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Tough on Toxics: Chemicals Policy Reform at the State Level

Event Types(s)
Other
When
Feb 11, 2011
from 12:00 pm to 01:00 pm
Geographic Areas
National
Focus area(s)
  • Environmental Health
Contact Name
Ramtin Arablouei
Contact Email
rarablouei@hefn.org
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Tough on Toxics: Chemicals Policy Reform at the State Level

HEFN Funder Call

Friday, February 11th, 2011

12-1 pm Eastern / 9 am – 10 am Pacific

Please join HEFN to discuss efforts and opportunities to get “tough on toxics” through investments in chemicals policy reform at the state level. To register, please click here.

 

Over the last ten years, state legislatures across the country have acted to prevent the dissemination of harmful chemicals into the market and their communities. A recent Healthy States: Protecting Families from Toxics While Congress Lags Behind report noted that, over the past eight years, 18 states have passed some 71 chemicals policy reform bills with overwhelming bipartisan support. These policy achievements reflect successes of state campaigns that most often are framed around protecting children's health but draw on diverse allies and approaches, including state's rights issues, to yield significant victories in unlikely places. However, not all of these state victories remain secure. New chemicals policy legislation has attracted more and better resourced opposition.

 

The state chemicals policy reform movement is addressing health threats of concern to communities.  It also is building policy models, political pressure, and active constituencies that cumulatively are critical forces towards reform at the federal level.  Numerous foundations have supported this state work for years, including by shared scoping, strategizing, and collaboration through the HEFN Catalysts working group to build linkages across states and with national reform efforts.

 

On this funder call, three presenters will offer insights on past wins, expected challenges, and opportunities for new successes at the state level.

 

   Speakers:

·         Mike Belliveau, Executive Director, Environmental Health Strategy Center, co-founder of the State Alliance for Federal Reform (SAFER) of chemicals policy and Senior Advisor to the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition, will share highlights of the Healthy States report he authored summarizing achievements, lessons and opportunities in moving chemicals policy reform at the state level.

·         Adam Schafer, Executive Director, National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, will bring perspectives from inside the community of legislators interested in tackling chemical threats to health.

·         Rebecca Meuninck, Environmental Health Campaign Director, Ecology Center, will describe legislative strategies used by the Michigan Network for Children’s Environmental Health and others that resulted in conservative-majority legislature introducing and passing bills to protect the people of Michigan from harmful chemicals.

    Background Resources:

  • New Report:  Healthy States: Protecting Families from Toxics While Congress Lags Behind:  a November 2010 report providing an analysis of votes on state laws to protect public health from toxic chemicals, authored by Mike Belliveau and produced jointly by the State Alliance for Federal Reform (SAFER) of chemical policy, and the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition.
  • Information sources:    The SAFER website offers considerable information on advocacy in the 30-odd states in which chemicals policy reform work are underway.  The University of Lowell-Massachusetts Center for Sustainable Production hosts an online, searchable US State-Level Chemicals Policy Database. Environmental officials from ten state and local governments also recently formed a new Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse to share information and efforts in toxics reduction.
  • Upcoming funder event:  HEFN is co-sponsoring a “toxics institute” session at the upcoming EGA Federal Policy Briefing on February 16th. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the connections between Chemicals Policy Reform at the national and state levels.   
  • Funder communications & collaboration:  the HEFN Catalysts is a working group of funders interested in chemicals, environment, and health.  The Catalysts have a listserv to facilitate ongoing communications; to join or get more information please email hefn@hefn.org.
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