California vetoes ROHS-expansion bill

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed an assembly bill that would have more closely aligned California’s ROHS (restriction-of-hazardous-substances) law and regulations with the EU (European Union) ROHS directive. The bill, AB 48, would have expanded California ROHS to include all electrical and electronic equipment, as opposed to its current requirements for “covered electronic devices,” which include nine video-display devices that the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control regulations list. The bill also aimed to require that all electrical and electronic equipment that manufacturers sell in California as of Jan 1, 2010, comply with EU ROHS stipulations for lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent cadmium.

Schwarzenegger sent the bill back to the California legislature in the fall, stating in a memo that the bill’s approach “is largely unworkable and instead of the benefits it seeks to accomplish, could ultimately result in unintended and potentially more harmful consequences.”

The governor noted the exemption language for spare parts and refurbished products, claiming that, as written, the bill would make many electronic products prematurely obsolete and force their retirement years earlier than necessary. The California legislature is expected to try to pass this or a similar bill again in 2008.