The Senate Judiciary Committee is taking more time to seek advice about a pending GMO labeling law because of concerns about legal challenges.
H.112 would exempt some dairy products from the requirement that manufacturers label food containing genetically modified organisms. Senate Judiciary Chair Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, has said he worries that the dairy exemption weakens the proposed law.
The state will likely need to prove in court that any exemptions align with the state’s interest in requiring the labeling of other food products. The committee is trying to identify ways to strengthen the bill, members say.
“Can you walk me through the pitfalls and potential for success in such a way that I can say, ‘I now have enough information to make an intelligent decision?'” Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia, asked assistant attorney general Bridget Asay.
“The bill is defensible but it carries significant risk. We can’t quantify it for you,” Asay said.
She assured lawmakers that the Attorney General’s Office supported the bill in its current form. “We will of course defend the bill if it’s passed,” Asay said.
Diane Bothfeld, deputy secretary of the Agency of Agriculture, was more lukewarm in her assessment of the bill.
“History shows market demand will effect changes faster than any law could,” Bothfeld said.
Bothfeld said the agency is concerned about the broader business impacts of a labeling law. A “trigger” provision that would only allow state statute to take effect if other states adopted a similar law would help to mitigate those impacts.
Sears is still gathering information to inform two potential amendments, one of which might remove the dairy exemption. Sears also wants to address the cost of potential litigation, which is estimated to run from $1 million to $5 million or higher, depending on whether the state wins or loses.
Sears and Benning asked Asay asked to seek a formal advisory opinion on the case from Attorney General Bill Sorrell.
A vote from the committee is not likely before the end of the month.
