The House Appropriations Committee has approved a bill to regulate toxic chemicals found in children’s products.
The committee voted 8-3 Friday to pass S.239 as amended by the House Fish, Wildlife, and Water Resources and Ways and Means committees without changes. The bill will now go to the House for a full floor vote.
The health department said Friday it has the resources to create a website to list chemicals that may be harmful to human health found in certain products sold in the state, but it will need additional resources to regulate chemicals.
The health department would be able to require manufacturers to label or remove certain chemicals in their products. The department would use a scientific method to determine whether products contain chemicals that cause dangerous exposure and expects to hire new staff to do so.
Under the bill, manufacturers would be required to report toxic chemicals found in their products sold in the state and pay a $200 fee every two years for each of the chemicals they report. The reporting requirement would begin July 1, 2015.
This money would support the program. Washington state’s toxic chemicals reporting program, which was used as a model for Vermont’s proposal, has listed more than 900 chemicals. That would raise $90,000 annually under the Vermont program.
The health department would report back to lawmakers next session with a budget for the program.