In Sacramento, liberal politicians have a history of dismissing logic
as something that merely gets in the way of the truth. As Vice Chair of
the Senate Environmental Quality Committee I see have seen my fair
share of these bills. It’s clear this year is no different as
legislation based on skewed facts and faulty science work their way
through the Legislature.
The latest piece of "fact-based" legislation to clear the Environmental
Quality Committee is Senate Bill 1212 by Senator Mark Leno. The bill
would require cell phone manufacturers to place warning labels about
the "specific absorption rate" (SAR), otherwise known as radio
frequency radiation, on all cell phone devices sold in California.
These labels would appear on the outside of cell phone packaging and
inside the instruction manual.
Supporters of SB 1212 believe that a customer has a right to know the
level of radio frequency in their cell phone so they can make an
informed purchasing decision. Supposedly, this information is important
because of the small possibility that cell phones could have a negative
impact public health. However, there are no facts to back that idea up.
However, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) already has
standards in place to control cell phone radio frequency emissions. The
bulk of scientific evidence, over 2,500 studies since World War II,
shows that these FCC standards do more than enough to protect consumers
from any potentially harmful effects.
Furthermore, there is nothing currently stopping consumers from
obtaining information on the SAR values of various cell phones. With a
few clicks of a mouse, the information is readily available from a
number of different sources, including wireless carriers’ and
manufacturers’ websites. Given this information, SB 1212 can only be
characterized as a piece of fear-mongering legislation that creates a
costly answer to a non-problem.
This bill may be touted as a simple "consumer right to know" measure,
but the consequences for California’s wireless technology sector are
far from simple. Make no mistake, if passed, this bill will harm every
business in California that sells cell phones by creating yet another
regulation they must comply with.
I voted against SB 1212 in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee,
and I will continue to stand up for businesses and oppose it. With all
the issues California is currently facing, the Democratic majority in
the Legislature needs to get its facts straight and focus on more
important matters.