As you all know, I and other members on the MomsRising.org team have been fervently working to pass a bill in California that would help eliminate the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in plastic baby and toddler products like bottles and sippy cups. I thought I would let you know how the vote went on Friday.

It had already passed the Senate and was favored by the Assembly 35-32. Unfortunately, it did not garner the 41 votes necessary to clear the Assembly. Here is how individual Assemblymembers voted.

Here is a statement by Sen. Fran Pavley, who sponsored and fought her heart out for this important bill:

“California was poised to join Canada, Minnesota, Connecticut and several other cities and counties in the United States that, with significant bi-partisan support, have enacted bans on BPA in baby bottles and other feeding products for children. ‘The science on BPA clearly shows cause for alarm,’ said Senator Pavley. ‘Every child from every community in our state deserves access to safe, affordable products. I don’t understand how some lawmakers are willing to ignore science and risk the health of California children.’

“Bisphenol A (BPA) is an artificial hormone that is widely used in shatter-proof plastic baby bottles, sippy cups and the lining of formula cans. It leaches out of containers and into food and drink consumed by babies and young children.

“More than 220 peer-reviewed studies have linked BPA to a host of health problems, including breast and prostrate cancer, infertility, obesity, and neurological and behavioral changes, including autism and hyperactivity.

“Senator Pavley’s SB 797 was co-authored by Senator Carol Liu, D – Pasadena, and was sponsored by Breast Cancer Fund, Environmental Working Group and Physicians for Social Responsibility. The bill received widespread support from health care professionals, business owners and a long and diverse list of organizations including; Black Women for Wellness, Latinas for Reproductive Justice, The Help Group for Autism Spectrum Disorders, California Teachers Association, California Nurses Association, Asian Health Services, and California Women Infants and Children (WIC), SEIU, California Labor Federation, and Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice to name a few. The opponents include BPA manufacturers Dow and SABIC Innovative Plastics, as well as infant formula makers Abbott, Mead Johnson, and Nestle.”

I won’t lie. I am disappointed in the legislators who voted against the bill and abstained from voting. But I am also extra determined to fight for the bill when it comes up for reconsideration next year, and to convince these legislators that California families with science on our side are more powerful than corporate lobbyists. Will you join me?

Thank you, by the way, to those of you who called your Assemblymembers in support of SB 797!

(An action item over the flip, call your assembly member. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

Hi all,

I just want to thank this community for its support of Sen. Mark Leno’s bill (SB 772) to get rid of a state de facto rule requiring toxic flame retardants in baby products. (Thank you, Brian, for promoting the diary!)

Unfortunately, that bill died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee — by a mere 2 votes. Despite intense lobbying by the chemical industry and its front group “Citizens for Fire Safety” we lasted 5 rounds to that point.

Nonetheless, many of us have dusted ourselves off and we are intensely working on the same Assemblymembers to pass another bill, SB 797 sponsored by Sen. Fran Pavley, that would ban the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in baby products like bottles and formula cans. Other states like Minnesota and Connecticut already have passed similar bills.

EDIT by Brian: Take Action over the flip.

Today is the last day to pass this important piece of legislation in the California State Assembly. As the Los Angeles Times noted today, the formula and packaging industry have launched a ferocious campaign against this bill even though there are 200 peer-reviewed studies linking BPA with heart disease, diabetes, liver problems, brain damage, cancer and hormone disruption.

We are currently six votes shy of passing this important piece of legislation. CA parents, can you help us protect our children from BPA by making a few quick phone calls? Please encourage the following legislators who voted against the bill to vote YES on SB 797:

Wilmer Amina – Carter 916-319-2062

Alyson Huber- 916-319-2010

Norma Torres- 916-319-2061

We have even provided a script to help you out:

“Hello, My name is ___________________ and I am calling on behalf of parents in California in favor of supporting SB 797 to get the chemical bisphenol-A out of baby bottles and formula cans.

I know that the Assemblymember has one last chance to support this bill today through an “aye” vote when it is up for reconsideration. I am greatly concerned that as a parent, Assemblymember __________ is unwilling to protect the state’s children herself. I am urging her support of SB 797 today.

