Rep. Michele Reneau
photo by Jim Robbins
State Rep. Michele Reneau said the Republican supermajority will likely pass a pesticide lawsuit immunity bill that's in fact unpopular, unless Tennesseans break from tradition and rewrite the rules of conversation with their legislators.
The bill has been punted to the January 2026 session after a rare hitch in the process that made law of almost every bill that reached the House floor this session.
"I think most of the general public would be opposed to it," Rep. Reneau said, speaking to the Civitan Club. "I don’t think we should give immunity to any company."
"Without the squeaky wheel, it's going to probably pass," Rep. Reneau said.
The bill protects pesticide companies from failure-to-warn liability claims if the product has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. The spotlight today is on Roundup manufacturer Bayer.
Rep. Reneau said the Roundup case illustrates the uninformed power of the supermajority, which grinds bills into law before Tennesseans can engage, she said.
"There's no stopping it," said Rep. Reneau, whose first General Assembly adjourned in April. She has learned that debate on the floor is ineffective, she told the Civitan Club. Problems must come to light in subcommittee or committee, long before a bill comes to the House floor.
That means voters must engage with representatives who are not their own, she said: the five to nine who sit on the subcommittee or, worse, afterward with the 20 to 25 on the committee. As they say, bills live and die in committee, she said.
But it's hard to get an appointment with a legislator who's not your own, she said.
"If you want to be effective, be a resource," she said.
Legislators are not experts. They need information and perspective, she said. Rep. Reneau encouraged voters to engage with the bill's sponsor and offer research and suggestions.
Use your own words to be specific about impact, and include your address and phone number so the representative can call with questions, she said.
"Find what that passion might be," she said.
Politics is not a science, she learned. "It's an art of relationships," she said.
"If you don't know your legislators you really do want to get to know them," she said. She thanked certified registered nurse anesthetists who taught her about protections they need as the state considers adding to the healthcare landscape lesser-trained anesthesia assistants, who have not practiced in Tennessee before.
The volume of unabridged legislation is almost insurmountable, she said, and important information is often left out of summaries. It can be hard to catch every loss of rights or expansion of government, she said. Unfortunately, what follows is that legislators spend a lot of time fixing poorly-written laws that were passed quickly.
"I don't think there's any bad people there," she said of her colleagues.
Cottage Food Industry
Rep. Reneau said that prepared food is one of the fastest-growing industries as some consumers begin to back off mass-produced and processed food. She sponsored an expansion of the Food Freedom Act, which passed in April, to keep pace with entrepreneurs selling food made with their own poultry and dairy. Rep. Reneau said she aims to add meat next.
"I think it's a great way to increase entrepreneurship," she said.
Deregulation opens up possibilities for people starting food businesses at home, many in rural areas without access to commercial kitchens, or people without startup funding to rent them.
Looking Ahead and Get To Know Michele:
Visit www.electmichele.com and click "News" for a weekly report on Michele Reneau's voting record.
Rep. Reneau said that when the General Assembly reconvenes in January, she will introduce upcoming legislation on Facebook so Tennesseans can meet bills in subcommittee.