BPA law passes here; NN/pesticide law passes too!...

Hi all...

Did you know?...

Dutchess County is now only the fourth county in NYS to ban BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups...(and the first county in the state to ban BPA in pacifiers and replacement nipples for bottles!)...

[not sure why-- but this has been pretty much ignored by local newspapers]

Email countyexec@co.dutchess.ny.us now for County Exec to sign this; NN/pesticide law too!...

[note-- organizations across NYS thrilled ; media event soon; call us at 242-3571 if you want to join us; NYPIRG, Clean NY, Consumers Union, activists across NYS very excited re: BPA law passing here; press conference soon with 25-foot baby bottle!]

Only Suffolk, Albany, and Schenectady counties have done so before Dutchess; see letter below to legislators from Town of Poughkeepsie resident and Vassar's own Janet Gray, editor for the Breast Cancer Fund's groundbreaking report State of Evidence 2008-- see http://www.BreastCancerFund.org ...

[only media coverage re: BPA and NN/pesticide laws has been from Hank Gross; censored otherwise:
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/December09/08/DCL-08Dec09.html need letters to editor]

Four more pro-active, cost-savig initiatives from yours truly passed at last Monday's full board meeting of our County Legislature-- for banning BPA baby bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers, and replacement nipples (co-sponsored by Co. Leg.'s Pete Wassell, Marge Horton, and Diane Nash), for pesticide neighbor notification (co-sponsored by Pete Wassell, Jim Doxsey, and Diane Nash), for my Green Ribbon Solid Waste Management Task Force recommendations to be made real here in Dutchess (co-sponsored by Co. Leg.'s Pete Wassell, Steve White, and Jim Doxsey), and for healthier, more environmental alternatives to current snow/ice control materials now used by our county's Department of Public Works (co-sponsored by Co. Leg.'s Pete Wassell and Tom Mansfield)...

Thx TONS to 120 of you signed on my NN/pesticide-- http://www.petitiononline.com/neighbor !

Fact: "The vast majority of independent scientists-- those not working for industry-- are concerned about early-life low-dose exposures to BPA," said Janet Gray, a Vassar College professor who is science adviser to the Breast Cancer Fund.
[from Nicholas Kristof's Nov. 7th column"Chemicals in Our Food, and Bodies":
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/opinion/08kristof.html ]

Fact: In Aug. Albany/Schenectady Co. Leg.'s unanimously passed laws to ban baby bottles w/BPA.
[ http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=830114&category=SCHENECTADY http://www.keepitorganic.org/category/packaging-concerns/bisphenol-a-bpa/ ]

Fact: In Mar. Suffolk County Legislature voted unanimously to ban sale of BPA baby bottles/sippy cups.
http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/wednesday/health/ny-poban0412513812mar04,0,3333946.story

Fact: GOP Governors Rell and Pawlenty in CT/MN signed into law bipartisan laws banning BPA.
[see: http://www.healthytomorrow.org/2009/06/ct-to-ban-bpa.html ]

Fact: The Environmental Working Group has extensively documented cover-up of FDA re: BPA.
[see: http://www.ewg.org/reports/bpatimeline ; http://www.jsonline.com/news/53515392.html ;
http://www.utne.com/Environment/FDA-Might-Crack-Down-on-Bisphenol-A-or-BPA-1812.aspx ]


[join 40+ Dutchess residents for zero-waste now-- at http://www.petitiononline.com/zeroyes !]

Pass it on...

Joel
242-3571/876-2488
joeltyner@earthlink.net

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From http://www.co.dutchess.ny.us/CountyGov/Departments/Legislature/CLagenda.htm ...

