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Help Stop Missouri Bill To Protect Chemical Companies from Lawsuits
Help stop legislation in Missouri (HB 544/SB 14) that will shield pesticide manufacturers from being sued by people who have been harmed by their products. Beyond Pesticides is a national, grassroots organization that represents community-based organizations and a range of people seeking to improve protections from pesticides and promote alternative pest management strategies that reduce or eliminate reliance on toxic pesticides.
This legislation is moving fast! Unfortunately, HB 544 passed in the House on March 27, 85 to 72! However, there is still time to inform the state Senate that it is unacceptable to deny people who have not been fully warned of the hazards of pesticides the right to sue the manufacturers that have harmed them. This is a basic right that must not be taken away by state law. The Senate counterpart, SB 14 passed the Senate Agriculture, Food Production, and Outdoor Recreation Committee on January 30th and is up for informal consideration on the Senate floor at a moment's notice. Update—The pesticide immunity language was snuck into HB 1116 in recent weeks and passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 30, with no opportunity for public comments given the unpopular nature of this legislation. Update—The Missouri Senate adjourned for the year, marking the defeat of the pesticide immunity language once again!
If this bill were to pass, it will strike a blow for consumer safety for all toxic products. In a climate where there is less regulation, the ability to sue creates an incentive for manufacturers to develop safer products that protect our health and the environment—not to mention the compensation it provides to those harmed.
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. “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.
Petrochemical-based pesticide manufacturers, predominately German-owned Bayer-Monsanto, are expanding their all-out push from last year where bills were introduced in Missouri, Iowa, and Idaho. We mobilized last year with little warning, and we were able to defeat these bills. Currently, bills have been introduced in seven states. The focus of these bills is to protect chemical corporations, not people.
>> Please ask your state Senator to OPPOSE HB 544/SB14 by clicking here.
Thank you!
The Targets for this Action are Senators in the state legislature of Missouri.
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 our Myths & Facts and Missouri resource page, as well as the Failure-to-Warn and Pesticide Immunity Bills resource hub.
Letter to Missouri Senate: [Updated on May 8, 2025 to reflect new developments]
I am writing to ask you to oppose both HB 544/SB14 and HB 1116, bills that will shield pesticide manufacturers from being sued 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 Missouri legislature to do what they have not been able to do in the courts—strip residents of their right to sue these companies for their failure to warn people about the harm their products can cause, effects like cancer.
HB 544 passed out of the Senate Agriculture, Food Production, and Outdoor Resources Committee on Thursday, March 27. The bill can be raised at any time for a final vote, including its Senate counterpart, SB 14, which has been on the informal calendar for Senate floor vote for months.
The pesticide immunity language was snuck into HB 1116 in recent weeks and passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 30, with no opportunity for public comments given the unpopular nature of this legislation.
If one of these bills were to pass, it would strike a blow to consumer and farmer safety for all toxic products. In a climate with less regulation, the ability to sue creates an incentive for manufacturers to develop safer products that protect those who use potentially hazardous materials, public safety, and the health of the environment—not to mention the compensation it provides to those harmed.
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. “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.
For more information, see the Myths & Facts sheet (bp-dc.org/failure-to-warn-myths-and-facts-sheet) and Missouri state resource page. (https://www.beyondpesticides.org/resources/failure-to-warn/bills-to-track/midwest-target-states)
Petrochemical-based pesticide manufacturers, predominantly German-owned Bayer-Monsanto, are expanding their all-out push from last year to at least eleven states. The focus of these bills is to protect chemical corporations, not people.
Please oppose HB 544/SB14 and HB 1116 pesticide and ensure that those who are harmed by toxic products are compensated.
Thank you!
Letter to the Missouri House: [Deactivated from the Action page on February 20, 2025]
I am writing to ask you to oppose HB 544, a bill aimed to modify "labeling for certain pesticides," that will shield pesticide manufacturers from being sued 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 Missouri legislature to do what they have not been able to do in the courts—prevent people harmed by toxic products from suing them.
As you may know, HB 544 just passed the House Agriculture Committee on February 4th.
If this bill were to pass, it will strike a blow for consumer and farmer safety for all toxic products. In a climate where there is less regulation, the ability to sue creates an incentive for manufacturers to develop safer products that protect those who use potentially hazardous materials, public safety, and the health of the environment—not to mention the compensation it provides to those harmed.
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. “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. For more information, see Myths & Facts sheet (bp-dc.org/failure-to-warn-myths-and-facts-sheet) and Missouri state resource page. (https://www.beyondpesticides.org/resources/failure-to-warn/bills-to-track/midwest-target-states)
Petrochemical-based pesticide manufacturers, predominately German-owned Bayer-Monsanto, are expanding their all-out push from last year to at least seven states. The focus of these bills is to protect chemical corporations, not people.
Please oppose HB 544 and ensure that those who are harmed by toxic products are compensated.
Thank you!
Letter to Missouri Senate: [Updated on February 20, 2025 to reflect passage in the House]
I am writing to ask you to oppose SB 14, a bill aimed to create "a provision relating to pesticide labeling requirements," that will shield pesticide manufacturers from being sued 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 Missouri legislature to do what they have not been able to do in the courts—prevent people harmed by toxic products from suing them.
As you may know, SB 14 passed the Senate Agriculture, Food Production, and Outdoor Recreation on January 30th. Unfortunately, the partner bill HB 544 passed in the House this morning, 85 to 72, adding urgency to this issue!
If this bill were to pass, it will strike a blow for consumer and farmer safety for all toxic products. In a climate where there is less regulation, the ability to sue creates an incentive for manufacturers to develop safer products that protect those who use potentially hazardous materials, public safety, and the health of the environment—not to mention the compensation it provides to those harmed.
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. “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.
For more information, see Myths & Facts sheet (bp-dc.org/failure-to-warn-myths-and-facts-sheet) and Missouri state resource page. (https://www.beyondpesticides.org/resources/failure-to-warn/bills-to-track/midwest-target-states)
Petrochemical-based pesticide manufacturers, predominately German-owned Bayer-Monsanto, are expanding their all-out push from last year to at least seven states. The focus of these bills is to protect chemical corporations, not people.
Please oppose SB 14 and ensure that those who are harmed by toxic products are compensated.
Thank you!