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Help Stop Kentucky Bill To Protect Chemical Companies from Lawsuits
Help stop legislation in Kentucky (SB 199) that will shield pesticide manufacturers that fail to warn people about the potential hazards of their products! Ultimately, the bill will allow companies to harm Kentuckians even if a pesticide label is knowingly registered, but with false, misleading, or fraudulent information.
The Kentucky Senate introduced SB 199 on February 13. Unfortunately, the bill passed the Kentucky Senate [23-13] on Thursday, March 5, after the bill was voted out of the Senate Agriculture Committee [9-3] on Tuesday, March 3, at 10 am ET, according to the latest meeting agenda.
The bill also passed the Kentucky House [53-37]. Unfortunately, Governor Beshear's veto was overridden by the Kentucky Legislature as of April 1, 2026.
>> Please ask your state Senator to OPPOSE SB 199 by clicking here. You can also contact your state representative to urge his/her colleagues to oppose this legislation!
Now is the time to inform state legislators that it is unacceptable to deny people who have not been fully warned of the hazards of pesticides the right to hold accountable the manufacturers that have harmed them. If these bills were to pass, it would strike a blow for consumer safety. In a climate with less regulation, the ability to be held accountable creates an incentive for manufacturers to develop products that better protect our health and the environment—not to mention the compensation it provides to those harmed. The contradictions have been made even clearer with the retraction of a seminal academic paper on November 26, 2025, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cited in 2017 when reviewing the human health assessment and carcinogenicity classification for the herbicide active ingredient, which is slated for a final review in 2026. (See Daily News here.)
Failure-to-warn claims serve as the basis for the overwhelming majority of pesticide injury litigation of the past decade, according to legal professionals, including Brigit Rollins, JD, staff attorney at the National Agriculture Law Center, and H. Bishop Dansby, attorney and advocate—please see Mr. Dansby's reflections on the significance of the Bates decision in a 2005 Pesticides and You article.
- Failure-to-warn is a legal argument grounded in the common law of state court systems across the nation. “Almost every pesticide injury lawsuit filed in the past ten years has included a claim that the pesticide manufacturer failed to warn the plaintiff of the health risks associated with using their product and that such failure caused the plaintiff's injury,” says Ms. Rollins.
- "Bates was a golden opportunity to return the civil litigation system to its traditional role of responding to societal needs in a complex, rapacious, and competitive world," says Mr. Dansby. The Supreme Court in Bates "emphasizes the importance of providing an incentive to manufacturers to use the utmost care in the business of distributing inherently dangerous items," including pesticides.
Petrochemical-based pesticide manufacturers, predominantly German-owned Bayer-Monsanto, are intensifying efforts following last year's introduction of bills in twelve states. We mobilized last year, and we were able to defeat bills in ten states. A broad coalition, including Beyond Pesticides and over fifty organizations, coalitions, businesses, and leaders, continues to call on Congress not to include Section 453 language in any piece of federal legislation in the upcoming fiscal year.
Bills have been introduced in at least six states (and counting) while decision-makers in D.C. follow the industry's playbook in federal legislative packages as well as in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The focus of these bills is to protect corporations, not Kentuckians, at a time when health care and grocery costs are skyrocketing while people continue to get sick.
>> Please ask your state Senator to OPPOSE SB 199 by clicking here. You can also contact your state representative to urge his/her colleagues to oppose this legislation!
Thank you!
Beyond Pesticides is a national, grassroots organization that represents community-based organizations and people nationwide seeking to eliminate the use of petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers while promoting alternative pest management strategies.
The Targets for this Action are Senators [and their House colleagues] in the state legislature of Kentucky [General Assembly].
Thank you for your active participation and engagement! The Action is a multi-step process, so please click submit below to proceed to step two, where you will be able to personalize comments before final submission. The comment maximum limit is 4,000 characters, so it may be necessary to delete some of our prepared message text if editing.
↪️ For more information, please see the Failure-to-Warn and Pesticide Immunity Bills resource hub, as well as our Myths & Facts sheet and the 2026 state Kentucky resource page.
Letter to Governor Beshear: [Updated on March 18, 2026]
I am writing to urge you to veto SB 199, a bill that will shield pesticide manufacturers from being held accountable by people who have been harmed by their products. Moreover, the bill will allow companies to harm Kentuckians even if a pesticide label is registered knowingly, but with false, misleading, or fraudulent information.
Moreover, the bill will allow companies to harm Kentuckians even if a pesticide label is registered knowingly, but false, misleading, or fraudulent.
