December 2015

In the evening of 17 December 2015, the U.S. Senate passed the “Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act” (S. 697), which reforms the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the first time since its enactment in 1976. The Senate approved the legislation by unanimous consent in a voice vote and broke its months-long deadlock on the floor vote. The language of the passed bill is an updated version of S. 697 from October. Sponsored by Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and Tom Udall (D-NM), S. 697 has gained filibuster-proof support this year. The next phase of the legislative process is a conference committee to reconcile the differences in the House and Senate versions of TSCA reform.

On 24 November 2015, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) repealed its rulemaking action published on 16 January 2015 amending Article 6 on "Clear and Reasonable Warnings" under Proposition 65. OEHHA at the same time published another proposal for a new Article 6 dated 27 November 2015, which now replaces the previous version of the proposed amendments.