Children's Rights

OAKLAND-Fighting to ensure the safety of children’s playgrounds and ball fields, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed off on an agreement requiring Georgia-based AstroTurf, LLC to virtually eliminate lead from its artificial grass, creating the country’s first enforceable lead standards for artificial turf products.

“As schools and daycare centers replace grass with artificial turf, extreme care must be taken to minimize lead exposure,” Brown said. “This agreement is the first of its kind and will help make playgrounds and ball fields safe for our children.”

In 2008, Brown filed suit against AstroTurf and two other companies for excessive lead levels after testing by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) found high levels in artificial turf products. Brown’s office independently tested AstroTurf and other artificial turf products and confirmed CEH’s findings. AstroTurf immediately took steps to begin reformulating its products.

Today’s consent judgment requires AstroTurf to reformulate its products so that they contain less than 100 parts per million (ppm), and to further reduce lead levels to 50 ppm by June 2010. Lab results found that some AstroTurf products contained more than 5,000 ppm lead. Lead was added to keep the colors vibrant over time. AstroTurf will be prohibited from selling any existing stock that doesn’t meet these standards.

AstroTurf will also provide a grant of $60,000 to the Public Health Trust to fund “wipe testing” of dislodgeable lead on artificial turf fields at daycare centers, schools and public playing fields in California. If the level of dislodgeable lead exceeds the specified replacement level, AstroTurf will provide replacement turf to the daycare center, school or public field at no cost.

AstroTurf will also provide a mailed warning to all customers who purchased its products in California in the past five years. The warning will (1) inform customers that the turf products contain lead; (2) explain “good maintenance practices” that can effectively reduce exposures to lead; and (3) advise the customers of the availability of the program to test and replace old turf products. AstroTurf will also establish a website to provide information to the public on lead content in its products.

The Los Angeles City Attorney and Solano County District Attorney joined Brown in the case against AstroTurf. In addition to its obligation to replace products that exceed acceptable lead levels, the company will pay $170,000 in civil penalties, grants and attorney fees.

"Today's agreement with AstroTurf sets a strong standard for other companies who have not yet agreed to eliminate lead risks to children from turf,' said CEH Executive Director Michael Green. 'Lead is a stunningly toxic chemical that has no place in playing fields for children. We applaud the Attorney General, the LA City Attorney, the Solano County DA and AstroTurf for this accord to protect California's children.'

A copy of the consent judgment is attached.

Federal and State authorities this morning arrested 20 defendants accused of being part of ring that defrauded Medi-Cal out of nearly $4.6 million by using unlicensed individuals to provide in-home care to scores of disabled patients, many of them children with cerebral palsy or developmental disabilities.

The 20 defendants arrested this morning are among 42 defendants named in a 41-count indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury on June 25. The indictment is part of an investigation called Operation License Integrity, a two-year investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Office of the California Attorney General-Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse. The indictment alleges that the 42 defendants and two others, one of whom has already pleaded guilty to health care fraud charges, conspired to bill Medi-Cal nearly $4.6 million for in-home licensed nursing services that were actually provided by unlicensed individuals.

The organizer of the ring, Priscilla Villabroza, a registered nurse who ran a Santa Fe Springs-based company called Medcare Plus Home Health Providers, pleaded guilty in federal court last year to five counts of health care fraud. According to court documents, Villabroza and others hired individuals to provide care to disabled Medi-Cal patients, many of whom were children and young adults served under a program called Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) Supplemental Services. The indictment alleges that from August 2004 through the end of 2007, Villabroza and others hired unlicensed individuals to provide services to the disabled Medi-Cal patients and billed Medi-Cal as if they were licensed vocational nurses (LVNs). Some of the unlicensed individuals had foreign training, but never passed a nursing exam here. Some of them had no medical training at all.

'Villabroza and her associates concocted a clever rip-off where they hired untrained and unlicensed nurses to provide care to children with serious health conditions,' California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. said. 'At a time of budgetary crisis, they cheated California's welfare system and pocketed millions of dollars in unauthorized state reimbursements.'

'We believe that this is the largest single case alleging Medi-Cal fraud ever filed in the state,' said United States Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien. 'The nearly four dozen people associated with this fraud ring not only cheated taxpayers, they endangered the lives of young people they promised to protect and care for.'

