INDIANAPOLIS—Senate Assistant Minority Leader Shelli Yoder (D-Bloomington) released the following statement on House Bill 1399 being held in committee. The bill would have reclassified thousands of PFAs so they would no longer be legally considered PFAs in Indiana.

“I’m extremely thankful that this proposal was held in committee. PFAs are dangerous to Hoosiers and this bill would have leapt ahead of the science and pending federal regulations on PFAs. Industry groups brought HB 1399 wanting consistency and stability in regulations. We cannot accept the false choice between a strong economy and environmental regulations that protect people. We know that exposure to PFAs has significant health effects—like potential birth defects, reproductive impacts, miscarriages, Parkinson’s disease, high cholesterol, cancers and other long-term ailments like obesity and diabetes. HB 1399 would have made these chemicals more prominent in everyday life, exposing Hoosiers to more of these toxic substances. 

“In recent years, Indiana has taken the right approach to PFAs, like last year’s law to protect firefighters who have faced chronic exposure to PFAs in their careers. Extensive water testing led by IDEM has identified dozens of small communities with water systems contaminated with PFAs, and IDEM has led cleanup initiatives in our waterways to remove PFA contamination. These agency and legislative actions, based on science and expert consensus, are the types of actions we should be taking to protect Hoosiers from harmful chemicals, not pushing what amounts to misinformation with arbitrary reclassifying of dangerous chemicals. 

“Going forward, Indiana should continue to engage all stakeholders, including researchers, public health experts and environmental advocates to create regulations that protect the public from exposure to these substances and prioritizes the health of our citizens and state.”