Pesticide bill dies for third year in a row

By Accountable Iowa

March 25, 2026

After sitting dormant for nearly a year, the pesticide immunity bill (SF 394) is officially dead after failing to clear a key legislative deadline at the Iowa Capitol.

Despite a flood of cash from Bayer’s front group, “Modern Ag Alliance,” lawmakers declined to revive a bill that would have handed sweeping legal immunity to pesticide manufacturers. Thousands, if not millions, spent in ads, social media campaigns, and targeted messaging couldn’t get it across the finish line. Why? Because majority of Iowans agree our constitutional rights aren’t for sale.

For months, this bill sat untouched in the House Judiciary Committee. And when the pressure campaign ramped up again this year, legislators didn’t bite. Which makes sense, because why would Iowa lawmakers rush to protect foreign chemical giants at the expense of Iowa farmers and families?

This fight has never been abstract. It’s about whether farmers and ag workers who develop cancer after exposure to pesticide products can have their day in court, or whether corporations get a free pass.

Just last month, the Trump Administration handed Bayer/Monsanto a sweeping liability win at the federal level, shifting the national conversation around pesticide lawsuits. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to weigh in on whether failure-to-warn claims against pesticide manufacturers can move forward at all.

The pressure isn’t going away. But here in Iowa, at least for now, lawmakers chose not to side with corporate lobbyists pushing for a one-size-fits-all legal shield. And they chose not to strip away your constitutional right to hold wrongdoers accountable in court.

Of course, nothing is final until the legislature adjourns for the year. Bills have a way of resurfacing when you least expect it. But the fact that SF 394 wasn’t revived, rerouted, or quietly advanced behind the scenes is a very good sign.

After three years of going up against the pesticide giants, we’ve continued to stop them in their tracks because thousands of Iowans are speaking: calling, emailing, and reminding their elected officials that corporate money doesn’t outweigh the rights of real people.

And if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that billion-dollar corporations don’t give up easily. But neither do we.