State attorneys of nine U.S. states objected to the proposed bipartisan Chemical Safety Improvement Act in letters to the U.S. Senate, as reported on July 31, 2013 in the Los Angeles Times. In a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Michael Troncoso, senior counsel for the California attorney general’s office, stated that the proposed legislation would have crippling effects on California’s consumer protection land mark legislation Proposition 65. The legislation forces manufacturers to declare hazardous substances on their products. The hearing’s chair Senator Barbara Boxer (Democrats) stated that modifications to the Chemical Safety Improvement Act were needed if as many as nine states were objecting. The proposed rule, introduced by Senator David Vitter (Republicans) and late Senator Frank Lautenberg (Democrats), shall reform the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) (previously reported on by the FPF). It is intended to strengthen the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to remove dangerous chemicals from the market and was backed by industry. However, it would limit states’ ability to add legislation of their own.

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LA Times

FPF article “New US chemical regulation on the horizon

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