It's fascinating to see the variety of bills heard by committees in the legislature. Yesterday, the House Judiciary committee spent much of its time on HB10-1248, the cosmetics bill sponsored by Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield. 

The House members received biology and chemistry lessons in the process, a bit unusual for a committee that generally deals with the finer points of Colorado law. Which it did when it heard bills on public urination and masturbation, illegal sexual contact in youth facilities, and landlords stiffing realtors on their commissions.

HB10-1248 would ban personal care products from the shelves that contain even trace elements of certain chemicals, such as formaldehyde or arsenic, as they are known carcinogens. It would further ban certain hormonal products known to affect reproduction and cadmium and heavy metals in children's jewelry.

Chemical accumulation may cause cancer
Representative Primavera brought the bill forward because of her own personal story with breast cancer. She is a breast cancer survivor who could not determine any direct cause for her disease. Her research showed the potential cumulative effect of carcinogens and hormones in cosmetic products and jewelry as a potential source.

Endocrinologist sees hormone effects across nature
Dr. David Norris, an endocrinologist and published scientist from the University of Colorado, testified to the generalized danger of exposure to trace amounts of chemicals found naturally and new to the biology scene.

It's not just nature's chemicals
Over the last 70 years, numerous chemicals useful in a variety of products have been created, joining natural compounds such as arsenic and cadmium found in nature.

The cumulative exposure to these chemicals has affected the biology of all vertebrates, according to Norris, feminizing fish and affecting reproduction in fish, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. He noted that hormones particularly have a powerful effect on biology, even at amounts as small as parts per billion.

Trace chemicals accumulate in our bodies
When individuals are exposed to these chemicals in shampoos, lotions, lipstick, paint, jewelry and household cleaning products, gradually they may affect health.
Cosmetic producers vigorously rejected the notion that their products are unsafe.

Cosmetics producers state products safe
Proctor and Gamble, Johnson and Johnson, Estee Lauder, Avon, and Mary Kay stood stoutly by their products. They state that the FDA has sufficient authority to control unsafe products and that their brands depend on product safety.

Problem bigger than cosmetics
Norris addressed what was essentially a problem larger than the safety of any one product. He asserted the cumulative effect of using many products over a prolonged period of time as the potential danger. He's seeing that effect on wildlife reproduction, as so many of these chemicals end up in our rivers. "We need to reduce the use of hormones in products across the board, and we need to start somewhere."

Become a chemist

The committee voted 7-4 against the bill, so this discussion will continue at a later date. According to Primavera, consumers shouldn't have to be chemists to buy cosmetics and other beauty products, but that's definitely the fall back position until the science evolves.

HB10-1269 gives workers a break in litigation
Civil rights attorneys will welcome the passage of HB10-1269, the Workplace Civil Remedies Act sponsored by Committee chair Claire Levy, D-Boulder.

This bill allows plaintiffs to collect legal fees if they win litigation on a work place discrimination or harassment suit. Opponents argued that the bill will encourage frivolous suits. Proponents stated that the courts can now tag litigants with frivolous suits for court and attorney fees. The bill passed 7-4.

Landlords play fast and loose with realtor commissions
The committee then heard HB10-1288 to allow commercial realtors to place a lien on landlord property when landlords stiff them on their commissions. Apparently, landlords are taking advantage of the bad economy to force realtors to negotiate down commissions, and even when accommodated, are not paying up.

This occurs when realtors help landlords find commercial businesses to lease space in their buildings. The goal of the bill is to bring landlords to the table without going to court. The bill passed, so landlords will have to pony up sooner rather than later.

Sexual contact protections extended
The committee also passed HB10-1277 to make sexual contact illegal with youths or persons in a detention or commitment facility. The bill closed a loophole in the law that already makes such contact illegal with an inmate.

The differences between public indecency and indecent exposure
The public urination v. masturbation bill posed a different dilemma. HB10-1334, sponsored by Steve King, R-Grand Junction, separates public indecency from indecent exposure, a sexually based crime. Apparently, a person guilty of public indecency is currently treated the same as a person convicted of indecent exposure. This means the urinator is placed on the sexual crimes list and must attend programs combating sexual crimes. With this bill, public indecency is the lesser crime. The bill passed unanimously.

This post was published on March 2, 2010. Permalink »