Legislature(2007 - 2008)BUTROVICH 205
03/19/2008 01:45 PM Senate HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES
Audio | Topic |
---|---|
Start | |
SJR18 | |
SB107 | |
SB206 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+= | SB 206 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+= | SB 210 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | TELECONFERENCED | ||
+= | SB 107 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+= | SJR 18 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SJR 18-CHILD PRODUCT SAFETY CHAIR DAVIS announced consideration of SJR 18. 2:09:10 PM KAT PUSTAY, staff to Senator Wielechowski, read the sponsor statement for SJR 18. SJR 18 calls on the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to test the materials used in toys and children's products for hazardous chemicals like lead. Over $15 billion worth of toys and children's products were brought into the United States in 2006. In 2007 almost $10 billion came in from China alone. In 2007 over half the toy and child product recalls were due to lead or chemical poisoning hazards. The CPSC is an independent federal regulatory agency that was created in 1972 by the Consumer Product Safety Act to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injury and death associated with consumer products. Currently the CPSC conducts tests only to determine if a toy presents a choking, aspiration or ingestion hazard, but relies on toy and child product manufacturers to self-regulate the materials used (and thus toxicity levels) in their products. In essence, the CPSC checks for choking hazards but not the effects of sucking on a pacifier for many hours a day. Children's bodies and brains are developing and are more susceptible to the hazardous impacts than adults' so we should do what we can to limit their exposure. As many busy parents know, Alaskan parents rely on regulatory agencies to help insure the safety of their children and rely on the information they give; so we ask that the Alaska State Legislature urge the CPSC to increase safety testing on toys and children's products. She added that, as Kristin Ryan from DEC [Director, Division of Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Conservation] said last week, the U.S. Senate passed the Consumer Product Modernization Act at the beginning of March, so this resolution would really support that legislation in Congress, saying that Alaskans want more protection for their kids. 2:12:09 PM SENATOR COWDERY moved to report SJR 18 from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). There being no objection, the motion carried.
Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
---|