Secretary Rodriquez Calls on Congress to Preserve State Regulatory Authority Over Toxic Chemicals

For Immediate Release

May 20, 2016
Contact: Jim Marxen, (916) 324-6544


SACRAMENTO—California Secretary for Environmental Protection Matthew Rodriquez issued the following statement on a proposed bill in Congress to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976:

“The California Environmental Protection Agency agrees that reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is needed to update and strengthen the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authorities to safeguard public health from toxic chemicals. Consistent with other environmental laws, however, we also believe that Congress should allow states to continue to take action to regulate chemicals. State regulators have for years developed effective and workable approaches to informing the public about and regulating toxic chemicals, and these efforts have resulted in a reduction in the use of dangerous chemicals in consumer products.

“We greatly appreciate the work by Senator Boxer and other members of Congress to meaningfully reduce the scope of federal preemption on states in the proposed TSCA legislation being considered by both Houses. While there is still time to make changes to the text, we call on members of Congress to broadly protect states’ regulatory authority by preserving TSCA’s current provisions that allow states to ban dangerous chemicals, eliminating or further narrowing the scope of preemption when no federal protections apply to a toxic chemical, and ensuring that all chemicals U.S. EPA considers are subject to waiver provisions that may allow states to avoid preemption.”