Kauai’s County Council took a step Wednesday toward appealing a federal judge’s decision that struck down a Kauai law regulating genetically modified organisms and pesticides.

In a 5-to-1 vote, the Council approved spending up to $12,750 for an appeal.

The county had set aside $210,000 to defend the law and has spent about $160,000, said County Councilman Gary Hooser.

He said the additional funds will cover legal costs separate from attorney fees, because the county’s attorney has offered to represent the county at no cost.

"You’ve got four of the largest chemical companies in the world suing Kauai County for the right to spray poisons next to schools and not tell us about it," Hooser said.

Last month, a federal judge struck down Kauai’s law, which required agribusinesses to provide information about pesticide use and GMO crops, and to establish buffer zones near schools, hospitals and streams.

Four seed and chemical companies filed the lawsuit in January: Syngenta, DuPont Pioneer, Agrigenetics, and BASF.

District Court Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren ruled against the law, saying state laws pre-empt it.

Company attorneys could not be reached for comment, but attorney Margery Bronster, who represented Agrigenetics and DuPont Pioneer, previously said there were existing state regulations that address pesticide use.

She said the judge "recognized that this is simply not the job of the county council."

Hooser, who co-introduced the now-defunct Ordinance 960, which was supposed to take effect in October, said the judge erred because he didn’t consider the state Constitution, which says political subdivisions of the state, including Kauai County, are responsible for environmental protections.

Council Chairman Jay Furfaro said he wants to appeal for the sake of more clarity on what political subdivisions can or cannot do regarding similar issues.

"Our county has certain responsibilities about the public’s health and wellness," he said, adding that the measure was about the people’s right to know.

Hooser said several incidents highlighted the concerns about the companies’ activities. For example, he said, on numerous occasions children at a Waimea school became mysteriously ill, vomiting, sneezing and experiencing watery eyes.

He said the cause was never determined and that eventually Syngenta, under community pressure, stopped spraying next to the school.

Hooser said the companies have a "Good Neighbor Program," in which they voluntarily disclose some, but not all of the chemicals used. (That is actually a state program.)

"At the end of the day, we want to study the impacts, but you can’t study the impacts if you don’t know what they’re spraying," Hooser said.

He added that doctors and pediatricians testified in support of the bill because they were having a hard time treating patients because they didn’t know what chemicals the companies were using.

Hooser contends that the mandates in Ordinance 960, such as a requirement for buffer zones of 100 to 500 feet from sensitive areas, were modest.

The county’s attorney, David Minkin, could not be reached for comment.