SB 1432: Pesticide immunity, round three — 2024

[April 3, 2024 UPDATE – The Idaho Senate and House have adjourned without considering SB 1432, meaning that it is dead for the year.]

Sen. Mark Harris (R-Soda Springs) introduced SB 1432 in the Senate State Affairs Committee on March 19, more than a month after the bill introduction deadline.

SB 1432 replaces HB 653 (stalled in committee), which replaced SB 1245 (defeated on Senate Floor). Common sense suggests that a twice-failed bill might be worth abandoning for the session. But justice for Idahoans apparently takes a back seat to corporate profits, and the bill has risen from the dead… again.

SB 1432 departs slightly from prior versions, but none of the changes eliminate the threats to Idahoans seeking accountability for pesticide-related ailments. The bill includes a three-year sunset clause, and would apply only to pesticides approved as of July 1st, 2024, a seemingly irrelevant provision given that there are already 12,000 pesticides approved for use in Idaho.

The updated bill would still provide sweeping immunity to pesticide manufacturers, so long as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved their product for use. The bill is being promoted by Bayer, the German pharmaceutical company with large phosphate mines in Southeast Idaho, and Syngenta, the Chinese state-owned manufacturer of Paraquat.

In recent years, a number of studies have indicated links between exposure to certain commonly used pesticides and health ailments including cancer, Parkinson’s disease, harms to brain development, and other negative effects. Many other countries ban the use of certain pesticides that are approved for use in the United States, and the EPA has been criticized for their unwillingness to ban pesticides, even after scientists have provided credible evidence linking pesticides to serious health concerns.

Settlements and guilty verdicts against Bayer alone have exceeded $15+ billion and other individual and class action lawsuits are currently pending against other large multinational pesticide manufacturers. The bill would all but eliminate the ability for Idaho farmers, farmworkers, landscapers, neighbors, or others to participate in these suits. Instead, Idaho taxpayers, insurance companies, and individuals would be responsible for covering the costs associated with these damages.

The bill would provide immunity to all pesticide manufacturers, including the China National Chemical Corporation, the parent company of Syngenta that produces Paraquat, a pesticide that has been linked to Parkinson’s Disease. In 2022, the US Department of Defense listed ChemChina as a Military Company with ties to the People’s Liberation Army, and an Executive Order issued by President Trump prohibited any investment in ChemChina by American companies or individuals. Why would the Idaho Legislature now seek to provide a multi-billion dollar gift to this adversary? What’s more…Paraquat is banned in China, because of the risks to public health!

Local research in Idaho has shown elevated levels of pesticides in pregnant women who live close to agricultural fields. Another Idaho study found elevated cancer occurrence correlated to pesticide exposure. As a result, the potential threats to rural Idahoans and farmworkers appears highest. However, pesticides can also contaminate groundwater, but it’s hard to track because the Idaho State Department of Agriculture stopped issuing their monitoring report back in 2020.

Finally, proving health effects and damages in court is already a high bar, and requires substantial evidence to prove a link between pesticide exposure and human health.

The Idaho Legislature should not be limiting the ability of Idahoans to access the courts and should protect Idaho’s public health by rejecting Senate Bill 1432.