The unlicensed nurse defendants visited the patients at home and at school and provided nursing services that included administering medications, adjusting ventilators, and feeding through gastronomy tubes. Some parents and patients reported to authorities that the 'nurses' lacked basic skills. In one case, a 'nurse' was unable to replace a tracheotomy tube that had fallen out of a young patient’s neck. In another case, an imposter nurse simply fled a medical situation when she apparently was unable to provide assistance.

Salvador Hernandez, Assistant Director In Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles, stated: 'This case is particularly troubling in that patients received sub-standard care for serious medical conditions when defendants operated without a license and in their own best interest, not their patients’ interests. The FBI and our partners will continue to provide resources to detect and fight health care fraud that affects the stability of government programs and our economy.'
Glenn R. Ferry, Special Agent in Charge for the Los Angeles Region of the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health of Human Services, commented: 'Today's arrests send a strong message to those who would corruptly take advantage of the Medi-Cal system. Greed, at the expense of our most vulnerable citizens and their quality of care, will not be tolerated. The Office of Inspector General will continue to closely work with our Federal, State and local law enforcement partners to prevent, deter and prosecute health care fraud.'
A key assistant to Villabroza – Susan Bendigo, an RN who ran a Medcare Plus subsidiary – was indicted last year. Bendigo is a fugitive who fled the United States during the investigation into her activities.
Villabroza, Bendigo and supervisors involved in the scheme allegedly directed the unlicensed nurse defendants to lie about their licensing and qualifications by telling the parents or guardians of the disabled Medi-Cal beneficiaries that they were LVNs, according to the indictment. The unlicensed nurse defendants falsely presented themselves as professionals, concealed their unlicensed status from the parents or guardians of the disabled Medi-Cal beneficiaries, and in some cases affirmatively misrepresented themselves as LVNs.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The defendants arrested today are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles. The other defendants named in the indictment will be summoned to appear in court for arraignments in the coming weeks.
All of the defendants named in the indictment are charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, a felony count that carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. All of the defendants are also named in at least one substantive count of health care fraud, a charge that carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
Both the California Department of Registered Nursing, which licenses RNs, and the California Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau of Vocational Nursing, which licenses LVNs, maintain websites where consumers can check the licensing status of any purported professional providing services to them. These can be accessed at http://www2.dca.ca.gov.
Anyone who suspects Medi-Cal fraud related to the use of unlicensed nurses or any other type of Medi-Cal or Medicare fraud may report their concerns to the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General hotline at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-477 8477) or the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse hotline at 800-722-0432 or webpage, http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/individuals/Pages/StopMedi-CalFraud.aspx.

Oakland — Fighting to protect children from video games featuring “killing sprees, torture and sexual assault,” Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold California’s law prohibiting the sale or rental of such brutally violent games to children.

“California’s children are exposed everyday to video games that glamorize killing sprees, torture and sexual assault,” Brown said. “In the face of this brutal and extreme violence, I am petitioning the Supreme Court to allow the state to enforce its reasonable ban on the sale or rental of violent video game sales to children.”

Brown today filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the state of California. If at least four of the nine Supreme Court justices grant the petition, the Supreme Court will take up the case and review the decision to invalidate California’s violent video game law.

The case stems from a 2005 California law that requires violent video games to be labeled with an “18”, prohibits the sale or rental of these games to minors, and authorizes fines of up to $1,000 for each violation.

The Video Software Dealers Association (now part of the Entertainment Merchants Association), however, filed suit in federal court to block the law before it could go into effect.

On August 6, 2007, the U.S. District Court for Northern California invalidated California’s law. Brown immediately appealed the ruling. On February 20, 2009, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court ruling.

Today’s petition asks the U.S. Supreme Court to take up this case and overturn the appellate court decision.
Brown’s petition contends that the same flexible legal standard the courts have applied to limitations on sexually explicit material sold to children – whether it is rational for the state to determine the material is harmful to children -- should be applied to violent material in video games.

Currently, states may regulate the sale of sexually explicit magazines to children, but they cannot place similar limits on the sale of violent video games.

Multiple studies conducted by Dr. Craig Anderson and other social scientists have found direct correlation between children’s exposure to this brutal violence and increased aggressiveness, antisocial behavior, and desensitization to violence.

