North Dakota became the first state to enact a law intended to shield pesticide manufacturers from state liability lawsuits, with the signing of a bill by Gov. Kelly Armstrong last week. Farm groups and Bayer praised enactment of HB 1318, which recognizes that a state pesticide label “consistent with” EPA’s carcinogenicity classification “is a sufficient warning label” for the purposes of litigation.
 
A Bayer-backed group that also includes dozens of state and national farm groups, the Modern Ag Alliance, has been pushing lawmakers in other states to pass similar legislation. In Georgia, one of those bills is awaiting Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature.