Legislature(2019 - 2020)BARNES 124
01/27/2020 01:00 PM House RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB27 | |
| Presentation(s): Petroleum Fiscal Policy | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 27 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 27-REGULATION OF FLAME RETARDANT CHEMICALS
1:04:16 PM
CO-CHAIR TARR announced that the first order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 27, "An Act relating to the manufacture, sale,
distribution, and labeling of child-related products containing
certain flame retardant chemicals; relating to an interstate
chemicals clearinghouse; adding unlawful acts to the Alaska
Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act; and
providing for an effective date."
1:04:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RASMUSSEN moved to adopt the committee substitute
(CS) for HB 27, labeled 31-LS0198\S, Bannister, 4/30/19,
[Version S] as the working document.
1:04:49 PM
CO-CHAIR LINCOLN objected for discussion purposes.
1:05:10 PM
KARLA HART, Staff, Representative Geran Tarr, Alaska State
Legislature, paraphrased from a prepared statement on proposed
HB 27, which read [original punctuation provided]:
Flame retardants are throughout our homes and offices.
In keyboards, furnishings, mattresses, electronics,
and toys. Loosely bound in plastics and foam, they are
spread as dust. The dust is inhaled and ingested.
Children playing on the floor ingest a
disproportionate amount as their little hands capture
dust that is transferred to their mouths. When you eat
finger food while at your keyboard or in your car, you
are almost certainly eating microscopic particles of
flame retardants with your chips or fruit. These
toxins go into your bloodstream.
Evidence suggests exposure to flame retardants and
PFAs before birth may impair children's cognitive and
behavioral development. I shared a Neuroscience News
article from January 14 with you on Tuesday. Their
summary: "Exposure to flame retardants and pesticides
resulted in more than a million cases of intellectual
disability in children between 2001 and 2016. However,
adverse outcomes from exposure to mercury and lead
fell significantly during the same period." Mercury
and lead harm decreased because of restriction placed
into law.
While we cannot (and should not) experiment on humans
to isolate risks and dangers in a rigorous scientific
manner, studies on animals have disturbing findings.
Perinatal exposure (for humans perinatal is the 20 to
th
28 weeks of gestation up to a month after birth) in
rats and mice permanently reprograms liver metabolism,
often leading later in life to insulin resistance and
non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. There are far more
studies than I have time to read or list. I'm happy to
get information to you in response to specific
questions.
Widespread use of smoke detectors, improved building
codes, fire safe cigarettes, and a reduction in indoor
smoking all happened in the same timeframe as the
introduction of flame retardants beginning in the late
1970s. While the chemical industry would like to take
credit for reductions in fire deaths, there is strong
evidence that is not where credit is due.
Why have are firefighters so keen to ban flame
retardants? Firefighters experience their colleagues
battling and succumbing to cancers that are directly
linked to breathing smoke from burning flame
retardants. Individual firefighters across the state
and the Alaska Fire Chief's Association have written
letters of support for HB 27. Retired Anchorage
firefighter Carol Bacon testified before you last
April. She has a rare blood cancer and is one of many
Anchorage firefighters who have been diagnosed with
cancer. Senator Lisa Murkowski sponsored the Cancer
Registry Act in response to the cancer death of
Anchorage firefighter Andy Mullen, whose death was
linked with exposure to toxins from burning electrical
wires. Right here at home our firsts responders are
getting sick.
Last spring you heard from Dr. Vytenis Babrauskas, a
leading global expert on fire protection engineering.
His 14-page resume of professional accomplishments and
scientific publications was shared and is on BASIS. He
summarized: "The plethora of harm and the lack of
benefits make conclusions quite obvious. We should
not be putting flame retardant chemicals into
consumer goods that end up in the household and are
likely to adversely affect your children.
Last spring the Anchorage Assembly unanimously adopted
a municipal ban on flame retardants, which went into
effect on January 1 of this year. HB 27 is the ninth
flame retardant bill before the Alaska legislature
since 2008. The chemical industry launched aggressive
and dishonest campaigns in state houses across the
country, including Alaska, to stop these bills until
being exposed by Chicago Tribune in 2012. A doctor who
had testified in Alaska and other states lost his
license for lying on the record. State legislatures
and local governments are taking action over the past
decade plus because the federal government is not.