The U.S. Supreme Court has never addressed the question of whether extremely violent material sold to children can be treated the same as sexually explicit material. Brown’s petition asks the Court to resolve this question and hold that states can place reasonable restrictions on the distribution of extremely violent material to children.

Self Regulation Ineffective

To date, video game industry self-regulation has proven ineffective. Children are still able to readily obtain violent video games, despite the voluntary rating system in place.

A 2005 Federal Trade Commission undercover investigation found that 42 percent of 13 to 16-year-old children were able to purchase M-rated games, and only half of cashiers asked the minor’s age.

Violent M-Rated games dominate industry marketing and sales. Last month, at least half of the top ten best selling games for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were M-rated. These included titles such as:
• Resident Evil 5;
• Call of Duty: World at War;
• Halo 3;
• Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena; and
• Killzone 2.

In “Killzone 2,” the industry admits the extreme level of violence in the games they sell and market to children. Their rating description reads: “Red blood spray emits from enemy soldiers when shot, and weapons such as sniper rifles and shotguns can be used to decapitate them. Post-mortem damage can be inflicted on soldiers’ bodies, resulting in pools of blood on the ground. During one cutscene, a gravely wounded character retrieves a pistol and shoots himself in the head.”

Another recent M-Rated release available, “F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin,” includes the following rating description: “Blood spray often explodes out of wounded enemies, while a slow motion effect allows players to see blood emission in a jelly-like, hanging form. Blood is also smeared on walls, the ground, and in pooled stains near dead bodies, which are sometimes torn apart and beheaded…A sexual assault is vaguely depicted accompanied by images of a writhing body and moaning sounds.” Online, a 39-second trailer for the game is devoted to “blood improvements,” depicting in graphic detail how blood splattering graphics have been updated from a previous version of the game.

A copy of the petition is attached.

LOS ANGELES -- Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced that special agents from the California Department of Justice today arrested Abel Moses Somilleda, the owner of a vacation travel agency, who “ripped off” $55,000 from high school and college students whose 2006 trip to Cancun, Mexico was cancelled.

“Dozens of high school and college students paid hundreds of dollars for a spring break trip to Cancun, but instead of a week of vacation, these students were ripped off by the owner of Big Bad Student Travel,” Brown said. “Abel Moses Somilleda promised a vacation to Mexico, but when the trip was cancelled, he pocketed the students’ money instead of providing refunds.”

Abel Moses Somilleda, 35, of Hawthorne, Calif., was arrested in Hawthorne by California Department of Justice Special Agents. He is charged with:

• Nine counts of grand theft in violation of Penal Code section 487(a);
• One count of failure to return moneys in violation of Business and Professions Code section 17550.14; and
• Nine counts of failure to deliver on ticket or voucher in violation of Business and Professions Code section 17550.17(b).

Somilleda opened Big Bad Student Travel in 2004 after working for ten years in the student travel business and coordinating several trips of his own.

In 2006, Somilleda organized a spring break trip to Cancun, Mexico, for dozens of high school and college students. Students paid approximately $700 for the flight, hotel room, and expenses.

Three months before the trip, however, Somilleda learned that it would be cancelled. But instead of immediately informing those who had signed up, Somilleda continued to accept payment for the trip. It was only two or three days before the trip was scheduled to take place when Somilleda notified students that it had been cancelled.

Somilleda promised the students that they would receive a refund within several days. The students, however, never received refunds.

In total, Somilleda pocketed some $55,000. A search warrant uncovered that Somilleda had spent most of the money on his own personal expenses -- including rent, dinners, groceries, and utilities.

If convicted of all charges, Somilleda faces eight years in prison.

California requires all sellers of travel to register with the California Attorney General’s Office and display their registration number on all advertising. To check the registration of a Seller of Travel visit the Attorney General’s website at http://www.ag.ca.gov/travel/

To help prevent becoming a victim of travel fraud, the Attorney General’s Office has offered a few tips and warning signs.

