Senator George Runner
Serving the 17th District which incorporates portions of the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura and Kern counties.

Would you trust your local baker to tune your car? Would you go to your barber for a physical? Probably not.

Normal people tend to seek out experts for needed services or advice. But not in Sacramento where it appears some politicians either fancy themselves as scientific experts – whether they have a science background or not – or they seek the advice from questionable sources in their push for extremist policies that adversely affect the everyday lives of Californians.

Senate Bill 797 (authored by Los Angeles Senators Fran Pavley and Carole Liu) exemplifies knee-jerk legislation based on irrational fear rather than sound scientific judgment. The measure would place a ban on the use of bisphenol A (BPA) for products designed for infants and toddlers. The radical environmental lobby sponsoring the bill insists that BPA must be banned because the “science” proves its danger to humans.

But scientific data does not support SB 797. In fact, health regulators, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food, have both re-affirmed that BPA is indeed safe for use in products used by humans. Most recently, the seven members of California’s Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee – all physicians, by the way – voted unanimously against a proposal to ban BPA.

Apparently the consensus of these respected groups is not enough proof for some members of the Senate who would rather rely on half-truths and political propaganda to push an extremist environmental agenda.

Furthermore, the studies cited by SB 797’s proponents involve a possible link to tumors in lab rats, but even the authors of the study admitted the results were inconclusive. What may have an effect on lab rats does not conclusively demonstrate a negative effect on humans.

When politicians pre-empt scientific debate by pushing bills based on ideology rather than sound science, the results are companies will be forced to change their processes, passing on the costs to consumers, and consumers will be stuck with lower quality goods. Certainly chemicals that pose a serious threat to humans deserve regulation – but policies should be driven by reason, not political fear-mongering. Chemicals should not be banned simply because they have ominous sounding names.

If these types of bills are passed, Californians will increasingly find themselves living under the tyrannical thumb of regulation brought upon by their Legislature. Furthermore, we’ll see our individual liberties continue to slowly erode with each new regulation. That’s the real danger.