Our readers know how Prop 65 has created numerous issues for product sellers and created much litigation mischief in the hands of overzealous plaintiffs. Interesting that earlier this week, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said he now advocates reforms to California’s law to frivolous lawsuits that do nothing to protect consumers.

The administration, through the California Environmental Protection Agency, wants to work closely with the state Legislature to revamp Proposition 65 by ending frivolous “shake-down” lawsuits.

Voters approved Proposition 65 in 1986. The measure requires the Governor to annually publish a list of chemicals allegedly “known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.” If a business in California sells a product containing such chemicals listed by the state in excess of certain levels, the business must provide warnings to users or in the workplace.

The Governor wants reforms to:
•Cap or limit attorney’s fees in Proposition 65 cases.
•Require stronger demonstration by plaintiffs that they have information to support claims before litigation begins.
•Require greater disclosure of plaintiff’s information.
•Set limits on the amount of money in an enforcement case that can go into settlement funds in lieu of penalties.

The administration is worried about “lawyers who bring nuisance lawsuits to extract settlements from businesses with little or no benefit to the public or the environment.” Since 2008, nearly 2,000 complaints have been filed by so-called “citizen enforcers.” Goofy suits include litigation against banks for failing to prevent second-hand smoke near their ATM machines.

The devil is always in the details, so it will be important to keep an eye on this.