Toxic Toys and Healthy Teens
by Christine Stuart | April 2, 2008 8:28 AM
Posted to State Capitol
The Appropriations Committee passed two bills Tuesday. One creates a grant for communities to teach comprehensive sex education and one that phases out certain chemicals in children’s toys.
Only a handful of legislators voted against the Healthy Teens bill, which is being pushed by a coalition of groups including Planned Parenthood and Aids Project Hartford. The group says this $1 million grant is necessary because “Connecticut has no designated funding stream for comprehensive sexuality education in schools.”
The toxic toy bill supported by the Coalition for a Safe and Healthy Connecticut was met with some stiff opposition by Republicans in the committee Tuesday who tried to introduce an amendment that would push back implementation to 2010. Legislators said they were getting conflicting information about these chemicals from a both sides of the issue and were unable to reconcile the information independently.
“Big chemical companies and the Toy Industry Association are lobbying hard to make Connecticut a dumping ground for cheap, toxic products banned in other parts of the world,” a press release from the coalition said. “Now the Coalition is looking to House and Senate Leadership to adopt the forward-thinking components of this legislation in order to keep our kids safe from unnecessary toxic substances.”
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