Catch Title: SF0074  Pesticide warning labels

Category: Agriculture

Sponsor: Senator(s) Love, Barlow, Boner, Crago, and Nethercott; Representative(s) Davis, Filer, Fornstrom, Geringer, Williams, and Winter

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

Bill URL: https://wyoleg.gov/2026/Introduced/SF0074.pdf

Overview

SF0074 establishes a state policy requiring Wyoming to comply exclusively with federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decisions regarding pesticide health and safety warning labels. The bill mandates that health and safety labels on any pesticide sold in the state must not vary in material respects from the label registered with the EPA. This measure is specifically designed to provide statutory support for federal guidelines and close state-level “loopholes” that have allowed for “failure-to-warn” lawsuits. By ensuring labeling uniformity, the bill aims to protect the agricultural supply chain and prevent the withdrawal of highly effective, long-term pesticides from the market due to litigation uncertainty.

Key Provisions

• Federal Alignment: Mandates that the state comply with EPA decisions on registrations and renewals for pesticide health and safety warning labels, notwithstanding any state law to the contrary.
• Label Uniformity: Prohibits health and safety labels on pesticides sold in Wyoming from materially differing from the EPA-registered version at the time of sale.
• Common Law Preemption: Explicitly supersedes any state common law requirements relating to pesticide labels or warnings.
• Preserved State Authority: Clarifies that the act does not limit the state’s authority to regulate the use, distribution, or sale of pesticides as established in existing Wyoming statutes (Title 11, Chapter 5).
• Statutory Support for SDS: Clarifies that mandated federal labels, alongside Safety Data Sheets (SDS), provide sufficient warnings for hazardous contents and proper use under Wyoming law.

Implications

• Mitigation of Litigation Risk: Directly addresses the “patchwork” of state labeling requirements that has led to conflicting judicial results in other states. It aims to stop lawsuits—often initiated by residential homeowners—that claim federal labels and SDS are insufficient to prevent misuse.
• Protection of Agricultural Tools: By providing “pesticide immunity” against certain failure-to-warn claims, the bill helps ensure that critical agricultural products remain available to Wyoming producers.
• Elimination of State-Level Uncertainty: Provides a clear legal standard that federal EPA-approved labels satisfy the duty to warn, removing the threat of catastrophic damage awards based on allegedly “misleading” labels.
• Continuity of State Regulation: While the bill cedes labeling authority to the EPA, it preserves Wyoming’s “robust processes” for administering how pesticides are actually applied and distributed within the state.
• Direct Conflict with State Tort Law: Critics argue the bill represents a significant departure from current law by stripping Wyoming citizens of their right to hold companies accountable if a registered label is later found to be false or misleading.