CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The CMS clear backpack rollout has been put on pause after a warning label was found on most of the bags. The warning tag is required by "Proposition 65" a California law that mandates the disclosure of chemicals that could cause cancer.
A product can't be sold in that state unless it's properly labeled.
SOURCES:
First, let's walk through what Proposition 65 is.
It's officially known as the Safe Drinking water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, which was passed by California voters.
It requires the state to maintain and update a list of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive problems. There are more than a thousand chemicals that require a warning label. If a product contains any of those chemicals, the manufacturer or distributor must include the warning if the item is sold in California.
Do companies and manufacturers have to put proposition 65 warnings on the internet? According to the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, businesses don't have to put it on their website. They just need to put a warning label on the product if it's shipped to consumers in California.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Howe is proposition 65 enforced?
The California Attorney General's Office enforces the Law. Any district attorney or city attorney with more than 750,000 people in the city can also enforce prop 65. Penalties for violating prop 65 can be as high as $2,500 per violation per day. This is a California law that only applies to products sold in that state. It's not enforceable elsewhere.
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