PORTLAND, Ore. (Legal Newsline) - Several business groups have sued the State of Oregon over provisions in the 2015 Toxic-Free Kids Act.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed Dec. 6 in Oregon federal court, are American Apparel & Footwear Association, Inc., Halloween Industry Association, Inc., Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, Inc., The Toy Association, Inc., and the Safe to Play Coalition. Defendants are Patrick Allen, in his official capacity as the Director of the Oregon Health Authority, and Ellen Rosenblum, in her official capacity as Attorney General for the State of Oregon.
The lawsuit seeks declaratory judgment and injunctive relief in regard to two provisions of Oregon’s 2015 Toxic-Free Kids Act that are said to be preempted by the federal Consumer Product Safety Act and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. The Oregon legislature passed the Toxic-Free Kids Act in 2015 in order to identify and then “phase out” a long list of chemicals from certain children’s products sold in Oregon, which Plaintiffs claim the state cannot due to federal law.
The first provision the lawsuit focuses on is OAR 333-016-3015, which requires onerous fees and testing to request an “exemption” from being banned under Oregon law that already exists solely because of the fact of conflicting federal law, the suit says. The second provision is ORS 431A.258 and its implementing administrative rule, OAR 333-016-2060, which require the identification and reporting of chemicals even though, as present in a children’s toy, they present no risk of harm to children, the suit says.
Plaintiffs are represented by James T. McDermott and Dwain M. Clifford.
District Court of Oregon case number 3:21-cv-01757-YY