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HB0809 • 2026

Pest Control

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 43, Chapter 8, relative to pesticides.

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Grills, Stevens
Last action
2026-01-22
Official status
Sponsor(s) withdrawn.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included a broader protection against civil lawsuits which is not fully supported by the official summary and text.

Pesticide Labeling Protection Act

This bill provides civil liability protection for pesticide manufacturers and sellers if their products have labels approved by the EPA under FIFRA.

What This Bill Does

  • Provides civil liability protection to pesticide makers and sellers if their product's label was approved by the EPA under FIFRA at the time of sale.
  • Does not provide protection if a manufacturer knowingly withheld, concealed, misrepresented, or destroyed material information regarding human health risks to obtain or maintain approval of its label by the EPA.
  • Adds a new section to Tennessee’s law about pesticides.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Pesticide manufacturers
  • Pesticide sellers

Terms To Know

EPA
Environmental Protection Agency, the federal agency that regulates environmental issues including pesticide safety.
FIFRA
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, a law that sets rules for pesticides in the United States.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not provide protection if a manufacturer knowingly withheld, concealed, misrepresented, or destroyed material information regarding human health risks to obtain or maintain approval of its label by the EPA.
  • It only applies to pesticides with labels approved by the EPA under FIFRA.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to SB0527

Plain English: This amendment adds a new section to Tennessee's pesticide laws that protects manufacturers and sellers from certain civil lawsuits if their pesticide labels were approved by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

  • Adds protection for pesticide manufacturers and sellers against civil actions related to labeling, including product liability claims alleging failure to warn, as long as the label was EPA-approved.
  • Specifies that this protection does not apply if the manufacturer knowingly hid or misrepresented important health risk information from the EPA.
  • The amendment text does not specify how it will be enforced or what happens in cases where the EPA's approval is unclear.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) withdrawn.

  2. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  3. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Taken off notice for cal. in Judiciary Committee

  4. 2026-01-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  5. 2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  6. 2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 1/21/2026

  7. 2026-01-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  8. 2025-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to Second Calendar of 2026

  9. 2025-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  10. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  11. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  12. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 21, Nays 7, PNV 2

  13. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0204)

  14. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/9/2025

  15. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 4/9/2025

  16. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/3/2025

  17. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/2/2025

  18. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 4/02/2025

  19. 2025-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  20. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 6, Nays 2 PNV 1

  21. 2025-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/26/2025

  22. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/24/2025

  23. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Judiciary Committee

  24. 2025-03-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  25. 2025-03-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recalled from Senate Calendar Committee

  26. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee for 3/18/2025

  27. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee

  28. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  29. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Energy, Ag., and Nat. Resources Committee calendar for 3/12/2025

  30. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee for 3/12/2025

  31. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Energy, Ag., and Nat. Resources Committee

  32. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee

  33. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  34. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee - Judiciary Committee

  35. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  36. 2025-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  37. 2025-01-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON APRIL 3, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED
AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 527, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 revises the exemption provision in the bill to, instead, provide that the bill
does not apply if a determination has been made by the EPA that a manufacturer knowingly withheld, concealed, misrepresented, or destroyed material information regarding the human health risks of such pesticide in order to obtain or maintain approval of its label by the EPA.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 527
By Stevens

HOUSE BILL 809
By Grills

HB0809
001914
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 43,
Chapter 8, relative to pesticides.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 43, Chapter 8, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) The manufacturer or seller of a pesticide registered with the commissioner in
accordance with § 43-8-104 and with the federal environmental protection agency (EPA)
under the federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. §136 et
seq.), is not liable in a civil action related to the labeling of the pesticide, including a
products liability action alleging a failure to warn under title 29, chapter 28, if the
pesticide bore a label approved by the EPA under FIFRA at the time of sale.
(b) This section does not apply if a pesticide is manufactured or sold in violation
of this chapter or FIFRA.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.