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Child Safe Products Act Gets Bipartisan Support in Senate

Posted on May 19, 2010
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Baby-w-bottle_250 After a round of last minute debate, the NYS Child Safe Products Act (S. 7070/A. 10089) passed through the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee yesterday.The bill has nine co-sponsors in the Senate and 51 co-sponsors in the Assembly. It would reduce the use of toxic chemicals in children’s products where safer alternatives are available, and provides a comprehensive framework for addressing the issue of toxic chemicals in children's products. 27 environmental health and justice groups have submitted memos supporting the legislation.

Sarah Beatty, founder and President of NY City business Green Depot, gave compelling testimony before the committee.

Dr. David Carpenter, SUNY Albany, and Stephen Boese, Executive Director of the Learning Disabilities Association of NYS submitted testimony, read by Cecil Corbin-Mark, WE ACT, and Kathy Curtis, Clean New York. The Toy Industry Association, the American Chemistry Council and the Grocery Manufacturers Association also spoke in opposition, and there were a good number of opposition lobbyists in the room.

During the debate, bill sponsor Senator Perkins proved to be a committed champion for the issue. He held his position despite repeated requests from Senator Marcellino to hold the bill in committee to make corrections and strengthen the bill. Holding his ground, Senator Perkins thanked Senator Marcellino for his support of the bill's purpose and offer to help improve it, but stated he saw no reason to hold the bill. After a few tense moments, a vote was called and S7070 passed 11-3. Our substantial efforts to build bipartisan support for protecting children’s health paid off; three Republican Senators were among those in voting in support of the bill.

The bill was referred to the Codes Committee, where it is expected to be on the agenda for the June 1st meeting. Moving forward, Clean New York and our partners will continue to work to build and broaden support for protecting our families from toxic chemicals.