When the voters of the state passed Proposition 65, we did so with the intent of protecting people from chemicals that are serious threats to the environment or people’s health. We did not intend to create a method for unscrupulous attorneys to put small businesses out of business based on meritless technicalities. Unfortunately, Prop. 65 has been used quite a bit for the latter.

Proposition 65 works by requiring businesses to give proper warning to consumers when products contain dangerous chemicals that have been linked to cancer or birth defects. A problem arises when the overzealous take this mandate too far. We saw this first-hand recently in the debate over whether every coffee you order on your way to work needs to come with a cancer warning. The overzealousness has two side effects: it can result in label fatigue – who takes warnings seriously if they are ubiquitous?

And it has a huge cost to small businesses. The battle over labeling everyday items like coffee and beer, while sounding silly, was very real in my neck of the woods. A local coffee shop was almost put out of business by someone who made absurd claims (and threats) based on the coffee shop serving him beer. Thus, while Proposition 65 compliance can be a minor nuisance to large companies, it can mean a death sentence to smaller businesses.

Many lawyers genuinely care about the environment and health. But when predatory lawyers come after small businesses for technical Prop. 65 violations, the businesses are often left with two bad choices: try to fight the claim in court or reach a settlement agreement, no matter how ridiculous the alleged violation may be. Since many small-business owners know that even if they win in court, it will cost them a lot of money and time, they often settle just to be done with it. Many of the bad actors also target business owners who speak poor English, thinking that immigrant business owners will be even more likely to settle. This is morally wrong.

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How can anyone deny the reality of climate change? In my time in the legislature, I worked to curb aggressive Prop. 65 litigation by introducing legislation to protect small businesses and ensure that Prop. 65 is used as intended, rather than as a settlement cash cow for unscrupulous individuals. Under my proposals, businesses could be given proper warning before they suddenly find themselves blindsided by a lawsuit in which they are labelled as a defendant. After all, as we’ve seen, it can often be much more difficult than it appears to determine which products warrant special warnings under Prop. 65.

Now, it is time for the California legislature to pick up where I left off and make smart reforms to Prop. 65. By better clarifying its requirements and reigning in loopholes that create an environment that fosters meritless litigation, we can both honor the original intent of the measure to keep people safe without risking our small business climate. Proposition 65 can play an important role in keeping our environment clean and our bodies healthy. But it falls on our shoulders from time to time to update any good law to that we address abuses that have manifested.

Small businesses help to keep California’s communities and its economy strong. By implementing the proper reforms, we can allow them to continue to grow and spark the innovation for which our state is known, without the fear of meritless lawsuits.

Mike Gatto, a Democrat, served four terms in the California State Assembly, in a district that includes Los Angeles, Glendale, and Burbank.