Bill to ban lead ammo advances in Calif. Senate

California is one step closer to becoming the first state in the nation to ban lead ammunition for hunting.

The state Senate’s Natural Resources Committee voted 7-1 on Tuesday in favor of a bill banning the ammunition.

The bill – first introduced in the state Assembly by Lakewood Democrat Anthony Rendon – is intended to protect wildlife and human health.

It contains amendments requested by the Department of Fish and Wildlife that would give the state until 2018 to implement the ban instead of 2016.

Supporters say that spent shot is the largest unregulated source of lead pollution in the U.S. They say the bill would save humans and wildlife from poisoning.

Opponents say non-lead ammo is more expensive and can be banned federally because it is technically armor piercing.