SB 144: Fertilizers or Pesticides; a manufacturer cannot be held liable for failing to warn consumers of health risks above those required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency; clarify

Under current law, someone hurt by a pesticide can sue a manufacturer in Georgia courts arguing the product's warning label should have said more about health risks. This bill changes that starting January 1, 2026. If a pesticide's label has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or matches the EPA's most recent human health risk assessment under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), that label counts as a sufficient warning for any state lawsuit based on a duty to warn, including common law claims. There is an exception: the protection does not apply if the EPA has determined that the manufacturer knowingly withheld, concealed, misrepresented, or destroyed material information about the pesticide's human health risks to get or keep EPA label approval. The bill also includes legislative findings about the importance of agriculture and pesticide supply chains to Georgia's economy.

• Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 2-7-171) stating that an EPA-approved pesticide label counts as a sufficient warning in state lawsuits over failure to warn, starting January 1, 2026.
• Blocks state law claims, including common law duty-to-warn claims, against pesticide manufacturers when their label matches EPA registration or the latest FIFRA human health risk assessment.
• Carves out an exception removing this protection if the EPA finds the manufacturer knowingly withheld, concealed, misrepresented, or destroyed material safety information to get label approval.
• Includes legislative findings describing agriculture's economic role in Georgia and concerns about reliance on foreign, particularly Chinese, sources for pesticide ingredients.

Pesticide manufacturers, Georgia farmers who use fertilizers and pesticides, and Georgians who might sue over health harms from pesticide exposure. The Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture, who registers pesticides, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, whose labeling determinations become central to these lawsuits, are also implicated.

People harmed by a pesticide would generally no longer be able to sue a Georgia manufacturer just because its EPA-approved label did not warn of a health risk beyond federal requirements. Lawsuits could still proceed if the EPA finds the manufacturer hid safety information, but otherwise plaintiffs would have a narrower path in state court.

• Section 1 lists legislative findings on Georgia agriculture's economic size, reliance on crop protection products, and supply chain concerns tied to foreign, especially Chinese, ingredient sources.
• Section 2 adds O.C.G.A. § 2-7-171, defining 'Environmental Protection Agency' and 'FIFRA' for purposes of the new law.
• Section 2(b) makes an EPA-approved or FIFRA-consistent pesticide label a sufficient warning in state duty-to-warn lawsuits, effective January 1, 2026.
• Section 2(b) also creates an exception: the protection does not apply if the EPA determines the manufacturer knowingly withheld, concealed, misrepresented, or destroyed material health risk information to obtain or keep label approval.
• Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-09Effective Date 2025-07-01
2. 2025-05-09Act 94
3. 2025-05-09Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senado)
4. 2025-04-07Senate Sent to Governor (Senado)
5. 2025-03-13House Passed/Adopted (Cámara de Representantes)
6. 2025-03-13House Third Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
7. 2025-03-13House Committee Favorably Reported (Cámara de Representantes)
8. 2025-03-10House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)

• Sam Watson (R, SD-011)Patrocinador principal
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
• John Kennedy (R, SD-018)
• Brandon Beach (R, SD-021)
• Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
• Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
• Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
• Marty Harbin (R, SD-016)
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
• Frank Ginn (R, SD-047)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
• Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Angie O'Steen (R, HD-169)

1. AprobadaVotación: Senado4 de marzo de 2025

   42 a favor, 12 en contra (2 sin votar, 0 ausentes)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #147

2. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes13 de marzo de 2025

   101 a favor, 58 en contra (5 sin votar, 16 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #277

• pesticide regulation
• agriculture law
• product liability
• consumer protection
• farming