Ann Grimaldi

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has provided guidance on how to provide warnings for lead under the new safe harbor warning regulations in Title 27, California Code of Regulations, sections 25601, et seq. This guidance, provided in response to Grimaldi Law’s request for interpretation, clarifies that businesses may use the term “lead” in a combination warning, i.e., a warning addressing both the cancer and reproductive harm endpoints, as set forth in Section 25603(a)(2)(D) of the new safe harbor warning regulations - notwithstanding the fact that the formal identification for lead as a carcinogen is "lead and lead…

A proposed amendment to Proposition 65, AB 1583, has passed out of the California Assembly and has been referred to the California Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill, intended to increase transparency and also ensure that businesses are aware of Proposition 65’s requirements, would revise Proposition 65 as follows: Make the basis for the Certificate of Merit discoverable. Background. Under current law, a private enforcer alleging violation of the Proposition 65 warning requirement must include a Certificate of Merit with its Notice of Violation, per Health & Safety Code Section 25249.7(d)(1). In the Certificate of Merit, the private enforcer is required…

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has announced that it intends to amend the Proposition 65 notice regulation at Title 27, California Code of Regulations Section 25903(b)(2)(E) and Appendix A, to "clarify the content required in notices of violation served on alleged violators of Proposition 65." Comments on the proposal are due by July 3, 2017 and may be submitted electronically, per the notice. Under current regulations, a Proposition 65 Notice of Violation must include an Appendix A. Among other things, Appendix A must include a Special Compliance Procedure and Proof of Compliance Form, which alleged violators may use to…

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs gave the green light to the Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA) on May 17, 2017. The RAA (S.951), introduced by Senator Portman (R-OH) and Senator Heitcamp (D-ND), aims to “reform the process by which Federal agencies analyze and formulate new regulations and guidance documents.” If passed, the bill, which accompanies a similar bill passed by the House (H.R. 5), could make it much more difficult for agencies to implement regulations. Although billed by its sponsors and co-sponsors — Senator Hatch (R-UT) and Senator Manchin (D-WV) — as a bipartisan bill, support for…

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is holding a public hearing on July 6, 2017 (rescheduled from June 19, 2017) from 10 am to 12 pm in response to a petition from the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) requesting OEHHA to “commence the regulatory process to issue regulations pursuant to Health & Safety Code §110552 setting a ‘naturally occurring’ lead level in candy containing chili and tamarind.” The hearing will be held in the Coastal Hearing Room at Cal/EPA's headquarters located at 1001 I Street in Sacramento and also will be broadcast online.  The deadline for written comments on…