HB 424: Agriculture; clarify that a manufacturer cannot be held liable for failing to warn consumers of health risks above those required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency

Georgia law currently lets people sue over products, including pesticides, if a manufacturer failed to adequately warn consumers of health risks. This bill adds a new Code section saying that starting January 1, 2026, any pesticide registered with Georgia's Commissioner of Agriculture or with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the federal Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) is treated as having a sufficient warning label if that label was approved by the EPA or matches the EPA's most recent human health risk assessment. That means a person could not sue a pesticide manufacturer under Georgia law for failing to warn of health risks beyond what the EPA-approved label already covers. The bill's preamble lists legislative findings about Georgia's agriculture economy and concerns about dependence on foreign, especially Chinese, sources for pesticide ingredients, framing the change as support for domestic pesticide production.

• Creates a new Georgia Code section (2-7-171) stating that EPA-approved pesticide labels count as sufficient warnings under state law.
• Blocks lawsuits under any state law duty-to-warn theory, or common law failure-to-warn claims, that argue a pesticide label should have said more than the EPA required.
• Applies the rule to pesticides registered either with Georgia's Commissioner of Agriculture or directly with the EPA under the federal FIFRA law.
• Sets the new rule to take effect January 1, 2026.
• Includes legislative findings about agriculture's $91 billion contribution to Georgia's economy and concerns about reliance on Chinese-made pesticide ingredients.

Pesticide manufacturers and sellers, Georgia farmers who use crop protection products, and Georgians who might otherwise sue a manufacturer over inadequate health warnings on a pesticide label are all affected, as are courts handling such claims.

If someone is harmed by a pesticide and believes the label should have warned of risks beyond what the EPA required, this bill would prevent them from winning a failure-to-warn lawsuit in Georgia courts as long as the label matches EPA standards, shifting more legal protection to manufacturers.

• Section 1 lists legislative findings about Georgia agriculture's economic importance and concerns about foreign dependence for pesticide ingredients.
• Section 2 adds new Code Section 2-7-171, defining 'Environmental Protection Agency' and 'FIFRA' for purposes of the new rule.
• Section 2(b) states that an EPA-approved or FIFRA risk-assessment-consistent pesticide label is deemed a sufficient warning for any state law or common law duty-to-warn claim, effective January 1, 2026.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
2. 2025-02-19House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
3. 2025-02-18House Second Readers (House)
4. 2025-02-13House First Readers (House)
5. 2025-02-12House Hopper (House)

• Steven Meeks (R, HD-178)Primary sponsor
• Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)
• James Burchett (R, HD-176)
• Will Wade (R, HD-9)
• Lauren McDonald III (R, HD-26)
• Bruce Williamson (R, HD-112)

• pesticide regulation
• agriculture law
• product liability
• farming
• EPA labeling