BILL NUMBER: SJR 8 AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 7, 2011 INTRODUCED BYCommittee on Veterans Affairs(Senators Correa (Chair), Berryhill, Calderon, Cannella, Lieu, Negrete McLeod, Rubio, and Runner)Senator Leno MAY 25, 2011 Relative toTRICARE cost increaseshazardous flame retardants . LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SJR 8, as amended,Committee on Veterans AffairsLeno .TRICARE cost increases.Hazardous flame retardants. This measure would urge the federal government's process of identifying alternatives to flame retardants to include, among other things, the design of products that do not require the use of flame retardants. The measure would urge the United States Congress to enact the Safe Chemicals Act to restrict flame retardants that pose health risks. This measure would urge the United States Environmental Protection Agency to, among other things, establish health and safety standards for flame retardant chemicals. The measure would also urge the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission to adopt specified smolder prevention rules that provide improved fire safety without toxicity in furniture, as specified.This measure would urge the United States Congress to take the necessary steps to ensure that Congress itself has the sole authority to determine future TRICARE cost increases, and base any future TRICARE cost changes, including pharmaceutical copays, on cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), as determined by the United States Department of Labor and given to all recipients who normally get this COLA.Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, An expanding body of peer-reviewed scientific evidence links exposure to commonly used flame retardant chemicals to diseases and health conditions that are increasing in frequency, such as cancers; neurological abnormalities including hyperactivity, learning deficits, and altered motor behavior; reduced sperm count and other reproductive abnormalities; endocrine disruption including thyroid problems; hormonal changes; and immunosuppression; and WHEREAS, Americans have the highest levels of flame retardants, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), in their household dust and in their bodies in the world and, further, toddlers have PBDE levels three times higher than their mothers; and WHEREAS, Children and pregnant women are uniquely vulnerable to the health threats of toxic flame retardants, and prenatal and early life chemical exposures have been linked to cancers, neurological deficits, birth defects, lowered IQ, and impaired fertility; and WHEREAS, Scientists have found that exposure to minute doses of PBDEs and related flame retardants can cause substantial harm; and WHEREAS, Up to two pounds of flame-retardant chemicals can be added to the foam in a single sofa; and WHEREAS, Many different flame retardants have been incorporated into consumer electronics, furniture, clothing and other household products and are present in at least 80 percent of furniture and juvenile products containing foam in American homes; and WHEREAS, PBDEs and related flame retardants continually migrate out of furniture and other consumer products, and are found in household dust, people, pets, soil, wastewater, rivers, the ocean, fish, and marine mammals; and WHEREAS, During disposal, electronic products containing flame retardants are often improperly burned releasing toxic dioxins and furans into the environment; and WHEREAS, PBDEs and related flame retardants are known to be persistent and bioaccumulative, resulting in increasing food chain contamination and increasing presence in human body tissue, blood, and breast milk; and WHEREAS, PBDEs and related flame retardants used to meet the requirements of Technical Bulletin 117 (TB 117), entitled "Requirements, Test Procedure and Apparatus for Testing the Flame Retardance of Resilient Filling Materials Used in Upholstered Furniture," provide minimal protection from small flames and no protection from large flames. In furniture the exterior fabric or cover ignites first, exposing the interior foam to a large flame. When exposed to a large flame, the foam burns, whether or not it contains flame retardant chemicals to meet TB 117; and WHEREAS, When foam containing PBDEs and related flame retardant chemicals burn, the foam produces substantially higher levels of carbon monoxide, soot, and smoke compared to foam without flame retardants. These toxic gases are the major causes of fire deaths. High levels of toxic dioxins and furans are also produced which can contribute to the high rates of cancer associated with dioxin exposure currently found in firefighters; and WHEREAS, Upwards of 84,000 industrial chemicals are used in the United States and the United States Environmental Protection Agency lacks adequate toxicity information about the majority of these chemicals and the currently available data for many of them raises substantial health and safety concerns; and WHEREAS, The President's Cancer Panel report released in May 2010 states "the true burden of environmentally induced cancers has been grossly underestimated" and the panel stated that carcinogens and other toxins "needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our nation's productivity, and devastate American lives"; and WHEREAS, When Americans are exposed to toxic chemicals which pose threats to their health, it results in increasing worker absenteeism, workers' compensation claims, and health care costs that burden the economy; and WHEREAS, A recent national poll found that 78 percent of American voters were seriously concerned about the threat to children's health from exposure to toxic chemicals in day-to-day life; and WHEREAS, The United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission should have regulatory authority to more thoroughly regulate these toxic substances in order to better protect the health and safety of the public; and WHEREAS, The federal Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (Toxic Substances Control Act) was intended to authorize the United States Environmental Protection Agency to protect public health and the environment from toxic chemicals; and WHEREAS, In January 2009, the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) added the United States Environmental Protection Agency' s regulatory program for assessing and controlling toxic chemicals to its list of "high risk" government programs that are not working as intended and the 2011 GAO update to the "high risk" programs list still contained the EPA's regulatory program for assessing and controlling toxic substances; and WHEREAS, Legislation to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act was brought up in 2010 and further legislation, known as the Safe Chemicals Act, designed to substantially reform the existing Toxic Substances Control Act, was introduced in 2011 but not enacted; and WHEREAS, A strong uniform federal standard would be beneficial to both consumers and businesses; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature urges that the process to be conducted by the federal government of identifying alternatives to flame retardants to include the design of products, processes, and practices that do not require the use of any flame retardants; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislature urges the 112th Congress to enact the Safe Chemicals Act to restrict flame retardants and other compounds that pose health risks; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislature urges the United States Environmental Protection Agency to act within its fullest authority to protect all Americans by: (a) Establishing health safety standards for flame retardant chemicals that rely on the best available science to protect the most vulnerable, including children and the developing fetus. (b) Investing in green chemistry research and workforce development to boost American business and spur jobs making safer alternatives; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislature urges the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission to adopt its draft smolder rule (proposed Section 1634 of Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations), which that will provide for fire safety without toxicity in furniture by allowing these products to meet federal flammability standards through the use of smolder resistant fabrics that better prevent fire ignition than the use of potentially toxic flame retardant chemicals in foam; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Chairman and Commissioners of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, and to the author for appropriate distribution.WHEREAS, Uniformed service members and their families endure unique and extraordinary demands and sacrifices protecting freedoms for all Americans; andWHEREAS, The extent of these demands is never so evident as during times of war; andWHEREAS, The primary offset for enduring these extraordinary sacrifices is a system of benefits, including healthcare coverage, titled TRICARE that a grateful nation provides for those who choose to subordinate their personal life to the national interest; andWHEREAS, TRICARE For Life (TFL) serves as Medicare wraparound coverage for TRICARE beneficiaries who are entitled to Medicare Part A and who have Medicare Part B coverage; andWHEREAS, The only exceptions are active duty service members, US Family Health Plan enrollees, TRICARE Reserve Select enrollees, and TRICARE Retired Reserve enrollees; andWHEREAS, TRICARE Prime costs are proposed to be increased by the United States Department of Defense with little basis-in-fact for the percentage increase; andWHEREAS, This increase and the basis for the increase is under considerable debate by all veterans organizations; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature urges the United States Congress to take the necessary steps to ensure that Congress itself has the sole authority to determine future TRICARE cost increases, and base any future TRICARE cost changes, including pharmaceutical copays, on cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), as determined by the United States Department of Labor and given to all recipients who normally get this COLA; and be it furtherResolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.