AUGUSTA (AP) – The Baldacci administration Thursday joined others in support of legislation to more closely regulate toxic chemicals used in toys and other children’s products, saying the federal government has fallen short on the job.

Commissioner David Littell of the Department of Environmental Protection said there’s been “inadequate regulation at the federal level. We’ve determined that taking action at the state level is necessary to protect our citizens.”

Littell testified before the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee on a pair of bills that set forth a process to identify potentially dangerous chemicals so they can no longer be used in children’s products in Maine. Supporters left the door open to merging the two bills.

A toy industry official and two Maine business groups opposed the legislation.

Supporters said young children are especially vulnerable to toxic chemicals, so it’s important to remove them from objects with which they come into close contact.

Supporters also noted that three-quarters of brain development occurs in the first three years of life, and pointed to research linking even low-level chemical exposure to learning disabilities, reproductive harm, hormone problems and cancer.

One of the bills would require companies that make children’s products to identify potentially dangerous chemicals used in those items. It would require replacement of a priority chemical with a safer alternative if one is available.

In addition, it authorizes the DEP to participate in an interstate clearinghouse to share information on chemicals in youth products.

The second bill authorizes the state Board of Environmental Protection to ban the sale of a product that contains chemicals deemed dangerous.

Several other states are considering similar legislation. Last fall, California banned toys and baby products containing more than a trace amount of the chemical phthalate, which is used to soften plastics that scientists have linked to health problems. The chemical is widely used in such products as baby bottles and teething rings.

Supporters of the Maine bills said Maine has already moved ahead of the federal government in regulation of such toxic materials as mercury and brominated flame retardants. The government “has lost traction over the years and left us to our own devices,” said Rep. Jon Hinck, D-Portland.

Littell noted Maine’s mercury bans have been copied by 20 other states. A task force appointed by Gov. John Baldacci recommended increased toy safety standards, he said.

Joan Lawrence, a vice president with the Toy Industry Association, said the industry is already highly regulated “and U.S. regulations and standards are widely modeled around the globe.

“Yet no other legislature has proposed such far-reaching restrictions as those proposed in these two bills,” Lawrence said in written testimony.

The Maine State Chamber of Commerce questioned the legality of one of the bills, saying it would violate the Constitution by delegating legislative power in gathering information on chemicals. The chamber also said the legislation does not take into account the cost of safer alternatives.

The Maine Merchants Association said the issue of toy safety is so large in scope that it demands a national solution. Two states could disagree on the toxicity of a chemical, so “national standards will obviously be needed,” said the association’s Jim McGregor.

Federal legislation addressing safety of children’s products has been introduced. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is co-sponsoring a bill to give the government authority to stop imports that pose a danger to American consumers. An investigation followed several toy recalls last summer.

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