA label approval an automatic get-out-of-jail-free card for pesticide companies in Kentucky courts, even when:
- Companies knew about risks EPA didn’t know about
- Studies were falsified or incomplete
- Long-term health effects emerge after approval
- Victims were never meaningfully warned
It strips Kentucky citizens of their right to hold companies accountable through state courts and gives that power to a federal agency with a proven track record of industry capture and regulatory failure. This is essentially federal preemption by state legislative choice, Kentucky volunteering to tie its own hands to protect pesticide manufacturers from liability.
ACTION: Tell your Senator to vote no on the pesticide immunity bill.