Key industry warns if Minnesota law doesn't change, businesses will be locked out of selling or manufacturing keys in the state
A few years ago, Minnesota lawmakers banned keys and other consumer products with more than trace amounts of lead and cadmium in them. Now, industry leaders say they will be locked out of doing business in the state if the Legislature doesn't roll that back.
Businesses that sell, make and distribute keys and a bipartisan group of lawmakers in a news conference on Tuesday urged lawmakers to exempt them from that 2023 law, which the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is set to enforce beginning July 1.
The one-sentence provision was tucked inside a big budget bill when it passed two years ago with little attention. But those pushing to repeal it say the consequences are too big to ignore.
Industry leaders said the ban makes most keys on the market today noncompliant.
"We are the only government in the entire universe that has this outlawed," said Rep. Bjorn Olson, R-Fairmont. "So if there was a store on the moon, you could buy keys at that store."
There are proposals to exempt the keys subject to end-of-session negotiations as lawmakers are racing to complete their work on time with less than a week left to go before session must end. They need to fine tune the budget by next Monday or they'll run into overtime.
But the MPCA does not want to totally reverse course, but is open to delaying implementation by three years. Kirk Koudelka, assistant commissioner for the agency, pointed to a health department study that found 15 investigations of children with elevated blood lead levels linked to keys between 2015 and 2019.
He said the agency is open to a law delaying implementation by three years.
"Lead and cadmium both can cause serious problems for brain health and human development, especially in children, and there's no amount of lead that's considered safe for children," he explained in an interview.
He said there are alternatives on the market that don't have the toxic metals in them and instead use copper, nickel or stainless steel with less than .009% lead in them, the benchmark according to the law. That is a more strict metric than California's rule barring keys with more than 1.5% lead in them.
The industry refuted the claim that there were any viable, cost-effective alternatives that could be brought on the market at scale.
"The alternative right now is to use access control. You can get a wireless lock. We manufacture, make wireless locks that cost $1,500 to $2,500," said Nick Johnson with Assa Abloy, a global key manufacturer. "You can't put a wireless lock that costs that amount on every single door in a school, in a government town hall. It's just not feasible. There is not a budget out there for that."
The focus of enforcement starting July 1, if there isn't a change, would be on the sellers and manufacturers not existing keys consumers use in everyday life. But Koudelka said MPCA has told lawmakers to extend the deadline.
"We agree that there should be some more time, and we've recommended more time to the legislature to add on so we can make the change and still protect families and children and allowing for key companies to make the transition," Koudelka said.
