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As the holiday shopping season gets under way, state Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine) has introduced legislation to give consumers information about chemicals in children's toys. Dubbed the "Toxic Toys" bill, it is being circulated for legislative co-sponsorship and is expected to be formally introduced in December. "Like all parents, I want to ensure that the toys I buy for my young daughter are safe and won't harm her," Mason stated in a news release issued Wednesday. His daughter Eleanor will turn 1 in December. According to the release, the bill would:
-- Require the state's consumer watchdog agency, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, to identify chemicals that are capable of causing harm to children, based on credible scientific evidence.
-- Require manufacturers and distributors of products containing those chemicals to provide information to the agency about those products.
-- Require the agency to identify safer alternatives and then require manufacturers and distributors to use them to replace problematic chemicals within a "reasonable amount of time," Mason stated.
-- Requires the agency to develop a program to educate consumers and retailers so they can identify children's products that may contain harmful chemicals. "One of the best ways to keep our children safe is to be knowledgeable about the chemicals which may be in their toys," Mason stated.
In celebration of the City of Racine's demisemiseptcentennial, state legislators will retire this morning to the Assembly Parlor to partake of the Danish pastry kringle, following the reading of a resolution honoring the city and its populace at this momentous occasion.
Wait. What? Racine turns 175 this month. To recognize that milestone, Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, is bringing kringle to the Capitol. He will share it with fellow legislators after the ceremonial reading of a resolution about Racine and its 175 years. A few weeks ago, Mason asked constituents about what they thought should be in a resolution honoring the city.
"This is a nice, democratic way to recognize the city," he said. They suggested things like North Beach, the city's abolition tradition and Racine's industrial heritage. They're also the ones who suggested recognizing what Racinians call a water fountain, in item No. 29 of 38: "Whereas, the people of the Racine Community have the good sense to refer to a water fountain as a Bubbler." Not everyone was in the celebratory spirit, he acknowledged. "There were two snarky comments," Mason said. "The rest were really people saying what about this? What about the DeKoven Center? There was really a great range of suggestions."
Today, in honor of the city and those suggestions (and, perhaps, in a bit of celebration of the last session day for the year), Mason plans to bring some kringle with him. He is expected to pick the kringle up on his way in to Madison this morning, but declined to say exactly where it will come from: "Say it's from a variety of bakeries in Racine that make kringle. It will be a good representation of the Danish kringle tradition." Mason intends to bring a mix of pastry, from what he calls the "three kringle food groups: the fruit, the cheeses, the nuts." And, in case you're wondering, Mason's picking up the tab. "This is on my own dime," he said. "There's no line item in the Mason budget for kringle."
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
By Andrew Beckett (WRN.com)
Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine)A proposal at the Capitol would restore the civil rights of state and UW employees. U.S. Supreme Court decisions over the last decade have resulted in nearly 60,000 state employees being denied key civil rights protections, according to state Representative Cory Mason (D-Racine). He says those decisions have impacted the rights of workers to sue the state under the Family Medical Leave Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Age Discrimination Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Mason is introducing legislation requiring the state to waive its immunity to those laws. As a major employer, he says the state should not tolerate people being denied the right to protect themselves from discrimination or wrongful termination from a job. The exemption from federal law does not apply to local government employees, only those directly employed by the state. Mason says it's unfair to prevent those workers from suing the state, if they feel federal laws have been violated. A similar proposal failed to pass during the last legislative session.
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