Legal Blog

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment's recent proposal to overhaul the Proposition 65 warning regulations has received an overwhelming negative response from the business community.  One submission alone, from a California Chamber of Commerce coalition, represented the views of over 130 trade organizations and companies expressing deep concerns about the cost and difficulty of compliance with the proposal's warning requirements and the resulting increased risk of frivolous enforcement actions. GLO previously reported on OEHHA's Proposition 65 warning regulation proposal.  OEHHA's stated goals are to promote more meaningful Proposition 65 warnings and reduce frivolous enforcement actions.  Yet, as the business stakeholders…

On May 16, 2014, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed into law a ban on the sale of cleaning and personal care products containing triclosan, an antibacterial agent used in a broad range of consumer products like hand soaps, body washes and dishwashing liquids.  The ban will go into effect on January 1, 2017. Triclosan use in ordinary consumer products has generated controversy recently, with ongoing debates about the chemical's safety and effectiveness. Minnesota's law represents the first U.S. state to actually ban triclosan, with New York considering a pending bill, A08697B.  This action follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's proposed…

As part of the California Attorney General's statutory obligation to monitor Proposition 65 enforcement, that office annually compiles data about the number of settlements, the parties entering into those settlements and how the monetary payments break down.  The AG just released its report for 2013, revealing that over 350 settlements resulted in total payments of over $17 million.  Plaintiffs' attorneys' fees accounted for over 70% of the total payments made by settling defendants.  The report also shows a continued high profile presence of plaintiffs represented by The Chanler Group, who collectively are responsible for over $7.6 million in payments in almost 200…

On May 5, 2014, the California Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program, also known as Biomonitoring California, published the results of its biomonitoring efforts in an interactive database.  According to the results,  a number of subpopulations have been exposed to several categories of chemicals. Biomonitoring California is a joint program of three California agencies:  the Department of Public Health, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control.  The program was established in 2006 by S.B. 1379 "to assist in the evaluation of toxic chemicals in a representative sample of Californians, establish trends of these chemicals in…

Two years after Proposition 37 failed at the California polls, the California Senate has introduced S.B. 1381, which, like Proposition 37, would require labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods. A violation of the labeling requirements would be considered a misbranding violation under the California Sherman Food, Drug and Cosmetic Law and, along with the imposition of civil penalties and injunctive relief, could be prosecuted as a misdemeanor. Like the private enforcement provision of Proposition 65, "any person" may bring a lawsuit obtain injunctive relief to remedy a violation; although the bill would not authorize a private plaintiff to seek civil penalties…