Bill to exempt cadmium paints continues to languish in committee

Be careful out there artists Buying cadmium paints and pastels still remains illegal in Minnesota despite efforts by particular in the state Legislature to carve out an exemption Bills in the House and Senate to exempt artist paint from the ban are still stuck in committees in this year s divided authorities which is heading into a special session Meanwhile additional proposed exemptions for mechanical pencils and ink pens in both bills and keys in only the Senate bill will have to wait for a special session also As I wrote about previously earlier this year Minnesota s cadmium and lead ban went into effect in and restricts the imports sale and distribution of products containing lead or cadmium That includes the oil and acrylic paints that have been used by professional artists since the th century when artists like Henri Matisse Auguste Renoir and Vincent Van Gogh employed the element to create colors that are at once opaque and vibrant Minnesota moves towards tighter regulations on lead and cadmium Minnesota had already regulated lead and cadmium in children s jewelry before the law but after the state unveiled toys and jewelry that also contained lead and cadmium above safe limits it moved to create tighter restrictions according to the Minnesota Litter Control Agency MPCA website Rep Bjorn Olson R-Fairmont learned about the impact the cadmium ban had on artists from a constituent who makes cadmium-based oil pastels which he sold before they became illegal But because the legal battle over what constitutes a quorum delayed the house from convening back in January the Senate became the first to officially introduce the bill When Republican Sen Rich Draheim Madison Lake introduced what he called The Paint Bill a whole bunch of other people just started approaching me with can you add this Can you add that he disclosed Exemptions for keys were added as well as pens I think everything that I took had pretty wide help he declared The Senate bill was referred to the Ecosystem Weather and Legacy Committee where it lingered Draheim expressed frustration with the lack of progress In my opinion the nine years I ve been here you have two jobs One is to be a politician and try to solve problems And the other half to that is you have to govern And I think to govern you have to make compromises and you have to sit and listen to one another a little bit more than I think we tend to do Draheim hasn t heard complaints about his bill It s pretty straightforward he explained I ve not had one email not one phone call nothing I don t know why people are having a hard time with this I was hoping it would be a standalone and get it done Normally Draheim explained the legislature has a couple little bills that are nothing other than fixing a dilemma We haven t seen that this year he revealed Meanwhile Olson s bill in the House had a hearing on March in the Commerce Finance and Approach committee At the hearing Kirk Koudelka the assistant commissioner at the Minnesota Contamination Control Agency declared he had concern over the list of exemptions because they have high lead and cadmium amounts and even small amounts of lead and cadmium and household products can cause serious problems for children and others he noted Lead and cadmium paints prized for their characteristics Darin Rinne co-owner of the artist supply store Wet Paint in St Paul also spoke at the hearing Every tube of artist paint is clearly labeled with its contents because the properties of each pigment or blend of pigments are critical for the artist he disclosed Lead and cadmium are not used in artist paints as a secret filler the way they might be when hidden in kids toys and jewelry They are prized for their specific characteristics The bill was then referred to the House s Ecosystem and Natural Guidance Finance and Initiative committee for a hearing on March At that meeting Tom Johnson the regime relations director for the MPCA stated the agency stood by its initial assessment but did indicate that the MPCA would be willing to have a three-year exemption for ballpoint pens though not mechanical pencils because those have alternatives including wood pens and plastic mechanical pencils He also commented MPCA would agree to a three-year extension on key fobs but not actual keys Related Don t lose your keys Minnesotans they might soon be illegal As for artist paints there seemed to be specific wiggle room there too MPCA appreciated the modern conversation we had with the Arts and Creative Materials Institute Johnson noted at the March hearing We recognize that alternatives may not exist for certain specific professional paints and are committed to continuing work through language with the industry to determine what exactly the scope is The House and Senate bills on the exemptions for the lead and cadmium ban don t at the moment match and that s because the House bill has taken out keys from the bill Rep Leigh Finke DFL-St Paul mentioned she was on board for exempting artist paints after she learned about the issue from her favorite artist supply store Wet Paint Finke is a practicing artist This was something that had happened and was going to do serious damage to their business especially the smaller independent art shops like their own Finke explained But Finke didn t think all of the exemptions proposed made sense I think that there are other distinctions about why an exemption makes sense for paint and not for several of the other products that are being inquired for she disclosed We are seeing for keys especially but also for the mechanical pencils and the other supplies there are arena ready available alternatives They do exist she revealed I understand that people who manufacture those keys may not want to use those but they are there There s completely no other alternative for cadmium paints There are chosen in the other industries that disagree however about the availability of alternatives If things don t change as of July he will not be able to buy a pen in the great state of Minnesota reported David H Baker who represents both artist supply industries as well as pen and mechanical pencil industries According to Olson the bill has bipartisan backing but there seems to be a lack of ambition to just send it off he explained We ve gotten into a really bad habit of having a bill heard in committee holding it laying it over and then including it in an omnibus bill And a multitude of times things get forgotten about or left out of those omnibus bills And so it s a serious peril but that is kind of the theme The post Bill to exempt cadmium paints continues to languish in committee appeared first on MinnPost