Oregon was making headlines with a state bill to ban BPA in products like baby bottles and sippy cups. Pushed through to the Senate by the Oregon Environmental Council, the bill hoped to ban bisphenol A in lined glass and can containers as well as baby bottles and childrens’ cups but was changed before it reached the Senate for voting (to only include bottles and childrens’ cups). If passed, all products named in the bill would have to be manufactured to be BPA free by January 1, 2012.

In the vote yesterday, the bill failed to pass the Senate, with a 15-15 vote. Despite increasing evidence of the harmful effects of BPA, three democrats crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans on the issue.

Oregon had joined the movement of states vying to ban BPA (among the group: Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington). However, what made the bill, SB 1032 different from other bills banning BPA was the original inclusion of making the plastic liners of infant formula cans as a BPA-free material. This brought opposition to the legislation from state grocers and food processors, saying the increased cost in packaging could endanger the federal subsidies for poor mothers seeking infant formula. As a result, the bill was altered and that provision was removed before reaching the Senate.

The main argument for why the bill failed to pass in the Senate was that the market is already aware of the problem and finding solutions without legislation.

Read more in The Oregonian.