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Hi. I'm State Representative Terry Brown. Welcome to my weekly update, "Talking With Terry."

Over the past two years we've heard a lot in the news about children's toys being recalled because they contained high levels of lead. Those include millions of common toys featuring characters like Elmo, Big Bird and Dora the Explorer; GeoTrax components; Barbie accessories; and Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys and parts. Yet Michigan has no laws on the books that protect our children from the dangers of lead in toys.

Lead poisoning has devastating effects on our children. Lead poisoning hurts a child's ability to learn and develop, a problem I am especially concerned about as a longtime educator working with students with special needs. It can cause learning disabilities, brain damage and behavioral problems – including violent behavior. Lead poisoning can even be fatal.

That's why I voted for a plan last year that virtually eliminates the amount of lead allowed to be used in the toys our children play with.

It appears that many of our children's toys, backpacks and lunchboxes also contain high levels of two other toxins – mercury and arsenic. It turns out that there are no laws regulating the amount of arsenic and mercury in children's toys and that needs to be fixed to protect our children's health.

I support legislation that will eliminate arsenic and mercury from our children's toys. In the meantime, I want to invite you to bring some of your children's toys to a town hall meeting to have them tested for safety.

The town hall meeting will take place on Monday, Sept. 22 in Reese. It will run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Reese Fire Hall, 1955 River Street. An expert from the Ecology Center will talk about how to avoid buying toys that contain lead and other dangerous chemicals, especially with the holidays coming up.  The presenter will bring a portable device that tests toys, so you can find out if they have lead or other toxins in them. I encourage you to take advantage of this free service coming to our community. A representative from the Michigan Department of Community Health will also present information about lead paint in our homes, which is another danger to our children. If you would like to know more about this town hall meeting or my other work at the Capitol, please visit my Web site.

The address is house.mi.gov/tbrown.  As always, please don't hesitate to contact me. You can call me, toll-free, at (888) 254-5284. Or, you can e-mail me at terrybrown@house.mi.gov. I am here to serve you and your family and represent your interests at our state Capitol.

Thank you for listening to "Talking with Terry."

Make it a great day!