Industry claims that federal rulemaking is in the
works and a better solution than a fragmented system
of laws. This is true; however, until there is federal
rulemaking, which may be never, you have the
opportunity to reduce the harm to Alaskans throughout
the state by adopting a law that is quite similar to
that of Anchorage's. In Alaska, we spend more time
indoors and are at higher risk for exposure, as our
our kids. We need to be leaders!
Alaskans' support for passing a flame-retardant bill
is wide and strong. You'll find letters from the
Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special
Education, the Cancer Action Network in Alaska, the
Alaska School Nurses Association, Scan Home, an
Anchorage furniture dealer, the Alaska Children's
Trust, the Learning Disabilities Association of
Alaska, the Alaska Public Interest Research Group. In
2011-12, the supporting letters have included a
resolution from the Alaska Federation of Natives, the
Alaska Nurses Association, the Alaska Mental Health
Trust, the Alaska Professional Firefighters
Association, the ARC of Anchorage, the Association of
Village Council Presidents, and the Alaska Inter-
Tribal council. Alaskans who are in the know, know
that exposure to flame retardants is harmful. A fall
off in letters of support is a sign of fatigue with
the failure of legislatures to adopt protections,
session after session.
We have the household equivalent of a canary in a coal
mine if only we had been paying attention. House cats.
In 1972 feline hyperthyroidism didn't exist. In 1979
the first five cases of feline hyperthyroidism were
presented at a veterinary conference in Seattle. By
1980 one in 200 cats were being diagnosed with feline
hyperthyroidism. Various studies of blood levels and
contact implicate flame retardants. I'll pause to let
you consider what you think the rate is today?. None,
1972. 1 in 200 1980. ??.. It is estimated that one in
10 house cats are now afflicted.
In the interest of respecting your time, and because a
more substantive version of this bill has been heard
twice before by this committee, we have not brought
expert testimony. Pam Miller with Alaska Community
Action on Toxics is online needed. The bill goes from
here to Labor and Commerce where three members of this
committee also serve and can continue the work.
There are safe, affordable alternatives that exist to
provide protections from fire while not inadvertently
causing a plethora of far reaching and permanent harms
to children, firefighters, and all other Alaskans.
You've received letters from industry representatives
with specific technical concerns. We have been
responsive to those concerns and drafted amendments. I
will share them with offices with the goal of
addressing concerns and moving the bill forward.
1:12:35 PM
MS. HART introduced the changes to the proposed committee
substitute, Version S, [Included in members' packets] which
read:
The CS makes changes to 1) clarify that the act
includes upholstered furniture used in all homes, not
just those with children, 2) removes any labeling
requirement, and 3) addresses reupholstered furniture
in a manner consistent with the recently passed
Anchorage law.
Page 2, line 17 The title is changed to clarify that
the Act includes upholstered furniture and child-
related products.
Line 20-21 changes "consumer product" to
"covered product."
Line 25-26 (b) of Ver A re resale is now
addressed in Sec. 18.31.620
Page 3, Sec. 18.31.620 is changed.
The labeling requirement in version U is removed
from the bill. The section now more clearly addresses
exemptions, including reupholstered furniture.
Page 3, Sec. 18.31.630 Removes the penalty for
violation of labeling.
Page 3-4, Definitions (2) "consumer product" is
changed to "child-related product," detachable car
seats are removed, the word upholstered is dropped
from furniture.
MS. HART added that a proposed amendment had been prepared to
address a concern by the industry for car seats. She continued
with the discussion for the changes in the proposed CS.
New (3) defines "covered product" to include all
upholstered furniture used in the home and child-
related products.
New (4) defines reupholstered furniture (in
alignment with Anchorage law).
New (5) defines upholstered furniture (in
alignment with Anchorage law)
1:14:07 PM
CO-CHAIR TARR added that the effective date for the proposed
bill would be amended to a later date to allow some lag time for
retailers to respond to the changes.