GET IT IN WRITING AND READ IT CAREFULLY
Before you pay any money, read all the terms and conditions relating to your travel services including cancellation conditions, fees and other restrictions.
PAY BY CREDIT CARD
You have a right in certain circumstances to have credit card charges reversed if you do not receive what you paid for. Check with your credit card company for details. This protection is not available when you make a payment with a check, money order, or cash.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Check beforehand with your local Better Business Bureau or California Department of Consumer Affairs ( http://www.dca.ca.gov/ ), which may tell you how long the seller of travel has been in business, whether there have been any law enforcement actions brought against it in the past, and the nature of consumer complaints it has received, if any.
CONFIRM TRAVEL PLANS DIRECTLY
It is a good practice to confirm all of your travel arrangements directly with the businesses providing the transportation, hotel, or car rental.
BEWARE OF “FREE” TRIPS
While there are legitimate businesses that offer free trips, there are others that offer “free” trips to entice consumers into buying their products or services, which include hidden costs.
INTERNET SCAMS
There are many legitimate sellers of travel that provide great deals on the Internet, but if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.
USE ONLY A REGISTERED TRAVEL COMPANY OR AGENT
Sellers of travel must register every year with the Attorney General's office in order to do business or market in California. They must clearly display their registration number in all advertising materials. Do not deal with unregistered travel companies. While registration does not mean that the seller is reputable, you should avoid any seller who has not adopted the safeguards required by law to protect your payments.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN SCAMMED
Taking money without delivering goods or services that are promised can be a crime. If you believe you have been a victim of a crime, call your local police agency. If your travel seller’s main place of business is in California, and under certain other circumstances, you may be entitled to make a claim for restitution from the Travel Consumer Restitution Fund. For more information about how to file a claim, please go to http://ag.ca.gov/travel/consumer.php.

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. and Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo have reached a settlement with Mattel, Inc. – and several other toy makers – that will “safeguard California’s children” from lead-contaminated toys this Christmas.

Even though a new federal law ratcheting down standards for lead in toys won’t go into effect until February 10, 2009, Mattel and its subsidiary Fisher-Price, RC2 (which makes Thomas the Tank Engine toys), A&A Global Industries, Cranium Inc., Eveready Battery Company, Marvel Entertainment, Toy Investments, Kids II, and Amscan, have agreed to adopt the tough new federal standards immediately. By this agreement, the companies have pledged not to sell any toys they know contain lead, and in addition will pay $550,000 for lead testing and improved consumer notification.

“These consumer protection agreements will safeguard California’s children from lead-contaminated toys this Christmas,” Attorney General Brown said.
“Putting these agreements into effect immediately is absolutely critical because so many toys are sold between Thanksgiving and Christmas, months before new federal standards go into effect.”

In the wake of disturbing revelations about lead-contaminated toys imported from China over the past two years, Attorney General Brown and City Attorney Delgadillo filed suit against 17 toy manufacturers and retailers on November 19, 2007. Nine months later, Congress passed landmark consumer product safety legislation, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

The federal legislation:
• Lowers the standard for lead in paint and surface coatings from 600 parts per million currently to 90 parts per million after August 14, 2009.
• Establishes increasingly tight restrictions for lead in other materials used in toys – such as plastics, metals and fabrics. These restrictions are phased in over time.

February 10, 2009 – 600 parts per million
August 14, 2009 – 300 parts per million
August 14, 2011 – 100 parts per million

By the terms of the settlement agreement announced today, the companies will:
• Implement the federal lead standards on December 1, 2008, instead of February 10, 2009.
• Meet the 90 parts per million lead in paint standard by December 1, 2008, instead of by August 14, 2009, except for Kids II and Amscan, which will adhere to the federal timeline.

• Meet the 300 parts per million standard for lead in plastics, metals, and fabrics by December 1, 2008, instead of August 14, 2009, except for Kids II and Amscan, which will adhere to the federal timeline.
• If the companies find toys in excess of the lead standard, they will stop selling and distributing those toys, regardless of when the toy was made. This will be in effect this holiday season.
• Pay into a $550,000 fund to test toys for lead and improve outreach about future recalls. They will pay another $460,000 for the Attorney General’s and Los Angeles City Attorney’s Proposition 65 enforcement activities and $548,500 in civil penalties.
• Implement a Quality Assurance System that is designed to identify and to segregate toys with lead during and after the manufacturing process.
• Send direct notice of a recall to consumers of the product for whom they possess address or email contact information.

If the companies violate the lead standard in the future, the Attorney General can obtain penalties through an expedited enforcement process.

This agreement settles a lawsuit filed by the State of California and the LA City Attorney in November 2007, after receiving notices of violation from the Center for Environmental Health, As you Sow, and the Environmental Law Foundation.

