OLYMPIA — Keeping people safe from dangerous products such as toys containing lead and dangerous chemicals should be a priority for the state, a local lawmaker says.
Rep. Marko Liias, D-Mukilteo, introduced a bill, scheduled for hearing today, to create a Web site and an information line to help protect consumers.
“Federal government isn’t prepared to deal with these issues,” Liias said, “and if it doesn’t want to take the leadership role, then we should.”
The Web site would be coordinated by the Washington State Department of Information Services and serve as a one-stop portal for consumer-protection information.
People often don’t fully understand how government operates, Liias said. Although the state already engages in some consumer-protection activities, many don’t always know where to find the information they need.
The Web site would refer visitors to various state agencies’ Web sites containing information.
“We are spending taxpayer dollars on consumer safety,” Liias said. “This is just connecting everyday citizens to services they are already paying for.”
While it would be the department’s responsibility to maintain the site, Liias said, the state agencies would be responsible for providing and updating their own information.
Liias said the portal should be modeled after the state’s main Web site, something the Department of Information Services has hosted for several years.
Liias said his idea is to seamlessly integrate the consumer-protection portal with the state’s main Web site that already exists so that the two “look the same and work the same.”
Joanne Todd, communications director for the Department of Information Services, found the legislation intriguing. “We are in the process of evaluating what it could do,” she said.
Others also are evaluating what role the state should have.
Rep. Liz Loomis, D-Snohomish, supported the bill. She said the state needs to take consumer protection into its own hands.
“The federal government’s focus is not on people; it’s on power,” Loomis said. “As a result, I feel consumers suffer.”
Critics say the federal agencies dealing with consumer safety are often slow to respond. The Consumer Product Safety Commission receives about 10,000 consumer complaints a year. Only some are investigated.
Julie Vallese, public affairs director for the commission, said consumer complaints constitute just one area the agency investigates. “We look for patterns,” she said.
When a product violates the commission’s mandatory standards or otherwise presents a risk to consumers, manufacturers may be asked to voluntarily conduct a recall.
The recent recalls of toys containing lead and toxic chemicals have outraged parents and lawmakers alike. One bill presented to the Legislature this year would hold manufacturers and distributors accountable.
This bill is an example of Washington taking a more dynamic approach than most other states, said Rep. Jeff Morris, D-Mount Vernon.
For example, Morris said, Washington was the first state to pass an anti-spam law. Such activism, he said, can pressure Congress to create federal legislation.
The bill is scheduled for hearing in the House Technology, Energy and Communications Committee.
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