After 34 years California’s Proposition 65 continues to serve as a ripe source of litigation against businesses which fail to warn that their products can expose consumers to chemicals that cause cancer or reproductive...more
Due to COVID-19, courts in many California counties suspended civil trials, if they did not close to civil filings altogether. As of May 7, 2020 courts in these 14 counties were closed for all civil matters...more
We mentioned that California’s Regional Water Quality Control Boards and federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were taking, respectively, a “harder” and “softer” line in terms of enforcement of regulations and...more
California has a State Water Resources Control Board and nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards, which among other things police the ground waters of the State to keep them free of contamination. ...more
Proposition 65, a/k/a the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, has been under fire since the law was first enacted....more
12/17/2018
/ Amended Regulation ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Counsel ,
OEHHA ,
Proposition 65 ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
State and Local Government ,
Stream of Commerce ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Warning Labels
We continue with Part Three in our series on California’s ballot propositions for 2018, providing a glimpse of the pros and cons of each measure. ...more
10/29/2018
/ Affordable Housing ,
Agribusiness ,
Ambulance Providers ,
Ballot Measures ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Farm Animals ,
First Responders ,
Food Borne Bacteria ,
Healthcare ,
On-Call Employees ,
Paramedics ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Rent ,
Rent Control ,
Rental Property ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Revenue ,
State and Local Government
This is Part Two in our series regarding the California Ballot for November, 2018. In this series, we provide a synopsis for each of the 11 propositions voters in this state will see on the ballot, and summarize the primary...more
Fall is officially here. It’s time to start thinking about mid-term elections and how to vote on various California ballot measures November 6, 2018. Since many of these may become law and affect both our business and...more
10/1/2018
/ Affordable Housing ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Ballot Measures ,
Bonds ,
Drinking Water ,
Farm Workers ,
Groundwater ,
Hospitals ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Mental Illness ,
Multi-Family Development ,
Real Estate Development ,
State Funding ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Veterans ,
Water Quality ,
Water Supplies
As if California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (“Prop 65”) doesn’t impose enough regulations on employers, landlords, retailers, manufacturers and distributors – we now must also contend with the Cleaning...more
7/16/2018
/ Environmental Policies ,
Manufacturer Liability ,
New Legislation ,
Product Labels ,
Proposition 65 ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Retail Market ,
Right To Know ,
State and Local Government ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Warning Labels
We told you about the lawsuit brought against nearly 100 food industry companies regarding the lack of Prop 65 warnings in restaurants and stores selling coffee. The problem is the potential presence of acrylamide when coffee...more
6/18/2018
/ Comment Period ,
Environmental Policies ,
Exemptions ,
Food Labeling ,
Franchises ,
Proposition 65 ,
Public Health ,
Public Hearing ,
Public Safety ,
Retail Market ,
State and Local Government ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Warning Labels
In 2010, a nonprofit group called The Council for Education and Research on Toxics (CERT) brought a lawsuit against 91 commercial coffee roasters, retailers and distributors. ...more
Call this one a case of misdirection, but an Appellate Opinion seems to simplify matters. If anything having to do with environmental law can be considered simple....more
Business owners manufacturing, buying, selling, or importing products in California already know about the state’s Prop 65 law. But do they also know every single chemical or substance that is on that list?...more
2/1/2018
/ Commercial Property Owners ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Manufacturers ,
OEHHA ,
Proposition 65 ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
Risk Management ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Warning Labels
California voters legalizing the use of recreational marijuana under Proposition 64, also known as The Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) last November is just the beginning. Deciding how cannabis will be grown, sold and...more
9/25/2017
/ Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dispensaries ,
Licensing Rules ,
Local Ordinance ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Legislation ,
Proposition 64 ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State and Local Government
How deep does the clean water issue go in California? Let’s first take a look at some fairly recent and comprehensive findings:
There was good news and bad news regarding the cleanliness of California’s drinking water,...more
Property owners in California may have access to state funds for environmental cleanup of smaller brownfields projects. The money comes from two pieces of environmental legislation passed in 2014....more
The federal House Natural Resources Committee (HNRC) recently passed H.R. 2936, a bill to improve the overall health of forests and other lands across the country.
The bill was introduced by Bruce Westerman (R-AK), who is...more
Most of us remember the Jack and the Beanstalk story. In this 18th century fairy tale, a young, poor, every-day Jack trades an old cow for magic beans which makes his mother very angry. But in the end, Jack manages to bring...more
California Prop 65 warnings – many residents barely notice these anymore, as we’ve lived with Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act notices for over 30 years now. They appear at gas pumps; in apartment and office...more
Proposition 65, known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, among other things requires businesses employing ten or more people to warn consumers if the business’ products contain a chemical...more
This is the fourth and final blog in our 2016 California Election Guide Series – the first three providing brief synopses of the 17 state-wide ballot initiatives residents will see in November. In this final segment, we will...more
10/14/2016
/ Ballot Measures ,
Earthquakes ,
Funding ,
Job Creation ,
Local Ordinance ,
Property Tax ,
Public Transportation ,
Roads ,
Sales Tax ,
Surface Transportation ,
Tax Assessment ,
Tax Rates ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Water Conservation
This is part three of our ongoing series, California Ballot 2016, summarizing each of the 17 state-wide measures voters will encounter on the November ballot. Click these links: Props 51-56, or Props 57-61 to catch up on the...more
9/19/2016
/ Ammunition ,
Appeals ,
Background Checks ,
Ballot Measures ,
Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Death Penalty ,
Death Row ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Governor Brown ,
Gun Laws ,
Inmates ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Plastic Bag Bans ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retail Market ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Rates
This is the second post in our California Ballot 2016 series – providing the “nutshell” versions of each of the 17 state-wide measures voters must decide in November. Please refer to our first post in the series: Props 51-56,...more
9/7/2016
/ Adult Entertainment ,
Ballot Measures ,
Citizens United ,
Citizens United v Federal Election Commission ,
Department of Corrections ,
Drug Pricing ,
Educational Institutions ,
Felonies ,
Felons ,
Free Speech ,
Governor Brown ,
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) ,
Movies ,
Nonprofits ,
PACs ,
Parole ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Political Contributions ,
Pornography ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Prisoners ,
Sexual Conduct ,
Students
Californians must decide on 17 initiatives in the November election this year, and those are just the proposed measures of state-wide concern. Never mind the many local initiatives affecting counties and neighborhoods. The...more
8/25/2016
/ Ballot Measures ,
Bonds ,
Charter Schools ,
Community Colleges ,
E-Cigarettes ,
Educational Institutions ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Medi-Cal ,
Popular ,
Public Projects ,
Public Schools ,
Quality Assurance Programs ,
Tax Rates ,
Tobacco ,
Transparency
The Environmental Protection Agency's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) placed national limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants. The agency projected MATS to prevent 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700...more
8/11/2015
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Compliance ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
MATS ,
Mercury ,
Power Plants ,
SCOTUS ,
Toxic Exposure