This in from local on-line news source, the Vermont Digger: “In one of the most decisive votes of the session the Vermont House supported the regulation of toxic chemicals found in children’s products. The vote was 114-27.”
As blogged a few weeks ago, a bill that would require manufacturers to label or remove toxic chemicals from children’s products sold in the Green Mountain State was making its way through the Senate and now, the House.
While Vermont has chosen to regulate individual chemicals like BPA and flame retardants during the last decade, this bill marks a transition from a series of one-offs controlled by the legislature to a systemmatic and comprehensive appproach driven by the state Health Department. As Rep. David Deen, chair of the Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources Committee and a drafter of the House bill, said, “One of the problems that we face with this whole situation is the immense growth of new chemicals coming into the marketplace without testing. We can no longer face this onslaught, chemical by chemical.”
This Vermont House version is modeled on similar state laws in California, Washington, and Maine. The bill allows the Health Department to establish a list of chemicals that fall under its jurisdiction, then report back to lawmakers in a year with recommendations for additional products to include.
Under the bill, manufacturers must report toxic chemicals found in their products sold in Vermont and pay a $200 fee every two years for each of the chemicals they report. These fees would support the program.