209332 LOCAL LAW NO. OF 2009, A LOCAL LAW ESTABLISHING THE TOXIN FREE TODDLERS AND BABIES ACT
A local law prohibiting the sale of children's beverage containers, pacifiers, or replacement nipples for bottles that contain Bisphenol A. The law provides for a civil fine of $500 for an initial violation of the law and a civil fine of $1,000 for each subsequent violation.
http://www.dutchessny.gov/CountyGov/Departments/Legislature/ResolutionsPDF/209332.pdf

209331 LOCAL LAW NO. OF 2009, A LOCAL LAW AUTHORIZING PESTICIDE NEIGHBOR NOTIFICATION
A local law requiring advance written notice and signage of most commercial and some residential lawn applications of pesticides, to neighbors whose property line is 150 feet or less from the site of the application, with exceptions for certain governmental agencies, farmers, golf courses, spot-application or limited residential use, bio-pesticides, certain no-spray pesticides and other substances; and with sanctions for violations, including written warnings for first-time violations by property owners, up to a $5,000 civil fine for first-time violations by commercial pesticide applicators, and misdemeanor criminal penalties, including fine and imprisonment, for certain violations by commercial pesticide applicators.
http://www.dutchessny.gov/CountyGov/Departments/Legislature/ResolutionsPDF/209331.pdf

209386 REQUESTING VARIOUS COUNTY DEPARTMENTS FOLLOW THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE DUTCHESS COUNTY GREEN RIBBON TASK FORCE ON SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
http://www.dutchessny.gov/CountyGov/Departments/Legislature/ResolutionsPDF/209386.pdf

209357 REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS EVALUATE THE COST AND FEASIBILITY OF USING ALTERNATIVE SNOW/ICE CONTROL MATERIALS AND CANADIAN BEST PRACTICES ON THIS ISSUE AND REPORT BACK TO THE COUNTY LEGISLATURE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
http://www.dutchessny.gov/CountyGov/Departments/Legislature/ResolutionsPDF/209357.pdf

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More On Why Precautionary Principle Should be Made Real Here Re: Pesticides:

Fact: 70% of NYS residents live in counties that have Ulster, Rockland, Erie, Monroe, Nassau, Suffolk, Tompkins, Westchester, and Albany counties (along with NYC) already have Neighbor Notification laws for pesticide application; people here in Dutchess deserve the same protection as 70% of New Yorkers.

Fact: Neighbor Notification laws sensibly require commercial lawn pesticide applicators to provide 48-hour advance notice to adjacent property owners prior to certain lawn applications, and posting of residential lawn pesticide applications (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precautionary_principle ).

Fact: The Daily Freeman has endorsed neighbor notification laws-- along with Scenic Hudson, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, NYPIRG, Cancer Awareness Coalition, 1 in 9 (Long Island Breast Cancer Action Coalition), American Lung Association of New York State, Mid-Hudson Breast Health Action Project of the Breast Cancer Network of Benedictine Hospital, National Audubon Society, New York League of Women Voters, National Education Association, National Wildlife Federation, New York Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, New York League of Conservation Voters, New York State Breast Cancer Network, New York State Healthy Schools Network, New York State United Teachers, New York State Parent Teachers Association Board of Health, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Riverkeeper, Sierra Club-Atlantic Chapter, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-New York, Breast Cancer Help, Central New York Labor-Religion Coalition, Citizens Environmental Coalition, Coalition of Community Gardeners, Concerned Parents for a Healthy School Environment, Consumer Policy Institute of Consumer's Union, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Kids Against Pollution, Mothers and Others for a Livable Planet, and Citizen Action of New York.

Fact: 135 towns across Canada have literally banned aesthetic use of pesticides; all we're talking about here in this case is 48 hours' notice for commercial application of pesticides within 150 feet of houses.
[see: http://www.organiclandscape.org/en/Canada_&_US_68.html ]

Fact: Pesticides pose a broad range of health harms to humans-- particularly to pregnant mothers, infants, children, senior citizens and people with impaired health, many types of cancer, neurological
disorders, respiratory ailments, reproductive disorders, and eye and skin damage; see:

"Breast Cancer Fund Study Finds Strong Cancer-Chemical Link" by Elaine Shannon [2/9/09]
http://www.enviroblog.org/2009/02/breast-cancer-fund-study-finds-strong-cancer-chemical-link.html

"Pesticide Linked to Breast Cancer" [BBC 12/4/98]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/227178.stm

"Breast Cancer Linked to Pesticide DDT, Study Suggests" [Science Daily 10/9/07]
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071009082406.htm

"Pesticides and Breast Cancer: A Wake-Up Call" by Gillian Sanson (re: Meriel Watts book on this)
http://gilliansanson.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/pesticides-and-breast-cancer-a-wake-up-call/

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From Town of Poughkeepsie resident Janet Gray (grayj@vassar.edu)...