The chemical companies have argued unsuccessfully all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court that they should not be required to warn consumers about the dangers of their products. So now they are asking the Kentucky legislature to do what they have not been able to do in the courts— undermine the main legal argument used to hold pesticide corporations accountable for the harm their products can cause, effects like cancer.
If this bill were to pass, it would strike a blow to consumer and farmer safety. In a climate with less regulation, the ability to be held accountable creates an incentive for manufacturers to develop products that better protect our health and the environment—not to mention the compensation it provides to those harmed. The contradictions have been made even more clear with the retraction of a seminal academic paper on November 26, 2025, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cited in 2017 when reviewing the human health assessment and carcinogenicity classification for the herbicide active ingredient, which is slated for a final review in 2026.
Failure-to-warn claims serve as the basis for the overwhelming majority of pesticide injury litigation of the past decade, according to legal professionals, including Brigit Rollins, JD, staff attorney at National Agriculture Law Center. Failure-to-warn is a legal argument grounded in the common law of state court systems across the nation. "Bates was a golden opportunity to return the civil litigation system to its traditional role of responding to societal needs in a complex, rapacious, and competitive world,” says H. Bishop Dansby, attorney and advocate.
For more information, please see the following document. (https://bp-dc.org/failure-to-warn-myths-and-facts-sheet)
Petrochemical-based pesticide manufacturers, predominantly German-owned Bayer-Monsanto, are expanding their all-out push from last year. The focus of these bills is to protect chemical corporations, not Kentuckians.
Please VETO SB 199 and ensure that those who are harmed by toxic products are compensated.
Thank you!
Letter to Kentucky Senate: [Updated on February 13, 2026]
I am writing to ask you to oppose SB 199, a bill that will shield pesticide manufacturers from being held accountable by people who have been harmed by their products. Moreover, the bill will allow companies to harm Kentuckians even if a pesticide label is registered knowingly, but with false, misleading, or fraudulent information.
The chemical companies have argued unsuccessfully all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court that they should not be required to warn consumers about the dangers of their products. So now they are asking the Kentucky legislature to do what they have not been able to do in the courts— undermine the main legal argument used to hold pesticide corporations accountable for the harm their products can cause, effects like cancer.
If this bill were to pass, it would strike a blow to consumer and farmer safety. In a climate with less regulation, the ability to be held accountable creates an incentive for manufacturers to develop products that better protect our health and the environment—not to mention the compensation it provides to those harmed. The contradictions have been made even more clear with the retraction of a seminal academic paper on November 26, 2025, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cited in 2017 when reviewing the human health assessment and carcinogenicity classification for the herbicide active ingredient, which is slated for a final review in 2026.
Failure-to-warn claims serve as the basis for the overwhelming majority of pesticide injury litigation of the past decade, according to legal professionals, including Brigit Rollins, JD, staff attorney at National Agriculture Law Center. Failure-to-warn is a legal argument grounded in the common law of state court systems across the nation. "Bates was a golden opportunity to return the civil litigation system to its traditional role of responding to societal needs in a complex, rapacious, and competitive world,” says H. Bishop Dansby, attorney and advocate.
For more information, please see the following document. (https://bp-dc.org/failure-to-warn-myths-and-facts-sheet)
Petrochemical-based pesticide manufacturers, predominantly German-owned Bayer-Monsanto, are expanding their all-out push from last year. The focus of these bills is to protect chemical corporations, not Kentuckians.
Please oppose SB 199 and ensure that those who are harmed by toxic products are compensated.
Thank you!
Letter to Kentucky House: [Updated on March 5, 2026—Deactivated on March 18, 2026]
I am writing to ask you to oppose SB 199, a bill that will shield pesticide manufacturers from being held accountable by people who have been harmed by their products. Moreover, the bill will allow companies to harm Kentuckians even if a pesticide label is registered knowingly, but false, misleading, or fraudulent.
The chemical companies have argued unsuccessfully all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court that they should not be required to warn consumers about the dangers of their products. So now they are asking the Kentucky legislature to do what they have not been able to do in the courts— undermine the main legal argument used to hold pesticide corporations accountable for the harm their products can cause, effects like cancer.
If this bill were to pass, it would strike a blow to consumer and farmer safety. In a climate with less regulation, the ability to be held accountable creates an incentive for manufacturers to develop products that better protect our health and the environment—not to mention the compensation it provides to those harmed. The contradictions have been made even more clear with the retraction of a seminal academic paper on November 26, 2025, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cited in 2017 when reviewing the human health assessment and carcinogenicity classification for the herbicide active ingredient, which is slated for a final review in 2026.