The lawsuit alleges that Mattel and 16 other companies knowingly exposed individuals to lead—a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer and reproductive harm—and failed to provide any warning about this risk.

Other defendants not part of this settlement are: Costco, KB Toys, Kmart, Michaels, Sears, Target, Toys ‘R’ Us, and Wal-Mart.

Background on Proposition 65

During the last year and a half, there have been frequent recalls of toys imported from China due to lead in the paint. Subsequently, the Attorney General’s Office began an investigation under Proposition 65, which ensures that businesses cannot expose individuals to hazardous chemicals without posting a clear and reasonable warning.

Proposition 65 is enforced through lawsuits brought by the Attorney General, district attorneys and city attorneys in cities with a population exceeding 750,000. Lawsuits may also be brought by private parties, but only after these parties notify the Attorney General of the alleged violation. Businesses that violate Proposition 65 are subject to civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day for each violation.

Proposition 65 requires the Governor to publish a list of chemicals that are known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. Lead has been listed since 1987 as a chemical that can cause reproductive harm and birth defects, and has been on the list of chemicals known to cause cancer since 1992.

For more information about Prop 65 and to view the private party notices please visit: http://ag.ca.gov/prop65/index.php.

SACRAMENTO--Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today called upon California’s Internet service providers to follow the lead of Verizon, Time Warner Cable and Sprint by “removing child pornography from existing servers and blocking channels” that disseminate the illegal material.

“Protecting the safety of our children must be a top priority, not just for government, but also for businesses with the direct power to reduce the ability to conduct illegal activity,” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. said in a joint letter to the California Internet Service Provider Association, which represents more than 100 Internet service providers in California.

“We applaud three of the world’s largest Internet service providers—Verizon, Time Warner Cable, and Sprint—for taking steps to block access to child pornography. It is not enough, however, for only a few Internet service providers to join the fight against online predators. Child pornography is not protected by the First Amendment, and distributing this material is illegal.”

On June 10, 2008, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced agreements with Verizon, Time Warner Cable, and Sprint, to block access to child pornography by purging their servers of existing child pornography and eliminating access to child pornography newsgroups.

Governor Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Brown said other Internet service providers should follow these companies’ lead by ridding their own servers of child pornography and preventing access to illegal content through newsgroups.

“The California Internet Service Providers Association is the largest association of Internet providers in the country and we are asking your members to take their leadership role seriously. The association can begin by working with its more than 100 members to remove child pornography from existing servers and blocking channels, which include newsgroups, used for distributing this material,” Schwarzenegger and Brown said.

California is home to the Silicon Valley which has hundreds of Internet service providers, ranging from large companies to smaller, local providers. Some of the major providers include AT&T and AOL. According to the California ISP Association, the largest such association in the country, there are more than 100 Internet service providers in California.

The California Attorney General’s office has been working with other states to protect children from dangerous predators on the Internet. California recently joined 49 other states in reaching agreements with Myspace and Facebook so that those social networking sites take steps, including age and ID verification processes, to protect children from online sexual predators. The attorney general’s office also deploys special agents who conduct undercover investigations into online sexual predators. For more information about the apprehension teams, visit: www.ag.ca.gov/cbi

A copy of Governor Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Brown’s letter to the California Internet Service Providers Association, sent today, is attached.

SAN DIEGO--The California Attorney General today charged Rachel Silva, 27, with felony child endangerment and five misdemeanors including driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a suspended license and driving while in possession of marijuana.

In a declaration in support of Silva’s arrest warrant, Special Agent Stephen Duncan said, “I believe that Rachel Silva’s driving and actions on March 15, 2008, willfully put her son, Johnny Silva, under circumstances likely to produce great bodily injury or death…”

The state’s charges follow an investigation into Rachel Silva’s driving and the automobile collision with off-duty police officer Frank White that she caused at approximately 9:15 p.m. on March 15, 2008 in Oceanside, California. During that incident, Silva was driving in an erratic and aggressive manner with her eight-year old son in the car, while under the influence of alcohol, with a suspended driver’s license, and in possession of marijuana.

After nearly causing a collision with another car, Silva pursued off-duty police officer Frank White in his car and struck his vehicle with her vehicle. During the incident, Officer White fired five rounds into Silva’s vehicle, striking her twice in the arm and her son twice in the leg.