[note-- Janet Gray is the editor for the Breast Cancer Fund's groundbreaking report, State of the Evidence 2008-- check it out for yourself @ http://www.BreastCancerFund.org !]

To: countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us
Subject: Toxin Free Toddlers and Babies Act: Please vote yes
Date: Dec 6, 2009 3:20 PM
Dear Member of the Dutchess County Legislature:

I was pleased to hear that the 'Toxin Free Toddlers and Babies Act (BPA Act)' successfully passed at the committee level and will be voted upon this Monday [tonight 7 pm!] by the full membership of the Dutchess County Legislature. I am again writing to urge you act positively and swiftly on the proposed act, a local law that is aimed towards the elimination of the toxic chemical, bisphenol A (BPA) from infant and children's drinking containers and pacifiers. BP A is a known endocrine disruptor that is found almost universally in the bodies of American adults, children, and infants. In a report just released this past Thursday by the Environmental Working Group, it is clear that it is also found in developing infants before birth.

BPA has been linked directly to altered health effects in young children (neural and behavioral problems) and adults (increases in cardiac disorders, diabetes, male sexual dysfunction). In animal studies, all of the problems found in humans have also been found, as well as increased incidence of breast and prostate cancers, and a wide number of reproductive, metabolic and neurological disorders.

What is most critical about the majority of these studies is that they show that exposures during early development, from the prenatal period through early childhood, set the patterns for the development of disease later in life. Decreasing exposures to BPA is important for all people, but is absolutely critical for the youngest and most vulnerable among us.

We are exposed to BPA in through many sources, but the major source of exposure for young children is through the food they eat and the liquids they drink, because of leeching of BPA from plastic containers and epoxy-lined cans. The bill before you will eliminate those critical sources of exposure for our most vulnerable populations, thereby actually moving us towards true disease prevention.

Three counties in New York State, at least two municipalities, and two states have passed similar legislation. The State of Massachusetts has released a public health alert warning pregnant women and young infants and children to avoid BPA containing substances. Ideally our federal government will move towards regulating BPA and making local initiatives unnecessary. In the absence of that federal regulatory action, it is critical that local governments move to protect their citizens.

I urge you to take action and ban BPA from products ingested by and suckled by infants and young children in Dutchess County.

Thank you,
Janet Gray, Ph.D

Professor, Department of Psychology
Director, Program in Science, Technology & Society
Participant, Program in Neuroscience & Behavior
Vassar College
124 Raymond Avenue-Box 246
Poughkeepsie, NY 12604-0246

phone: (845) 437-7378
FAX: (845) 437-7538
e-mail: grayj@vassar.edu

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From http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/opinion/08kristof.html ...

OP-ED COLUMNIST
Chemicals in Our Food, and Bodies
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: November 7, 2009

Your body is probably home to a chemical called bisphenol A, or BPA. It's a synthetic estrogen that United States factories now use in everything from plastics to epoxies - to the tune of six pounds per American per year. That's a lot of estrogen.
More than 92 percent of Americans have BPA in their urine, and scientists have linked it - though not conclusively - to everything from breast cancer to obesity, from attention deficit disorder to genital abnormalities in boys and girls alike.
Now it turns out it's in our food.

Consumer Reports magazine tested an array of brand-name canned foods for a report in its December issue and found BPA in almost all of them. The magazine says that relatively high levels turned up, for example, in Progresso vegetable soup, Campbell's condensed chicken noodle soup, and Del Monte Blue Lake cut green beans.

The magazine also says it found BPA in the canned liquid version of Similac Advance infant formula (but not in the powdered version) and in canned Nestlé Juicy Juice (but not in the juice boxes). The BPA in the food probably came from an interior coating used in many cans...

More than 200 studies have shown links between low doses of BPA and adverse health effects, according to the Breast Cancer Fund, which is trying to ban the chemical from food and beverage containers.

