BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SJR 3
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SJR 3 (Pavley)
As Amended June 3, 2011
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :22-15
ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 6-3
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|Ayes:|Wieckowski, Campos, | | |
| |Chesbro, Davis, Feuer, | | |
| |Bonnie Lowenthal | | |
| | | | |
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|Nays:|Miller, Morrell, Valadao |
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SUMMARY : Urges the President and the 112th Congress of the
United States to enact legislation to modernize the federal
Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) by strengthening
chemical management through specified policy reforms.
Specifically, this resolution :
1)Makes findings about chemicals in commerce in the United
States and about the inadequacy of current federal chemicals
law.
2)Urges the President and the 112th Congress of the United
States to enact federal legislation to modernize TSCA by
strengthening chemical management through policy reforms that
would do all of the following:
a) Require producers and importers to perform comprehensive
toxicity testing on their products and to fully disclose
the results of their testing;
b) Require producers and importers to disclose the
identities of chemicals in their products;
c) Require immediate action to reduce or eliminate the
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worst chemicals;
d) Preserve the authority of state and tribal governments
to operate chemical management programs that are more
protective than the programs established by the federal
government;
e) Establish health safety standards for chemicals that
rely on the best available science to protect the most
vulnerable;
f) Support those chemical manufacturers that are striving
to establish that all existing and new chemicals are not
harmful to human health, and to provide essential health
and safety information on chemicals to inform the market,
consumers, and the public;
g) Reward innovation by fast-tracking the approval of new,
demonstrably safer chemicals, and invest in green chemistry
research and workforce development; and,
h) Promote environmental justice by developing action plans
to reduce disproportionate exposure to toxic chemicals in
"hot spot" communities.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Under TSCA, authorizes the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (US EPA) to secure information on new and
existing chemical substances, as well as to control any of the
substances that are determined to cause unreasonable risk to
public health or the environment. Exempts certain substances
from TSCA, including, among others, food, drugs, cosmetics and
pesticides.
2)Under California Green Chemistry statutes (Health and Safety
Code (HSC) 25251 et. seq.), requires the Department of Toxic
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Substances Control (DTSC) to identify and prioritize chemicals
of concern. Requires DTSC to adopt regulations to evaluate
chemicals of concern in consumer products, and their potential
alternatives, to determine how best to limit exposure or to
reduce the level of hazard posed by a chemical of concern.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Need for the resolution : According to the author, "The Toxic
Substance Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 has not been updated for
the past 35 years. Today there are more than 80,000 chemicals
on the market, which have never been fully assessed for toxic
impacts on human health and environment. This resolution urges
strong reform of TSCA and demands that states not be preempted
from going further than Federal law if a state chooses to do so.
By updating TSCA, Congress will have the capacity to create the
foundation for a sound and comprehensive chemicals policy that
protects public health and the environment, while restoring the
luster and safety to U.S. goods in the world market."
Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) : TSCA was enacted
in 1976 to provide US EPA with the authority, upon making
certain determinations, to collect information about the hazards
posed by chemical substances and to take action to control
unreasonable risks by either preventing dangerous chemicals from
being introduced into the marketplace or by placing restrictions
on those already in commerce. US EPA lists chemicals in
commerce in the TSCA inventory. Of the over 83,000 chemicals
currently in the TSCA inventory, about 62,000 were already in
commerce when US EPA began reviewing chemicals in 1979,
essentially "grandfathering" these chemicals in. Since then,
more than 21,000 new chemicals have been added to the inventory
and are currently in use. To assess a chemical's risks, EPA
examines its toxicity or potential adverse effects and the
amount of human and environmental exposures.
TSCA inadequacies : The United States Government Accountability
Office (GAO) has performed several reviews of the efficacy of
TSCA over the past two decades and has repeatedly found that
TSCA, as it is applied, does not adequately protect public
health and the environment from toxic chemicals. In January of
2009, the GAO placed TSCA on its list of "high risk" areas of
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the law. The deficiencies of TSCA identified by the GAO
include:
1)TSCA generally places the burden of obtaining data about
existing chemicals on US EPA rather than on chemical
companies. Consequently, US EPA has required testing of fewer
than 200 of the 62,000 chemicals in commerce when US EPA began
reviewing chemicals under TSCA in 1979. US EPA does not
routinely assess the risks of the over 83,000 chemicals
already in use.
2)TSCA does not require chemical companies to test new chemicals
introduced into commerce each year for toxicity, and companies
generally do not voluntarily perform such testing. The
procedures US EPA must follow to obtain test data from
companies can take years.
3)While TSCA authorizes US EPA to ban, limit, or otherwise
regulate existing toxic chemicals, the statutory requirements
US EPA must meet present a legal threshold that has proven
difficult for US EPA and discourages the agency from using
these authorities. For example, US EPA must demonstrate
"unreasonable risk" to ban or limit chemical production, which
US EPA believes requires it to conduct extensive, expensive
cost-benefit analyses that can take many years to complete.
Since 1976, US EPA has issued regulations to control only five
existing chemicals.
4)Because of TSCA's prohibitions on the disclosure of
confidential business information, US EPA has limited ability
to share information on chemical production and risk. About
95% of the notices companies have provided to US EPA on new
chemicals contain some information claimed as confidential.
US EPA does not challenge most claims.
Related federal legislative action : On April 14, 2011, U.S.
Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Barbara Boxer (D-CA),
Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Al Franken (D-MN), and Amy Klobuchar
(D-MN) introduced S. 847, the "Safe Chemicals Act of 2011."
This legislation seeks to modernize TSCA to require safety
testing of all industrial chemicals, and to put the
responsibility on industry to demonstrate that chemicals are
safe in order to get on or stay on the market. The bill
endeavors to expand US EPA's authority to regulate the use of
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dangerous chemicals and require manufacturers to submit
information proving the safety of chemicals in production and
new chemicals seeking to enter the market.
Related federal administrative action : On September 29, 2009,
US EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced that the US EPA was
establishing a comprehensive approach to enhance the US EPA's
current chemicals management program under TSCA. The most
important component of this enhanced chemical management program
involves the action plan process, which is intended to: 1)
Identify chemicals that pose a concern to the public; 2) Move
quickly to evaluate them and determine what actions need to be
taken to address the risks they may pose; and, 3) Initiate
appropriate action. To date, US EPA has developed action plans
for 10 classes of chemicals.
SJR 3 seeks to support federal efforts to strengthen TSCA.
Analysis Prepared by : Shannon McKinney / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
FN: 0001276