PFAS and Public Health

Florida lawmakers have introduced Senate Bill 958 and House Bill 2195 in late December to restrict how cities and counties regulate drinking straws and stirrers at food businesses, arguing that many paper straws contain PFAS chemicals linked to health risks. The measures would effectively curb local paper-straw mandates by requiring any regulated straws to meet renewable, home- and industrial-compostable and marine-biodegradable standards, set a compliance deadline of Jan. 1, 2027 for existing local laws, and come as President Donald Trump has ordered a ban on federal use of paper straws on similar grounds.