1:14:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RASMUSSEN acknowledged that, as she was not an
expert on flame retardants, she had forwarded a letter of
opposition from the American Chemistry Council, dated January
23, 2020, [Included in members' packets] to a family member who
was a firefighter, for their thoughts. He had replied that
fires now burn hotter than ever and with light weight
construction there was less time for response. She expressed
her concern for the protection of flame retardants versus the
potential for negative consequences. She asked for in put from
other committee members.
1:16:27 PM
CO-CHAIR TARR, in reference to the letter from the American
Chemistry Council, shared examples of some changes, which
included: these chemicals had been removed from children's
clothing; cigarettes were now self-extinguishing; and, there was
greater enforcement on the use of fire alarms. She shared that
a challenge for the use of the flame retardants was that
although they provided a little delay, this was not a
significant amount of time. She pointed out that there was
strong support from the Alaska firefighting community, and the
Alaska Fire Chief Association, to push for removal of these
chemicals with replacement by safer alternatives. She pointed
to the significant improvement to the number of available
products, adding that "almost half the country that have passed
some kind of legislation with these restrictions." She pointed
out that, in response, the retailers and the manufacturers were
making new products. She noted that once California consumers
lead the way, the rest of the West Coast would follow. She
expressed her hope to provide a transition time for retailers
and inspire new product development.
1:19:49 PM
MS. HART offered to provide information on the amount of time
[for combustion], adding that closed bedroom doors "can be life-
saving."
1:20:26 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RASMUSSEN expressed her concern at the number of
homes, especially rental homes, without smoke alarms, even as
there was a code for "one in every bedroom and then one in any
living space."
1:21:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN asked how the Anchorage ordinance was
aligned and differed with the proposed legislation. She asked
if there were any Alaska based manufacturers impacted by the
proposed legislation.
1:22:23 PM
MS. HART explained that snow machines would not be covered by
the proposed legislation unless used as household furnishings.
She stated that her office had not been contacted by anyone
involved with manufacturing. She said that the proposed bill
did not align perfectly with the Anchorage ordinance, noting
that neither ordinance had "teeth" as there was no money for
enforcement. She declared that it did "encourage and
incentivize the industry to work at a national level to get one
unified law that would cover all jurisdictions across the
country without having to deal with a lot of different laws."
She referenced proposals for national laws dating back to 2008
without any "near giving birth anywhere." She opined that "not
being perfectly aligned is actually part of what makes this help
to provide better protections in the future." She listed the
most critical points of differentiation between the proposed
legislation and the Anchorage ordinance, which included: the
proposed legislation prohibits toys with flame retardants; the
proposed legislation prohibits electronics, which included the
casings on cell phones and computers; and an amendment had been
drafted to align with the Anchorage ordinance to exempt the
child restraint systems.
1:25:19 PM
CO-CHAIR TARR directed attention to the proposed HB 27, page 3,
line 22, "participation in the interstate chemical
clearinghouse," which referenced work with other states to
develop national policy. She declared that it would be better
to have a consistent national policy. She shared that proposed
amendments had been drafted to address the four specific
concerns, including the electronics and toys, and that the House
Resources Standing Committee could decide whether to adopt these
for more comprehensive legislation.
1:26:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN pointed out that should the proposed
legislation pass, the Anchorage ordinance which did not cover
toys and electronics would be moot for the distribution of any
manufactured goods that contained fire retardants. She noted
that there was a local Juneau manufacturer of all wood toys.
She asked if there were concerns for the interstate economics of
technology, musing that, as there was no money for enforcement,
it would be a moot point.
1:28:16 PM
MS. HART pointed out that San Francisco, California, had enacted
"quite a rigorous ban" which included electronics [containing
fire retardants], although the State of California had not. She
acknowledged that, as the boundaries of the city were "very
porous" it was not a long journey to buy something.
1:28:47 PM
CO-CHAIR TARR shared that she generally watched California, as
that population demanded sufficient availability of a new
product at an affordable price.
1:29:42 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ noted that states could impact policy
at higher levels as states were often incubators for policies
"that could then move up to the federal level," even though
Alaska was a small market in terms of buying power. She asked
about the length of time that flame retardants would delay
incineration.
