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2006 EJCW Legislative Work A consumer's right to know: AB 2644 While AB 2644 died in Senate Appropriations in Fall of 2006, it is an important issue that EJCW and member organizations will continue to advocate on! Water Vending Machines (WVMs) are a key drinking water supplier for many Californians. A statewide survey released by the Public Policy Institute of California in June 2002 revealed that 39% of all adults and 55% of Latino adults in California typically drink bottled water. Among low-income Latinos, much of the bottled water consumption is actually vended water consumption, as vended water is the least expensive option. Many consumers purchase vended and bottled water to avoid contact with contaminants that may be present in their local tap water. Others purchase water because they prefer the taste. People with immune system deficiencies – such as AIDS and cancer patients – must buy bottled and vended water for health reasons, as even the smallest amounts of certain contaminants may cause severe acute health problems. Many WVMs fail to meet State health and consumer protection standards as a result of insufficient routine monitoring. In California, consumers of WVMs pay up to 100 times more for water then consumers of tap water. Unfortunately, the high cost paid by these consumers does not mean that they actually receive safe drinking water. The State Department of Health Services (DHS) Food and Drug Branch is tasked with enforcing vended water regulations, but does not generate sufficient revenue from license fees to conduct regular inspections. As such, DHS only acts when it receives a complaint about a particular machine. For consumers of vended water this lack of enforcement raises serious health and consumer rights concerns. AB 2644 would have provided public health and consumer protection safeguards for consumers of WVMs operating in California by expanding the existing inspection program and requiring WVM operators to conduct timely machine maintenance and testing. AB 2644 established a mechanism to provide needed accountability for an industry that currently operates with virtually no oversight. This bill uses existing tools within state government to ensure that public health and consumer rights are protected, rather than creating a costly new bureaucracy. The number one drinking water contaminant in California: Ag Committee fails to address nitrate contamination caused by fertilizer pollution Hundreds of communities throughout California can't drink their water because it is contaminated by nitrates. Fertilizers are the leading cause of nitrate contamination.....but fertilizers remain virtually unregulated throughout the state! Co-sponsored by California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, Clean Water Action, Sierra Club, and Latino Issues Forum, AB 2443 Klehs was voted down in the Agricultural Committee 4 - 3 on Wednesday, April 26th. While we organized over 10 community members from around the state, all impacted by nitrate contamination, to testify about this important issue, representatives refused to take a small step to ensure the polluters pay. However, Assemblymember Klehs, the author of the bill, and Assemblymember Vargas presented strong arguments in favor of the bill and the Ag Committee for one of the first times ever engaged in a discussion about the overwhelming need to address widespread nitrate contamination. The bill would have required farmers to pay a small additional amount on fertilizers when purchased. This would have allowed the state can set aside money now to address the rampant contamination throughout California's agricultural areas. The money from the fees would have been used for clean up, education, and in the future, regional water management plans so further contamination can be avoided. While fertilizers are exempt from sales tax, the small amount of money generated from this fee would have only amounted to 4 cents per dollar. Fertilizers can have severe health impacts because they lead to increased nitrate contamination in drinking water. Nitrates have been found to cause 'blue baby syndrome' and have been linked to various forms of cancer. Nitrates are the number one drinking water contaminant in California. Click here for more information on this bill! Read about a small community in Monterey County drastically affected by nitrate contamination!
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