Failure-to-warn claims serve as the basis for the overwhelming majority of pesticide injury litigation of the past decade, according to legal professionals, including Brigit Rollins, JD, staff attorney at National Agriculture Law Center. Failure-to-warn is a legal argument grounded in the common law of state court systems across the nation. "Bates was a golden opportunity to return the civil litigation system to its traditional role of responding to societal needs in a complex, rapacious, and competitive world,” says H. Bishop Dansby, attorney and advocate.
For more information, please see the following document. (https://bp-dc.org/failure-to-warn-myths-and-facts-sheet)
Petrochemical-based pesticide manufacturers, predominantly German-owned Bayer-Monsanto, are expanding their all-out push from last year. The focus of these bills is to protect chemical corporations, not Kentuckians.
Please oppose SB 199 and ensure that those who are harmed by toxic products are compensated.
Thank you!
Letter to Kentucky House: [Updated on February 13, 2026—Deactivated on March 5, 2026]
I am writing to ask you to urge your colleagues in the Senate to oppose SB 199, a bill that will shield pesticide manufacturers from being held accountable by people who have been harmed by their products. Moreover, the bill will allow companies to harm Kentuckians even if a pesticide label is registered knowingly, but false, misleading, or fraudulent.
The chemical companies have argued unsuccessfully all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court that they should not be required to warn consumers about the dangers of their products. So now they are asking the Kentucky legislature to do what they have not been able to do in the courts— undermine the main legal argument used to hold pesticide corporations accountable for the harm their products can cause, effects like cancer.
If this bill were to pass, it would strike a blow to consumer and farmer safety. In a climate with less regulation, the ability to be held accountable creates an incentive for manufacturers to develop products that better protect our health and the environment—not to mention the compensation it provides to those harmed. The contradictions have been made even more clear with the retraction of a seminal academic paper on November 26, 2025, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cited in 2017 when reviewing the human health assessment and carcinogenicity classification for the herbicide active ingredient, which is slated for a final review in 2026.
Failure-to-warn claims serve as the basis for the overwhelming majority of pesticide injury litigation of the past decade, according to legal professionals, including Brigit Rollins, JD, staff attorney at National Agriculture Law Center. Failure-to-warn is a legal argument grounded in the common law of state court systems across the nation. "Bates was a golden opportunity to return the civil litigation system to its traditional role of responding to societal needs in a complex, rapacious, and competitive world,” says H. Bishop Dansby, attorney and advocate.
For more information, please see the following document. (https://bp-dc.org/failure-to-warn-myths-and-facts-sheet)
Petrochemical-based pesticide manufacturers, predominantly German-owned Bayer-Monsanto, are expanding their all-out push from last year. The focus of these bills is to protect chemical corporations, not Kentuckians.
Please urge your Senate colleagues to oppose SB 199 and ensure that those who are harmed by toxic products are compensated.
Thank you!
Letter to Kentucky House Agriculture Committee: [Updated on March 9, 2026—Deactivated on March 11, 2026]
I am writing to ask you to oppose SB 199, a bill that will shield pesticide manufacturers from being held accountable by people who have been harmed by their products. Moreover, the bill will allow companies to harm Kentuckians even if a pesticide label is registered knowingly, but with false, misleading, or fraudulent information. As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, you have the opportunity to take a stand to ensure that this bill is not passed with language that will shield pesticide manufacturers from being held accountable by people who have been harmed by their products.
The chemical companies have argued unsuccessfully all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court that they should not be required to warn consumers about the dangers of their products. So now they are asking the Kentucky legislature to do what they have not been able to do in the courts— undermine the main legal argument used to hold pesticide corporations accountable for the harm their products can cause, effects like cancer.
If this bill were to pass, it would strike a blow to consumer and farmer safety. In a climate with less regulation, the ability to be held accountable creates an incentive for manufacturers to develop products that better protect our health and the environment—not to mention the compensation it provides to those harmed. The contradictions have been made even more clear with the retraction of a seminal academic paper on November 26, 2025, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cited in 2017 when reviewing the human health assessment and carcinogenicity classification for the herbicide active ingredient, which is slated for a final review in 2026.
Failure-to-warn claims serve as the basis for the overwhelming majority of pesticide injury litigation of the past decade, according to legal professionals, including Brigit Rollins, JD, staff attorney at National Agriculture Law Center. Failure-to-warn is a legal argument grounded in the common law of state court systems across the nation. "Bates was a golden opportunity to return the civil litigation system to its traditional role of responding to societal needs in a complex, rapacious, and competitive world,” says H. Bishop Dansby, attorney and advocate.