1:30:39 PM
MS. HART replied that the delay was about 30 seconds, and she
directed attention to a video igniting furniture with and
without flame retardants in a laboratory setting. She
questioned whether this would allow enough time to escape a
burning building. She pointed out that, as the foam in
furniture was made from petroleum products, "so they'd burn
pretty well," flame retardant was included on the barrier to
slow the burn.
1:31:45 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RASMUSSEN asked whether the time would be any
different in a room with most of the furniture treated with a
fire retardant.
MS. HART replied that she would get back to her with an answer.
1:32:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked if there was a direct link between
household pets and thyroid problems.
1:32:57 PM
MS. HART replied that it was not ethical or legal to do studies
on humans. She explained that house cats spent considerable
time on the floor and grooming, so dust would collect on the fur
and then be groomed into their system. She reported that
initially there was not a link between flame retardants and
hyperthyroidism. As studies were being done, it was realized
that there was a disproportionate amount of flame retardants in
cats with hyperthyroidism. Further tracking offered a link
between these, as serious health effects were showing up more
often and a strong correlation was suggested.
1:35:05 PM
CO-CHAIR TARR asked that any proposed amendments be submitted by
January 28.
1:36:28 PM
CO-CHAIR LINCOLN removed his objection. There being no further
objection, the proposed CS, Version S, was adopted as the
working draft.
[HB 27 was held over.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| IN3NERGY Presentation to HRES 01.27.20.pdf |
HRES 1/27/2020 1:00:00 PM |
Oil and Gas |
| HB 27 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HL&C 3/6/2020 3:15:00 PM HRES 4/3/2019 1:00:00 PM HRES 4/5/2019 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/24/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/27/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/29/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/31/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/3/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/5/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 27 |
| HB27 Bill Version U 1.11.19.PDF |
HL&C 3/6/2020 3:15:00 PM HRES 4/3/2019 1:00:00 PM HRES 4/5/2019 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/24/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/27/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/29/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/31/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/3/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/5/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 27 |
| HB27 Bill Version U 1.11.19Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HL&C 3/6/2020 3:15:00 PM HRES 4/3/2019 1:00:00 PM HRES 4/5/2019 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/24/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/27/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/29/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/31/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/3/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/5/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 27 |
| HB 27 CS Version S 1.21.20.pdf |
HRES 1/24/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/27/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/29/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/31/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/3/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/5/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 27 |
| HB27 Explanation of Changes Ver U to Ver S 01.21.20.pdf |
HL&C 3/6/2020 3:15:00 PM HRES 1/24/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/27/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/29/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/31/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/3/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/5/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 27 |
| HB27 DEC Fiscal Note 01.17.20.pdf |
HRES 1/24/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/27/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/29/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/31/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/3/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/5/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 27 |
| HB27 DOL Fiscal Note 01.17.20.pdf |
HRES 1/24/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/27/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/29/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/31/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/3/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/5/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 27 |
| HB27 Supporting Document - Combined Letters and Emails in Support 1.21.20.pdf |
HL&C 3/6/2020 3:15:00 PM HRES 1/24/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/27/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/29/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/31/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/3/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/5/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 27 |
| HB27 Supporting Document - Letters of Support from Firefighters 4.2.19.pdf |
HRES 4/3/2019 1:00:00 PM HRES 4/5/2019 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/24/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/27/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/29/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/3/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/5/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 27 |
| HB27 Opposing Document - Letters of Opposition Combined 01.23.20.pdf |
HRES 1/24/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/27/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/29/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/31/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/3/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/5/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 27 |
| HB27 Supporting Document - Flame Retardants - NIH Fact Sheet July 2016.pdf |
HL&C 3/6/2020 3:15:00 PM HRES 4/3/2019 1:00:00 PM HRES 4/5/2019 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/24/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/27/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/3/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/5/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 27 |
| HB 27 Staff Response to Member Questions 1.29.20.pdf |
HRES 1/27/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/29/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 1/31/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/3/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 2/5/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 27 |