"The vast majority of independent scientists - those not working for industry - are concerned about early-life low-dose exposures to BPA," said Janet Gray, a Vassar College professor who is science adviser to the Breast Cancer Fund.

Published journal articles have found that BPA given to pregnant rats or mice can cause malformed genitals in their offspring, as well as reduced sperm count among males. For example, a European journal found that male mice exposed to BPA were less likely to make females pregnant, and the Journal of Occupational Health found that male rats administered BPA had less sperm production and lower testicular weight.

This year, the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found that pregnant mice exposed to BPA had babies with abnormalities in the cervix, uterus and vagina. Reproductive Toxicology found that even low-level exposure to BPA led to the mouse equivalent of early puberty for females. And an array of animal studies link prenatal BPA exposure to breast cancer and prostate cancer.

While most of the studies are on animals, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported last year that humans with higher levels of BPA in their blood have "an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities." Another published study found that women with higher levels of BPA in their blood had more miscarriages.

Scholars have noted some increasing reports of boys born with malformed genitals, girls who begin puberty at age 6 or 8 or even earlier, breast cancer in women and men alike, and declining sperm counts among men. The Endocrine Society, an association of endocrinologists, warned this year that these kinds of abnormalities may be a consequence of the rise of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and it specifically called on regulators to re-evaluate BPA.

Last year, Canada became the first country to conclude that BPA can be hazardous to humans, and Massachusetts issued a public health advisory in August warning against any exposure to BPA by pregnant or breast-feeding women or by children under the age of 2.

The Food and Drug Administration, which in the past has relied largely on industry studies - and has generally been asleep at the wheel - is studying the issue again. Bills are also pending in Congress to ban BPA from food and beverage containers.

"When you have 92 percent of the American population exposed to a chemical, this is not one where you want to be wrong," said Dr. Ted Schettler of the Science and Environmental Health Network. "Are we going to quibble over individual rodent studies, or are we going to act?"

While the evidence isn't conclusive, it justifies precautions. In my family, we're cutting down on the use of those plastic containers that contain BPA to store or microwave food, and I'm drinking water out of a metal bottle now. In my reporting around the world, I've come to terms with the threats from warlords, bandits and tarantulas. But endocrine disrupting chemicals - they give me the willies.

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From Sunday's New York Times-- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/opinion/06kristof.html ...

Cancer From the Kitchen?
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: December 5, 2009
The battle over health care focuses on access to insurance, or tempests like the one that erupted over new mammogram guidelines.

But what about broader public health challenges? What if breast cancer in the United States has less to do with insurance or mammograms and more to do with contaminants in our water or air -- or in certain plastic containers in our kitchens? What if the surge in asthma and childhood leukemia reflect, in part, the poisons we impose upon ourselves?

This last week I attended a fascinating symposium at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, exploring whether certain common chemicals are linked to breast cancer and other ailments.

Dr. Philip Landrigan, the chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Mount Sinai, said that the risk that a 50-year-old white woman will develop breast cancer has soared to 12 percent today, from 1 percent in 1975. (Some of that is probably a result of better detection.) Younger people also seem to be developing breast cancer: This year a 10-year-old in California, Hannah, is fighting breast cancer and recording her struggle on a blog.

Likewise, asthma rates have tripled over the last 25 years, Dr. Landrigan said. Childhood leukemia is increasing by 1 percent per year. Obesity has surged. One factor may be lifestyle changes - like less physical exercise and more stress and fast food - but some chemicals may also play a role.

Take breast cancer. One puzzle has been that most women living in Asia have low rates of breast cancer, but ethnic Asian women born and raised in the United States don't enjoy that benefit. At the symposium, Dr. Alisan Goldfarb, a surgeon specializing in breast cancer, pointed to a chart showing breast cancer rates by ethnicity.

"If an Asian woman moves to New York, her daughters will be in this column," she said, pointing to "whites." "It is something to do with the environment."
What's happening? One theory starts with the well-known fact that women with more lifetime menstrual cycles are at greater risk for breast cancer, because they're exposed to more estrogen. For example, a woman who began menstruating before 12 has a 30 percent greater risk of breast cancer than one who began at 15 or later.