For more information, please see the following document. (https://bp-dc.org/failure-to-warn-myths-and-facts-sheet)
Petrochemical-based pesticide manufacturers, predominantly German-owned Bayer-Monsanto, are expanding their all-out push from last year. The focus of these bills is to protect chemical corporations, not Kentuckians.
Please oppose SB 199 and ensure that those who are harmed by toxic products are compensated.
Thank you!
Letter to Kentucky Senate Agriculture Committee: [Updated on February 19, 2026—Deactivated on March 3, 2026]
I am writing to ask you to oppose SB 199, a bill that will shield pesticide manufacturers from being held accountable by people who have been harmed by their products. Moreover, the bill will allow companies to harm Kentuckians even if a pesticide label is registered knowingly, but with false, misleading, or fraudulent information. As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, you have the opportunity to take a stand to ensure that this bill is not passed with language that will shield pesticide manufacturers from being held accountable by people who have been harmed by their products.
The chemical companies have argued unsuccessfully all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court that they should not be required to warn consumers about the dangers of their products. So now they are asking the Kentucky legislature to do what they have not been able to do in the courts— undermine the main legal argument used to hold pesticide corporations accountable for the harm their products can cause, effects like cancer.
If this bill were to pass, it would strike a blow to consumer and farmer safety. In a climate with less regulation, the ability to be held accountable creates an incentive for manufacturers to develop products that better protect our health and the environment—not to mention the compensation it provides to those harmed. The contradictions have been made even more clear with the retraction of a seminal academic paper on November 26, 2025, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cited in 2017 when reviewing the human health assessment and carcinogenicity classification for the herbicide active ingredient, which is slated for a final review in 2026.
Failure-to-warn claims serve as the basis for the overwhelming majority of pesticide injury litigation of the past decade, according to legal professionals, including Brigit Rollins, JD, staff attorney at National Agriculture Law Center. Failure-to-warn is a legal argument grounded in the common law of state court systems across the nation. "Bates was a golden opportunity to return the civil litigation system to its traditional role of responding to societal needs in a complex, rapacious, and competitive world,” says H. Bishop Dansby, attorney and advocate.
For more information, please see the following document. (https://bp-dc.org/failure-to-warn-myths-and-facts-sheet)
Petrochemical-based pesticide manufacturers, predominantly German-owned Bayer-Monsanto, are expanding their all-out push from last year. The focus of these bills is to protect chemical corporations, not Kentuckians.
Please oppose SB 199 and ensure that those who are harmed by toxic products are compensated.
Thank you!
Letter to Kentucky Senate Committee on Committees: [Updated on February 13, 2026—Deactivated on February 19, 2026]
I am writing to ask you to oppose SB 199, a bill that will shield pesticide manufacturers from being held accountable by people who have been harmed by their products. Moreover, the bill will allow companies to harm Kentuckians even if a pesticide label is registered knowingly, but with false, misleading, or fraudulent information. As a member of the Committee on Committees, it is critical that you assign this bill to the appropriate committee to ensure it is adequately reviewed, with an emphasis on the Judiciary Committee.
The chemical companies have argued unsuccessfully all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court that they should not be required to warn consumers about the dangers of their products. So now they are asking the Kentucky legislature to do what they have not been able to do in the courts— undermine the main legal argument used to hold pesticide corporations accountable for the harm their products can cause, effects like cancer.
If this bill were to pass, it would strike a blow to consumer and farmer safety. In a climate with less regulation, the ability to be held accountable creates an incentive for manufacturers to develop products that better protect our health and the environment—not to mention the compensation it provides to those harmed. The contradictions have been made even more clear with the retraction of a seminal academic paper on November 26, 2025, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cited in 2017 when reviewing the human health assessment and carcinogenicity classification for the herbicide active ingredient, which is slated for a final review in 2026.
Failure-to-warn claims serve as the basis for the overwhelming majority of pesticide injury litigation of the past decade, according to legal professionals, including Brigit Rollins, JD, staff attorney at National Agriculture Law Center. Failure-to-warn is a legal argument grounded in the common law of state court systems across the nation. "Bates was a golden opportunity to return the civil litigation system to its traditional role of responding to societal needs in a complex, rapacious, and competitive world,” says H. Bishop Dansby, attorney and advocate.
For more information, please see the following document. (https://bp-dc.org/failure-to-warn-myths-and-facts-sheet)
Petrochemical-based pesticide manufacturers, predominantly German-owned Bayer-Monsanto, are expanding their all-out push from last year. The focus of these bills is to protect chemical corporations, not Kentuckians.
Please assign SB 199 to the Senate Judiciary Committee and ensure that those who are harmed by toxic products are compensated.
Thank you!