On July 1, Assembly Member Huffman will present SB 624 (Romero) on the Assembly floor. This legislation to remove serpentine, the host rock of asbestos, as the State Rock of California has been unanimously supported by the Senate and the Assembly Committee of Natural Resources.

We encourage California’s Assembly Members to support SB 624 (Romero), which promotes public health and demonstrates that toxic materials have no place serving as emblems for the State. Asbestos causes cancers and respiratory diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer that claim 10,000 people every year in the United States and nearly 100,000 people worldwide.  In 1965, serpentine was designated as the state rock of California in order to promote the then-lucrative but now defunct asbestos mining industry.