Thank you for your time!”

While Republicans overwhelmingly voted against this bill and Democrats overwhelmingly supported it, there are some Democrats — especially in southern California — who abstained from voting altogether. Why not put in a phone call to your Assemblymember while you are at it? Here is a list of Assemblymembers’ offices.

Thank YOU for taking the time to save this bill and protect our children from toxic products. Please help spread the word to all your family and friends in California!

( – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

I am so sorry to post a personal pet-issues diary so soon after registering to the site. But I just learned about this website in the last two weeks at the Netroots Nation Convention in Pittsburgh. What a gem!

Who am I? I am a 32-year-old mother and activist who lives in Berkeley, California. I run a progressive mothering blog called MotherTalkers and I am currently a contractor for the family organization MomsRising.org.

I wouldn’t already be bugging you if the issue I was working on did not pertain to California families and was not important. I wanted to let you know that a bill sponsored by Sen. Mark Leno that would help rid certain baby products of toxic flame retardants is about to die a silent death unless we pick up the phone and call our Assemblymembers.

Our immediate challenge to keep the bill, SB 772, alive is to change the votes of three Assemblymembers who voted against it in the appropriations committee last week. These members — Charles Calderon, Connie Conway, Diane Harkey, Jeff Miller and Audra Strickland – will have a chance to save this bill by changing their votes when the committee reconsiders it this Wednesday.

The following Assemblymembers, by the way, abstained from voting: Mike Davis, Michael Duvall, Felipe Fuentes, Isadore Hall, Jose Solorio, and Tom Torlakson.

Please help us save SB 772!

The chemical industry has actually gone so far as to organize a “front group” called the “Citizens for Fire Safety” that has hired 3 high-priced lobbying firms that control the purse strings to millions of dollars in campaign donations. They have spent quite a bit of time in Sacramento lately as they have much to lose in not having their products required in baby products.

California is the only state in the country to require toxic flame retardants in the foam of all furniture, including places where our babies sleep. Not surprisingly, a study published last year in the journal Environmental Science and Technology found the flame retardant penta-BDE in the dust of California homes at four to 10 times the concentrations found elsewhere in the U.S., and 200 times higher than in Europe. It also found that Californians have twice the concentration of the chemical in their blood as people who live elsewhere in the United States.

SB 772 would give manufacturers of baby items like bassinets, strollers, nursing pillows and high chairs, the choice of whether or not to include these toxic chemicals in their products. It would also require the manufacturers to mention in the exterior packaging of products without flame retardants that they do not meet California’s fire safety standards so consumers have the choice to purchase products with the toxins.

Despite the emotional and inflammatory information spread by the chemical industry, there is no evidence that flame retardant chemicals in foam has shown any measurable benefit in terms of actual fire protection. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), while fire deaths declined by 38 percent in California from 1980 to 1999, the decline in fire deaths was similar or even greater in states that do not require the toxins at all. Considering that most victims of fires die from smoke inhalation and not the actual flames, alternative fire-fighting measures like smoke detectors and sprinkler systems have proven far more effective.

What is certain is that research has shown flame retardants can cause a host of life-threatening illnesses, including endocrine problems, thyroid problems, cancer, and neurological disorders like hyperactivity. And contrary to what “Citizens for Fire Safety” has said, it is low-income residents and communities of color who are most likely to be exposed to these chemicals and fall victim to these diseases as they purchase products laden with the toxins at the big box stores. Other communities can often opt out of toxin-laden baby products by purchasing more expensive imported or toxic-free “organic” product lines of baby products. Furthermore older or second-hand products are more likely to have crumbly foam that will escape and cause the greatest health hazard.

Let’s not let SB 772 die. What can we do to pass it? Call, e-mail or fax a personal letter to your Assemblymember’s office! Let him or her know why this bill is important to you. You can look up your district and Assemblymember here.

Your support will show the entire Assembly that the public is watching their votes. A phone call will help pressure members on the Assembly Appropriations Committee into doing the right thing. Contact your Assemblymember today!

Thank you for your commitment to protecting our children from toxic chemicals.