The incident was thoroughly investigated by the Oceanside Police Department. After an extensive briefing about the incident by the Oceanside Police Department, the California Attorney General’s Office and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office agreed that it was appropriate for the Attorney General’s Office to analyze and make any criminal filing decision as to Rachel Silva and for the San Diego District Attorney’s Office to retain the investigation of Officer Frank White.

During the investigation, California Department of Justice agents reviewed 2,500 pages of documents, including an accident reconstruction report. The circumstances surrounding Rachel Silva’s car striking Officer Frank White’s car were insufficient for the filing of a charge of assault with a deadly weapon or any other assault charge against Rachel Silva.

The state’s complaint was filed today and an arrest warrant was obtained. Silva has agreed to formally surrender at her arraignment at 1:30 p.m. on July 9, 2008, in Department 12 of the Superior Court in downtown San Diego.

The state’s criminal complaint and declaration in support of the arrest warrant are attached.

LOS ANGELES—California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. and Los Angeles City Attorney Rockard J. Delgadillo today sued twenty companies for manufacturing or selling toys with “unlawful quantities of lead.”

Commenting on the lawsuit which was filed today in Alameda County Superior Court, Attorney General Brown said, “Companies must take every reasonable step to assure that the products they handle are safe for children and their families and fully comply with the laws of California. Despite the lengthening global supply chain, every company that does business in this state must follow the law and protect consumers from lead and other toxic materials.”

“Lead in toys poses a significant threat to the health and well being of our children,” said Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. “This lawsuit is intended to ensure that these companies eliminate lead and other harmful substances from children’s toys, once and for all.”

The state’s lawsuit alleges that companies knowingly exposed individuals to lead—a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer and reproductive harm—and failed to provide any warning about this risk. Under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, known as Proposition 65, businesses cannot expose individuals to hazardous chemicals without posting a clear warning.

Proposition 65 is enforced through lawsuits brought by the attorney general, district attorneys and city attorneys in cities with a population exceeding 750,000. Lawsuits may also be brought by private parties, but only after these parties notify the attorney general of the alleged violation.

The California Attorney General—who successfully negotiated settlements in the past to remove lead in candy, soda bottles, jewelry and other consumer products—launched an investigation into toy manufacturers and retailers after the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission began issuing recall notices for toys that exceeded federal lead limits. Beginning with the recall of 1.5 million Thomas the Tank Engine toys in June, 46 toy products have been recalled for excessive levels of lead—totaling approximately 6 million toys this year.

Following the national recall, the attorney general received notices of impending lawsuits against toy companies from the Center for Environmental Health, Environmental Law Foundation, and As You Sow. Under Prop 65, private parties must notify the attorney general of the allegations before bringing a lawsuit. The attorney general then has the option to take over these lawsuits or allow the complaints to proceed independently.

Although Proposition 65 only requires companies to post hazard warnings, many businesses choose to eliminate the toxic chemicals altogether. Last year, the attorney general prompted over 70 retailers and distributors to meet tougher lead standards for jewelry. Many companies subject to today’s lawsuit have indicated they are also committed to taking measures to ensure that lawful standards are met in the future.

Businesses that violate Proposition 65 are subject to civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day for each violation. In addition, courts may order businesses to stop committing the violation. Today’s lawsuit seeks to remedy past violations and prompt manufacturers and retailers to establish processes that prevent toys with lead from being sold in the future.

Proposition 65 requires the Governor to publish a list of chemicals that are known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. Lead has been listed since 1987 as a chemical that can cause reproductive harm and birth defects, and has been on the list of chemicals known to cause cancer since 1992.

Lead is a toxic metal that damages the nervous system and other organs. Children are particularly susceptible to the risks of lead exposure. Children can ingest the lead in toys when they place the toys in their mouths, handle the toys and then touch their mouths, or transfer the lead from the toys to other items such as food.

Companies subject to today’s lawsuit include: Mattel, Fisher-Price, Michaels Stores, Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, KB Toys, Costco Wholesale, A&A Global Industries, RC2 Corporation, Eveready Battery Company, Kids II, Kmart, Marvel Entertainment, Toy Investments.

For more information about Prop 65 and to view the private party notices please visit: http://ag.ca.gov/prop65/index.php. For more information about the national toy recall, please visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission at: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html

The state’s lawsuit is attached.