A bill banning the chemical bisphenol A from baby products narrowly passed the state Assembly yesterday after a long and pitched battle.
Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Santa Monica, wrote the bill and characterized it as creating a David-vs.-Goliath conflict pitting the health of children against the lobbying clout of chemical and infant formula companies.
Groups opposing the ban saw a memo leaked about plans to use “fear tactics” to fight it, but also argued that viable alternatives to the chemical were not easy to find.
The opposing arguments proved particularly vexing to two Assembly democrats, whose position on the bill went full circle since a key September vote left the bill in limbo.
Martha Arguello, executive director of Physicians for Social Responsibility, spoke to California Watch about one Assembly member’s wavering stance on the bill.
Arguello’s managing board of physicians favored the ban, alarmed by science linking the chemical to premature puberty in girls, feminine hormones in boys and neurological impacts on infants.
Arguello said Assemblyman Isadore Hall, D-Compton, promised her he would vote in favor of the ban before the key vote last September. On the Assembly floor, though, Hall entered a “no” vote.
“I was stunned,” Arguello said in an interview.
Flickr photo by heacphotosAssemblyman Isadore Hall, D-Compton
Two months after the vote, Hall reported having two meals – one worth $135 and in Hawaii – with a lobbyist from a firm that lobbied against the ban.
Hall’s chief of staff Yolanda Sandoval said the meals mean nothing, as Hall’s disclosure reports show that “he’s had a breakfast, lunch or dinner meeting with every lobbyist.”
“I’m sure if you pull up his report, you could find dinner with supporters,” she said.
A look at his gift disclosure report (posted below) shows he did get a gift from one supporter of the bill – two dollars worth of candy from the group Moms Rising.
California Watch placed two calls to Hall’s office to ask about his voting record on the bill in recent days. Yesterday, he voted in favor of it. Why? Sandoval did not comment.
Supporters of the ban on The San Francisco Chronicle editorial board also called out Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, for flipping his position on the bill. Once in support, Torrico “took a walk” during a vote on the bill Monday, which is Capitol parlance for avoiding a vote. He pledged to vote against the bill yesterday.
From the Chronicle:
Torrico's walk was particularly galling to advocates of a ban on BPA in food and drink containers intended for children 3 and younger because he had been such a high-profile supporter of SB 797. He spoke poignantly, in Spanish, of the need for the measure at an August 2009 news conference outside the Capitol. He later trumpeted his support for the need to protect young children from a potentially dangerous chemical in interviews on Univision. His staff worked closely with the bill's advocates.
Torrico shot back on the Assembly floor yesterday, saying that supporters of the ban had tried to embarrass him by going to the press. “But I’m not embarrassed,” he said.
Torrico said he was in favor of banning the chemical from baby bottles and cups, but not from baby formula containers. Without such an amendment, he said he would not cast a ‘yes’ vote.
“This bill goes way too far,” Torrico said during debate on the bill, SB 797. “Some people want to hit a home run but today you’re going to strike out.”
Whether the bill ultimately becomes law remains to be seen. It goes back to the Senate to square up with a version that already passed that house. Then it goes to the governor’s desk.
A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said yesterday that the governor had not yet taken a position on the bill.
And his past record gives mixed signals.
He vetoed a bill that would have banned a chemical in Teflon, saying that his Green Chemistry initiative would deal with the risks and benefits of chemicals in a comprehensive manner.
Yet Green Chemistry was also in the making when he signed into law a ban on pthalates, a chemical in plastic linked to cancer and reproductive problems. That bill shares something in common with the BPA ban – it is meant to protect children, a sentiment that seems compelling to the one-time Kindergarten Cop.
“We must take this action to protect our children,” said Gov. Schwarzenegger in a press statement upon signing the bill. “These chemicals threaten the health and safety of our children at critical stages of their development.”
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