Washington, DC
February 13, 2007
A new fact sheet and web
database released today by
the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology reveals that
agricultural biotechnology continues to be of interest to state
legislatures, particularly with respect to concerns about
marketing, economics and liability – issues that historically
have not been the focus of federal regulatory efforts. During
the 2005-2006 legislative session, 134 pieces of legislation
related to agricultural biotechnology were introduced in 33
states and the District of Columbia.
The announcement of findings marks the fifth time that the Pew
Initiative has monitored state legislative efforts in the area
of agricultural biotechnology. As the PIFB project will be
ending in March 2007, this is the final state legislation
report.
This most recent analysis identified legislative engagement on
issues identified in prior fact sheets, such as liability and
contracts, but also highlighted some new areas of action, such
as coexistence between GE, conventional and organic farmers and
producers.
"In the 2005-2006 legislative session, states continued to
balance a diverse set of interests – from capturing the economic
value of agricultural biotechnology to weighing potential
conflicts with existing conventional and organic producers,"
said Michael Fernandez, executive director of the Pew Initiative
on Food and Biotechnology. "As states grapple with these issues,
some stakeholders may also consider the broader existing
regulatory framework and assess specific state responsibilities
as they encounter situations where regulatory gaps appear to
exist."
Twenty-nine percent of introduced legislation addressed the
regulation of seeds and crops; 22 percent of introduced bills
were in support of agricultural biotechnology; 16 percent of
introduced bills sought to impose moratoria on GM crops and
animals and 15 percent of legislation addressed rights and
responsibilities of farmers and biotech seed producers by
establishing liability for damages caused by genetically
modified crops.
The fact sheet, entitled "State Legislative Activity Related to
Agricultural Biotechnology in 2005-2006," chronicles and
catalogues state and federal legislative activity relating to
agricultural biotechnology in 2005 and 2006. It is accompanied
by Legislation Tracker, a database that archives legislation.
These items update a similar fact sheet and database prepared
last year on legislative activity in 2005.
Highlights of the research include:
- Of the 134 pieces of
legislation introduced in state legislatures, 27 were
adopted (20 percent of introduced bills), compared with 37
bills (22 percent of introduced bills) in 2003-2004 and 45
(28 percent of introduced bills) in 2001-2002.
- A new development
emerged in 2005-2006 that focused on local lawmaking with 16
bills introduced to preempt (disallow) local and county
regulations on GM seeds and crops.
- Hawaii and New York
introduced the most bills respectively generating 44 and 13
pieces, with Hawaii adopting the most bills (7 pieces).
Fact sheet:
http://pewagbiotech.org/resources/factsheets/legislation/factsheet.php
Database:
http://pewagbiotech.org/resources/factsheets/legislation/
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