Public Health

Senate Bills 939 - 942 create the Environmental Leaders program under the DEQ. This is a voluntary program that provides incentives for businesses to become certified "Environmental Leaders." Environmental leaders will undergo certain requirements, such as creating a pollution prevention program and conducting their own periodic assessments to identify areas for improvement. Incentives include less frequent inspections, 72 hours advanced notice of environmental inspections, less frequent permit renewal, certain fee waivers, and limited liability. 

A Great Health Priority

The Safe Children’s Products Act would require manufacturers and distributors of children’s toys to submit written statements to the Department of Environmental Quality disclosing chemicals present in the toys. In this statement, the manufacturer or distributor would have to disclose the chemicals of greatest concern in a product, the purpose of these chemicals, and the amount of each chemical that is used.

(Same original content as HB 4207)

As introduced, HB 4207 prohibits the Department of Environmental Quality from creating rules to restrict residential burning of waste. Burning of residential waste puts toxic chemicals and heavy metals into the air such as dioxins, which are highly toxic and can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones, and release notable levels of known carcinogens.

SB 764 amends the Public Health Code to classify cadmium, lead, and mercury as toxic heavy metals which are prohibited in children's products. 

Sponser: Sen. Roger Kahn (R - Saginaw Township)
Current Status: In Committee on Government Operations