In a meeting yesterday the house voted to indefinitely postpone the bill (number 1248) with 7 votes to 4.
Supporters of the bill, including Senator Betty Boyd and Representative Dianne Primavera, argued that many personal care products contain chemicals known to cause cancer and reproductive toxicity.
The bill was to use existing lists of ‘harmful chemicals’ compiled from bodies such as the US Environmental Protection Agency, the international agency for research on cancer and the national toxicology program, in order to judge whether an ingredient was a carcinogen or a reproductive toxin.
Products containing these blacklisted ingredients would be prohibited from sale in the state, and a manufacturer could be fined between $5,000 and $10,000 for offenses.
Unscientific basis
However, according to critics of the bill, including the cosmetics trade association the Personal Care Products Council, the proposals were unscientific.
“They are proposing to ban products that are legally marketed under the FDA’s regulation. It is grossly overreaching and lacks any scientific basis,” vice president of public affairs and communication for the council told Lisa Powers told CosmeticsDesign.com USA.