It's also well established that Western women are beginning puberty earlier, and going through menopause later. Dr. Maida Galvez, a pediatrician who runs Mount Sinai's pediatric environmental health specialty unit, told the symposium that American girls in the year 1800 had their first period, on average, at about age 17. By 1900 that had dropped to 14. Now it is 12.

A number of studies, mostly in animals, have linked early puberty to exposure to pesticides, P.C.B.'s and other chemicals. One class of chemicals that creates concern - although the evidence is not definitive - is endocrine disruptors, which are often similar to estrogen and may fool the body into setting off hormonal changes. This used to be a fringe theory, but it is now being treated with great seriousness by the Endocrine Society, the professional association of hormone specialists in the United States.

These endocrine disruptors are found in everything from certain plastics to various cosmetics. "There's a ton of stuff around that has estrogenic material in it," Dr. Goldfarb said. "There's makeup that you rub into your skin for a youthful appearance that is really estrogen."

More than 80,000 new chemicals have been developed since World War II, according to the Children's Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai. Even of the major chemicals, fewer than 20 percent have been tested for toxicity to children, the center says.

Representative Louise Slaughter, the only microbiologist in the House of Representatives, introduced legislation this month that would establish a comprehensive program to monitor endocrine disruptors. That's an excellent idea, because as long as we're examining our medical system, there's a remarkable precedent for a public health effort against a toxic substance. The removal of lead from gasoline resulted in an 80 percent decline in lead levels in our blood since 1976 - along with a six-point gain in children's I.Q.'s, Dr. Landrigan said.

I asked these doctors what they do in their own homes to reduce risks. They said that they avoid microwaving food in plastic or putting plastics in the dishwasher, because heat may cause chemicals to leach out. And the symposium handed out a reminder card listing "safer plastics" as those marked (usually at the bottom of a container) 1, 2, 4 or 5.

It suggests that the "plastics to avoid" are those numbered 3, 6 and 7 (unless they are also marked "BPA-free"). Yes, the evidence is uncertain, but my weekend project is to go through containers in our house and toss out 3's, 6's and 7's.

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From http://www.toxicsinfo.org/Lawn/Pesticides%20&%20Cancer.htm ...

TOXICS INFORMATION PROJECT (TIP)
P.O. Box 40441, Providence, RI 02940
Tel. 401-351-9193, E-Mail: TIP@toxicsinfo.org
Website: www.toxicsinfo.org
(Lighting the Way to Less Toxic Living)
Pesticides and Cancer
by Gwen Petreman

Beginning in the late 1970s there have been reports linking pesticides to leukemia in children. A 1987 study by the National Cancer Institute showed that children living in pesticide-treated homes had nearly a 4 times greater risk of developing leukemia (cancer of the blood). If the children lived in homes where pesticide was sprayed on lawns and gardens, the risk of developing leukemia was 6.5 times greater. All the children in the study were 10 years of age or younger. (Dr. John Peters, University of Southern California, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, July 1987.) Cancer rates in the US have increased by 37% between 1950 and 1986. Over a million people are diagnosed with cancer in the US reach year. 10,400 people in the US die each year from cancer related to pesticides. It is estimated that the cost of cancer in term of lost production, income, and medical expenses amount to over US $38 billion each year.

The most convincing evidence that pesticides are carcinogens comes from epidemiological studies. Farmers who frequently use 2,4-D have a six-fold increase in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Scientists believe that the use of lawn chemicals such as 2,4-D has been a significant factor in the 50% rise in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma over the past 20 years in the American population. (World health Organization. 2,4-D Environmental Aspects. Geneva, Switzerland, 1989.) 2,4-D has also been linked to malignant lymphoma in dogs. Pets are exposed to higher doses of pesticides because they are closer to the ground where concentrations are the highest. Parts of their bodies, such as their scrotum and armpits, are often directly exposed to pesticides. They also ingest pesticides when they are grooming themselves. Studies show that the risk of lymphomas doubled in dogs whose owners treated lawns four times a year.

