Senate Bill 144
By: Senators Watson of the 11th, Gooch of the 51st, Kennedy of the 18th, Beach of the 21st,
Goodman of the 8th and others
AS PASSED
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 6 of Chapter 7 of Title 2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to liability for use of fertilizers, plant growth regulators, or pesticides, so as to 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 with respect to
pesticides, subject to an exception; to provide for legislative findings; to provide for related
matters; to provide for applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
The General Assembly finds that:
(1) Agriculture and its related industries contribute over $91 billion to Georgia's economy,
and Georgia farmers are the backbone of that activity;
(2) As the nation's largest producer of peanuts and the second largest producer of cotton,
Georgia farmers rely on inputs to grow their crops and keep yields high;
(3) Without reliable access to the most widely used crop protection products, costs to
farmers could more than double;
(4) A domestic supply chain for crop protection products is critical to ensuring farmers
have access to all the tools they need to grow food and fiber;
(5) Dependence on Chinese imports for critical ingredients in crop protection products
creates supply chain vulnerabilities for the United States and opportunities for foreign
adversaries to restrict access to crop protection products for American farmers; and
(6) Every effort must be made to strengthen the United States domestic production of
pesticides, including clarifying regulatory authority of pesticide labeling.
SECTION 2.
Article 6 of Chapter 7 of Title 2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
liability for use of fertilizers, plant growth regulators, or pesticides, is amended by adding
a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"2-7-171.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Environmental Protection Agency' means the United States Environmental
Protection Agency.
(2) 'FIFRA' means the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, 7 U.S.C.
Section 136, et seq., and the amendments thereto.
(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this chapter, beginning on January 1, 2026,
any pesticide registered with the Commissioner, pursuant to Code Section 2-7-55, or the
Environmental Protection Agency, pursuant to FIFRA, which displays a label that has been
approved by the Environmental Protection Agency in registering the pesticide or is
consistent with the most recent human health risk assessment performed under FIFRA shall
be deemed a sufficient warning label for the purposes of an action commenced under any
provision of state law concerning the duty to warn or label, or any other common law duty
to warn; provided, however, that the provisions of this subsection shall not apply when a
determination has been made by the Environmental Protection Agency that a manufacturer
knowingly withheld, concealed, misrepresented, or destroyed material information
</ins>
<ins>regarding the human health risks of such pesticide in order to obtain or maintain approval
of its label by the Environmental Protection Agency."
</ins> SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.