Legislature(2007 - 2008)BELTZ 211
03/25/2008 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing - Alcohol Beverage Control Board and Regulatory Commission of Alaska | |
| SB179 | |
| SB77 | |
| SB179 | |
| SJR18 | |
| SB179 | |
| HB289 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | SB 77 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 305 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SJR 18 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 289 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 179 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 320 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SJR 18-CHILD PRODUCT SAFETY
2:27:56 PM
CHAIR ELLIS announced SJR 18 to be up for its initial
consideration.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI, sponsor of SJR 18, said this measure calls
on the United States consumer product safety commission to test
the material used in toys and children's products for hazardous
products like lead. Over $15 billion worth of toys and
children's products were imported into the U.S. from China in
2006 and almost $10 billion in 2007. In 2007 over half the toy
and child product recalls by the Child Product Safety Commission
(CPSC) were due to chemical poisoning hazards.
He explained that the CPSC tests toys for choking, aspiration or
ingestion hazards, but relies on toy and child product
manufacturers to self-regulate the materials used in making
them. He noted that children's bodies and brains are developing
and are more susceptible to hazardous impacts to chemicals than
those of adults and that limiting their exposure is essential.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said the Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) had testified in support of this resolution
and a number of states have already passed legislation limiting
lead or cadmium levels. He is not going that route, because he
thought it was more appropriate, at this point, for the federal
government to do something like this. He related according to
lab tests sponsored last fall by more than two dozen consumer
groups, about 25 percent of 2,500 randomly selected toys sold in
the U.S. contained lead in quantities that would exceed the
limit in the Washington State bill that just passed.
SENATOR STEVENS remarked that this issue has been in the news a
lot lately and asked if the federal government hasn't already
been working on it.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI answered that SR 4040 [he thought] recently
passed the U.S. Senate 79-13, but it still needs to get through
the House and to be signed by the president.
CHAIR ELLIS mentioned that lobbyists have been hired by
manufacturers outside of the U.S. to lobby against it; so it's
not a done deal.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said all he is asking is that the toys get
tested. Parents have no idea what they're buying in a store for
their children and it is fair to ask the federal government to
come up with standards and tests for toys.
SENATOR BUNDE asked who initiated the recalls if it wasn't the
Consumer Protection Agency.
KATHERINE PUSTAY, staff to Senator Wielechowski, responded that
the recalls are predominantly done by the manufacturers
themselves. They include familiar names like Fischer-Price and
Mattel. The CPSC doesn't do them. The process has been that
watchdog groups test the toys.
SENATOR BUNDE asked if, in essence, this measure is asking for a
duplication of testing.
MS. PUSTAY replied that the American consumer is busy and
putting faith in someone that these toys have been tested. They
are tested by the Consumer Products Safety Commission for
choking and aspiration hazards, but they are not tested to see
if the plastic in the pacifier will have adverse affects on a
child's health. It's just not in their purview. The watch dog
groups are nonprofits and their testing is not comprehensive.
2:35:15 PM
SUZANNE ELY, Alaska Conservation Alliance, a consortium of 40
Alaska-based conservation groups, supported SJR 18. She
illustrated the need for this measure by noting that just this
weekend some Easter eggs were recalled because of high levels of
lead paint.
She said the federal agency testing these products is not funded
enough to include this activity. In fact, it has only one full-
time employee testing toys and only 15 inspectors policing all
consumer imports that are valued at about $614 billion. They
rely on self-reporting and have instances of poisoning before
recalling these toys.
MS. ELY said while the federal legislation has support, it is
not in the bag yet. SJR 18 would increase staffing budget; it
would create a public database for complaints about products; it
would give power to state prosecutors to act if they think the
federal government is not doing enough, which is incredibly
important for a state like Alaska, because it could empower
Alaskans to do what the federal government wasn't doing. It also
increases the possible maximum penalty for violations from $1.25
million to $20 million.
2:37:56 PM
COLLEEN KEANE, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, supported SJR
18. She said a lot of the recalls were due to lead and other
chemicals that have been found in children's toys and other
children's products. These toxins have been found to seriously
affect brain development, causing decreased I.Q. scores, shorter
attention spans, late learning in children and hypertension and
nerve problems in adults. Another group of chemicals commonly
found in children's toys is a plasticizer used to made plastics
flexible and resilient; they are found in a lot of babies' bibs,
teething rings and other soft plastic toys. This group of
chemicals has been linked to all sorts of male reproductive
development problems in humans. Children are among the most
susceptible groups in society for these poisons.
MS. KEANE said according to the Environmental Protection Agency,
environmental contaminants can affect children quite differently
than adults, both because children may be more highly exposed to
contaminants and because they may be more vulnerable to their
effects as they eat and drink more than adults in proportion to
their body weight.
2:41:36 PM
CHAIR ELLIS said SJR 18 would be held, but it would be back
before the committee in the very near future.
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