Governor Signs Bills to Protect Children From Toxins

SACRAMENTO, CA — Despite intensive lobbying by the American Chemistry Council, a bill co-authored by Senator Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) that seeks to ban the toxic chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) from baby bottles and sippy cups has been signed by Governor Brown.  AB 1319, The Toxin-Free Infants and Toddlers Act, is authored this year by Assemblmember Betsy Butler (D-Marina Del Rey). 

“This is a significant victory,” said Senator Pavley. “I’m thrilled that Governor Brown has sided with infants instead of industry and has chosen to protect the health of California’s children.” 

For the past three years Senator Pavley has been working to ban BPA from children's feeding products. Senator Pavley's SB 797, which would have banned BPA in food and beverage containers designed for children 3 years and younger, was defeated on the final day of the 2010 legislative session amid fiercelobbying by the chemical and formula industries, which spent millions to defeat the legislation. AB 1319 was amended down this year to only apply to baby bottles and sippy cups – and not to formula and baby food as in Pavley’s SB 797.

“This has been a real David and Goliath fight,” said Pavley. “I wish the bill would have been stronger, but I am so pleased that we are taking this first step to protect our most vulnerable citizens – infants and toddlers - from the harmful effects of BPA.” 

BPA is a hormone-disrupting chemical that is used in some baby bottles, sippy cups, infant formula, and baby food containers. It has been linked to early puberty, childhood obesity, breast cancer, and neurological and behavioral changes including autism and hyperactivity.  While some manufacturers have already removed this substance from their products, it is still found in many others. AB 1319 will help protect children from this dangerous chemical by restricting the use of BPA in certain baby products.

AB 1319, will, except as specified, prohibit, on and after July 1, 2013, the manufacture, sale, or distribution in commerce of baby bottles and sippy cups that contain Bisphenol-A (BPA), at a level above 0.1 parts per billion (ppb). The measure also requires manufacturers to use the least toxic alternative when replacing BPA in containers in accordance with this bill.

California now joins Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, Wisconsin and Washington state and several other cities and counties in the United States that have enacted bans on BPA in baby bottles and other feeding products for children. BPA has been banned in Canada, China and the European Union.                 

Lead in Jewelry  

The governor also signed Pavley’s SB SB 646 to close an enforcement loophole in California’s landmark lead-in-jewelry law.  Senator Fran Pavley carried the original bill (AB 1681) in 2006 that established lead concentration limits in jewelry for children and adults.  Over three years of enforcement data show that multiple vendors/retailers have repeatedly violated the law – with some large companies racking up more than 100 violations - while incurring few, if any, penalties.  SB 646 closes that loophole and levels the playing field so all companies – small and large alike – are subject to the same enforcement.

“The children of California deserve to be protected from these repeat offenders,” said Senator Pavley. “It’s time to achieve the original intent of California’s ban on lead in jewelry and hold accountable those who continue to violate it.”

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