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RELEASE DATE: June 7, 2011

Bill to Strengthen Kid Safe Products Act Passes Legislature

LD 1129 Receives Strong Bipartisan Support, Heads to Governor’s Desk

(Augusta, ME) Today the Senate unanimously approved LD 1129, a bill to strengthen Maine’s Kid Safe Products Act. This follows unanimous approval of the bill last week in the House of Representatives. The Kid Safe Products Act is Maine’s law that allows the state to identify, research, and phase out dangerous chemicals in consumer products that threaten children’s health.

 LD 1129, sponsored by Rep. Jim Hamper (R-Oxford), will strengthen the Kid Safe Products Act while giving businesses clarity and predictability regarding the law. It is the result of a carefully crafted agreement between stakeholders including the Environmental Health Strategy Center, the Maine Chamber of Commerce, and legislators from both parties. It also incorporates most of LD 1185, sponsored by Sen. Seth Goodall (D-Sagadahoc).

 “This bipartisan agreement is a victory for Maine people and our children,” said Mike Belliveau, Executive Director of the Environmental Health Strategy Center, a Maine based public health organization that participated in stakeholder negotiations about LD 1129. “We applaud the leadership of Senator Saviello and members of the committee for their work to address concerns and improve the Kid Safe Products Act in ways that protect our children’s health and earned such widespread support for this bill.”

 The final version of LD 1129 requires that:

• • by January 1, 2012, Maine’s Chemicals of Concern List will be updated to remove all chemicals that are exempt from the Kid Safe Products Law, like pharmaceuticals and pesticides;

• • by July 1, 2012, a list of up to seventy chemicals will be selected as Chemicals of High Concern based upon likely exposure to children or fetuses;

• • future Priority Chemicals, which the State may take action to research or phase out, will be drawn from the Chemicals of High Concern list;

• • the State establish threshold reporting levels to indicate when manufacturers must disclose their use of Priority Chemicals in children’s products.

Earlier versions of the bill included several proposals from the chemical, cosmetics and toy industries that would have removed protection for pregnant women and babies in the womb, and exempted all cosmetics and personal care products such as sunscreen, lotion, shampoo and hand soap. It also would have forced the state to rely on industry-funded studies instead of peer-reviewed science, as well as slashing the list of “chemicals of concern” which are already proven harmful to children.

“This is an important next step to protect children from the harmful effects of exposure to chemicals in everyday products,” said Dr. Syd Sewall, a pediatrician and representative of the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “The Kid Safe Products Act is a balanced, science based approach to policy. It’s aimed at addressing the worst of the worst chemicals in household products.” Recently the American Academy of Pediatrics released a Policy Statement supporting reform of chemical safety laws, citing insufficient federal laws to protect children, pregnant women and the general populace from hazardous chemicals in the marketplace.

LD 1129 will now be sent to Governor Paul LePage for his signature. In January, Governor LePage highlighted the Kid Safe Products Act among his environmental rollback proposals. Today’s votes in the Legislature indicate continued broad support for the law. The Kid Safe Products Act has been extremely popular among lawmakers and the public since it passed in 2008 by a margin of 129-9 in the House and 35-0 in the Senate.

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