By Susan Ferriss
sferriss@sacbee.com
A major environmental proposal that chemical companies opposed -- Senate Bill 797 by Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills -- has failed to muster enough votes for passage today.
The proposal would have banned in California, starting in 2012, baby bottles, sippy cups and plastic bottles made with bisphenol A, or BPA, and cans that contain baby formula and are lined with BPA.
New York enacted a similar ban this year on BPA, which is suspected of disrupting hormones. A ban in another populous state such as California would have forced companies to reconsider using BPA in baby products generally.
Amendments by the Assembly would have required that the bill's provisions be subject to decisions by the state's Green Chemistry Council, a new regulatory body that legislators voted to create in 2008. The council's formation is past due, said Pavley, which has forced the state into a "moratorium" on taking action against toxic substances that could harm children.
The vote was 17 against and 16 for the bill. One Democratic senator didn't cast a vote, Lou Correa of Santa Ana. Four other Democrats joined Republicans voting against it. Two liberal Democrats who supported the bill were absent.
Sen. Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, said he thought legislators didn't have the training to make conclusions about toxic substances and should defer to the Green Chemistry Council once it has formed.
PHOTO CREDIT: Some makers of plastic water bottles, including Nalgene and Camelback, have begun producing Bisphenol A-free containers. (Photo by David McNew/ Getty Images)
Latest posts:
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.