The National Coffee Association (NCA) in the US has engaged Political Solutions LLC, a Sacramento-based public affairs firm, to help fight the effects on the coffee industry of California’s Proposition 65.
The NCA said the appointment of the firm would “add local presence and expertise” and provide the NCA with new tools to deploy as it develops its strategy to tackle Proposition 65.
“Proposition 65 has created a toxic business environment for the coffee industry and other businesses, and the NCA has been leading the charge to roll back its scope and impact,” said Robert Nelson, the NCA’s president and CEO.
“Engaging Political Solutions adds highly specialized expertise as well as eyes, ears and boots on the ground in the Californian state capitol to heighten the impact of the NCA’s comprehensive, on-going policy initiatives to neutralize the statute.”
Political Solutions is one of Sacramento’s top lobbying firms, with a strong track record of legislative success. The firm is built around its partners’ broad expertise in the intricacies of California’s legislative process and strong bipartisan relationships in state government. The firm also covers federal issues in Washington DC, where California’s Congressional delegation includes former state senators and assembly members.
For some time, the NCA has been actively engaged in finding solutions to the challenges created by Proposition 65. Coffee manufacturers and retailers are currently embroiled in legal action in the state based on allegations of failure to warn of the presence of a compound created naturally in the roasting process. The NCA has been providing comprehensive member support to those involved in the cases, as well as keeping the entire industry informed.
As a public referendum, Proposition 65 can only be amended by a two-thirds vote of the California legislature or a new voter initiative. However, the NCA recently jumped on a rare opening for reform when legislative proposals in the state legislature dovetailed with a call for change by the state’s governor.
The NCA has engaged with the governor’s office, legislators, the state health agency, and other trade associations to influence the outcome in a way that it hopes will eliminate the law’s unintended burden on the coffee industry. The NCA said it is “actively working with all involved parties to support genuine reform, including the drafting of legislative language to reduce the statute’s impact in a viable and effective way.”
The challenge that Proposition 65 poses for the coffee industry stems from the statute’s requirement of a consumer warning when a manufacturer is aware of the presence, whether naturally occurring or added, of state-determined quantities of more than 800 compounds purported by California’s health agency to cause cancer or reproductive harm.
Passed in 1986 as a voter referendum aimed at preventing contamination of the water supply, the statute has become the vehicle for legal actions by plaintiffs’ lawyers when any listed chemical is detected in foods and other consumer products.