The lawn pesticides, mancozeb and chlorothalonil have been classified by the EPA as "probable" cancer causing chemicals in humans, as they have been found to cause cancer in animals. Mancozeb has also been found to react with sunlight to form a new compound the EPA categorizes as a "known" human carcinogen. The common lawn pesticide 2,4-D has been shown to increase the risk of lymphatic cancer in farmers six times the normal rate, according to a National Cancer Institute report. (Sinclair, W. 18 Studies Show Why Pesticides Are More Dangerous than Previously Realized. Tampa, Florida)

A University of Iowa study found that working as a golf superintendent significantly increased one's risk of getting non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, brain cancer, lung cancer, large intestine cancer, and prostrate cancer. Other experts are starting to find that golfers, and non-golfers who live near golf courses, are experiencing similar health problems. A 1996 research project studied brain cancer rates among 600 people. The research demonstrated a twofold increase risk for developing brain cancer for people who lived within 2600 feet of an agricultural area. (American Journal of Public Health, 86(9): 1289-96, 1996.) In 1983 the National Cancer Institute studied 3,827 Florida pesticide applicators who had been spraying for more than 20 years. They found that these pesticide applicators had nearly 3 times the risk of developing lung cancer and 2 times the risk of developing brain cancer. There was no increased risk for pesticide applicators who had been spraying for only 5 years. (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 71(1), July 1983.)

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LOCAL LAW NO. -2009, A LOCAL LAW ESTABLISHING THE TOXIN FREE TODDLERS AND BABIES ACT

BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNTY LEGISLATURE OF THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS, as follows:

Section 1. Legislative Intent.

This Legislature hereby finds and determines that Bisphenol A ("BPA") is a chemical commonly contained in polycarbonate plastics, including baby bottles, cups, pacifiers, and replacement nipples for bottles designed for use by young children and epoxy resins used to line the interior of commonly used food and beverage cans.

This Legislature also finds that studies have shown that BPA is a synthetic estrogen which disrupts healthy human development and can lead to such complications as an altered immune system, hyperactivity, reproductive health problems, increased risk of breast and prostate cancer, obesity, and diabetes.

This Legislature further finds and determines that BPA is released into food and beverages in food and drink containers manufactured with the chemical when those containers are warmed.

This Legislature also finds that BPA has been shown to pose a significant health risk to infants and young children as this age group has been found to have the highest levels of BPA exposure.
This Legislature further finds and determines that several states and the federal government have started considering a ban on BPA in food and beverage containers and other products that are intended for use by children.
This Legislature finds that Dutchess County is committed to protecting the public health and welfare of our County's infants and young children, whose growing bodies are vulnerable to the health hazards caused by BPA.

Therefore, the purpose of this local law is to protect infants and young children from the harmful health effects of BPA.

Section 2. Definitions.

As used in this law, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

A) "CHILDREN'S BEVERAGE CONTAINER" shall mean any bottle, cup, cup lid, straw or other container intended to be used by children under the age of three (3) years old for the consumption of liquids.
B) "BPA" shall mean Bisphenol A.

C) "PERSON" shall mean any natural person, individual, corporation, unincorporated association, proprietorship, firm, partnership, joint venture, joint stock association, or other entity of business of any kind.
Section 3. Prohibitions.

No person shall sell or offer for sale children's beverage containers, pacifiers, or replacement nipples for bottles that contain BPA within the County of Dutchess.

Section 4. Enforcement.

This law shall be enforced by the Dutchess County Department of Health.

Section 5. Authority to Promulgate Rules and Regulations.
The Commissioner of the Dutchess County Department of Health is hereby authorized and empowered to promulgate such rules and regulations as he or she deems necessary to implement this law.

Section 6. Penalties.
Any person who knowingly violates the provisions of this law shall be subject to a civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) for an initial violation of the law and a penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each subsequent violation.

Section 7. Applicability.

This law shall apply to any and all actions occurring on or after the effective date of this law.

Section 8. Severability.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or part of this law or the application thereof to any person, individual, corporation, firm, partnership, entity, or circumstance shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such order or judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or part of this law, or in its application to the person, individual, corporation, firm, partnership, entity, or circumstance directly involved in the controversy in which such order or judgment shall be rendered.

Section 9. Effective Date.

This law shall take effect on the ninetieth (90th) day immediately subsequent to filing in the Office of the Secretary of State.