(Radio Iowa) – A bill to give the company that makes Roundup some liability protection from lawsuits that allege the weed killer causes cancer failed to pass the Iowa House again this year. Governor Kim Reynolds says it’s a common sense bill and she wishes she could sign it into law. A plant in Muscatine makes most of the Roundup used in North America.

“We make 70% of that in the state of Iowa,” Reynolds said. “We have about 500 employees at that plant making it and (glyphosate) has a significant impact on what we can grow.” Reynolds says federal officials have determined the weed killer is not a carcinogen.

“If they change the parameters on the labeling then that’s a different story,” Reynolds says. Monsanto developed Roundup and Bayer bought Monsanto in 2018. As of this month, Bayer has paid about 11 BILLION dollars to settle 100-thousand Roundup lawsuits. Roundup has been a federally registered pesticide since 1974 and it’s used today on 70 percent of Iowa soybean fields and 63 percent of corn fields in the state.

In 2020 the E-P-A reviewed the product and said there are no risks to human health if customers use Roundup according to the instructions on its label. Reynolds says the company shouldn’t be sued, then, for failing to warn customers there are health risks.

“My reasoning for supporting that bill is (EPA) has already signed off on it and therefore it shouldn’t be subject to the lawsuits that we’re seeing,” Reynold says. Reynolds made her comments during an appearance this past weekend on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S. The bill passed the Senate this year — as it did in 2023. Opponents of the bill say Iowans who believe they’ve been harmed from the use of Roundup should be able to court and make their case for damages.