Winegrowers Lobby for
Industry Priorities
The State
Senate reconvenes today, Monday, August 12, 2013 to pass Prop 65 legislation
before the September 13 deadline. Proposition 65 is a much-disputed law, established in 1986 that
requires businesses to warn individuals before knowingly exposing them to a
list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive
harm.
According
to the Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC), this list of chemicals
has grown to about 800 different substances and has done more to enrich
plaintiffs' lawyers to the tune of over 60% in settlements since 2000, than to protect
the public from toxic chemicals.
AB 227
will help reduce Prop. 65 litigation by helping businesses avoid lawsuits for such
substance exposure violations as alcohol or food-related chemicals by requiring
a monetary penalty and by posting a warning before notifying the business.
Family Winemakers of California (FWC), an Association
of California Table Wine Producers, are lobbying wine industry
priorities. FWC is reserving judgment until Proposition
65 language is in print, perhaps within the
next few days.
FWC also supports AB 1116, the private event extension bill, which is also approaching passage with its next Senate hearing. Finally, the foreign labor contractor bill, SB516, could impact J-1 visas used by the wine industry; however, FWC is working to fix the problem.
Labels: AB 1116, AB 227, Alcohol, Civil Justice Association, CJAC, Family Winemakers of California, Foreign Labor Contractor, FWC, J-1 VISAS, PROP 65, SB 516, Steinberg, Table Wine Producers, winegrowers