Bill Text: IL SB3750 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the BPA-Free Kids Act. Beginning June 1, 2011, prohibits the sale or distribution of certain products containing bisphenol-A. Requires a label to be affixed to the exterior of certain food products. Beginning June 1, 2011, prohibits the sale of products that must be, but are not, labelled. Authorizes the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Department of Public Health to participate in an interstate chemical safety clearinghouse. Requires certain notifications and imposes penalties. Provides for enforcement by the Attorney General. Defines "Agency", "baby food", "Department", "infant formula", "manufacturer", "person", and "reusable food or beverage container".

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-06-27 - Senate Floor Amendment No. 2 Re-referred to Assignments; Pursuant to Senate Rule 3-9(b). [SB3750 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-SB3750-Introduced.html

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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2009 and 2010 SB3750 Introduced 2/11/2010, by Sen. Dan Kotowski SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.756 new
Creates the BPA-Free Kids Act. Beginning June 1, 2011, prohibits the sale or distribution of certain products containing bisphenol-A. Requires a label to be affixed to the exterior of certain food products. Beginning June 1, 2011, prohibits the sale of products that must be, but are not, labelled. Authorizes the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Department of Public Health to participate in an interstate chemical safety clearinghouse. Requires certain notifications and imposes penalties. Provides for enforcement by the Attorney General. Defines "Agency", "baby food", "Department", "infant formula", "manufacturer", "person", and "reusable food or beverage container".
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning safety.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
BPA-Free Kids Act.
Section 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly
finds that:
(a) The incidence of some diseases and disorders that have
been linked to chemical exposures is on the rise.
(b) The metabolism, physiology, and exposure patterns of
developing fetuses, infants, and children to toxic chemicals
differ from those of adults, which makes children more
vulnerable than adults to the harmful effects of exposure to
some synthetic chemicals.
(c) Unlike pharmaceuticals and pesticides, manufacturers
of most chemical substances are not required under current law
to supply human or environmental toxicity information before
selling their products to the public. Consequently, the vast
majority of chemicals used in consumer products have never had
any federal or state government review to evaluate potential
toxicity to the environment, infants, children, developing
fetuses, or adults.
(d) To protect children's health, it is important to reduce

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or eliminate exposures to certain chemicals that are present in
children's products or that may be reasonably anticipated to
result in children's exposure or be placed in the mouths of
children.
Section 10. Definitions.
"Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency.
"Baby food" means a prepared solid food consisting of a
soft paste or an easily chewed food that is intended for
consumption by children 2 years of age or younger and is
commercially available.
"Department" means the Illinois Department of Public
Health.
"Infant formula" means a milk-based or soy-based powder,
concentrated liquid, or ready-to-feed substitute for human
breast milk, which is intended for infant consumption and is
commercially available.
"Manufacturer" means a person who manufactured a final
product or whose brand name is affixed to a product. In the
case of a product that was imported into the United States,
"manufacturer" includes the importer or domestic distributor
of the product if the person who manufactured or assembled the
product or whose brand name is affixed to it does not have a
presence in the United States.
"Person" means any individual, partnership,

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co-partnership, firm, company, limited liability company,
corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate,
political subdivision, state agency, or any other legal entity,
or his, her, or its legal representative, agent, or assigns.
"Reusable food or beverage container" means a receptacle
for storing food or beverages, including, but not limited to,
baby bottles, spill-proof cups, sports bottles, and thermoses,
and excluding food or beverage containers intended for disposal
after initial use.
Section 15. Bisphenol-A ban; labels.
(a) Beginning June 1, 2011, no person shall sell, offer to
sell, distribute, or offer to distribute any of the following:
(1) Any reusable food or beverage container containing
bisphenol-A.
(2) Any infant formula or baby food that is stored in a
can, jar, or plastic container that contains bisphenol-A.
(b) Beginning June 1, 2011, any food product, other than
infant formula or baby food, that is contained in a can, jar,
or plastic container shall bear a conspicuous label stating,
"This container is made with bisphenol-A (BPA)". On and after
that date, no person shall sell or offer for sale, in the
State, such a food product without a warning label affixed to
the can, jar, or plastic container.
Section 20. Interstate clearinghouse. The Agency and the

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Department are authorized to participate, along with other
states and governmental entities, in an interstate
clearinghouse to promote safer chemicals in consumer products.
The Agency and Department may cooperate with the interstate
clearinghouse to (i) organize and manage available data on
chemicals, including information on uses, hazards,
environmental concerns, safer alternatives, and model policies
and programs, (ii) provide technical assistance regarding
chemical safety to businesses, consumers, and policy makers,
and (iii) undertake other activities in support of State
programs to promote chemical safety.
Section 25. Implementation and exemption.
(a) A manufacturer of products restricted under this Act
must notify persons that sell the manufacturer's products in
this State about the provisions of this Act no less than 90
days before the effective date of the restrictions. A
manufacturer that sells or distributes a product prohibited
from sale or distribution under this Act shall recall the
product and reimburse the retailer or any other purchaser for
the product.
(b) A retailer who unknowingly sells a product that is
restricted from sale under this Act is not liable under this
Act.
Section 30. Enforcement and penalties.

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(a) The Attorney General is responsible for administering
and ensuring compliance with this Act, including the
development and adoption of any rules, if necessary, for the
implementation and enforcement of this Act.
(b) The Attorney General shall develop and implement a
process for receiving and handling complaints from individuals
regarding possible violations of this Act.
(c) The Attorney General may conduct any investigation
deemed necessary regarding possible violations of this Act
including, without limitation, the issuance of subpoenas to:
(i) require the filing of a statement or report or answer
interrogatories in writing as to all information relevant to
the alleged violations; (ii) examine under oath any person who
possesses knowledge or information directly related to the
alleged violations; and (iii) examine any record, book,
document, account, or paper necessary to investigate the
alleged violation.
(d) Service by the Attorney General of any notice requiring
a person to file a statement or report, or of a subpoena upon
any person, shall be made:
(1) personally by delivery of a duly executed copy
thereof to the person to be served or, if a person is not a
natural person, in the manner provided in the Code of Civil
Procedure when a complaint is filed; or
(2) by mailing by certified mail a duly executed copy
thereof to the person to be served at his or her last known

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abode or principal place of business within this State.
(e) In lieu of a civil action, the individual or entity
alleged to have engaged in a pattern or practice deemed
violative of this Act may enter into an Assurance of Voluntary
Compliance with respect to the alleged pattern or practice
violation.
(f) If the Attorney General determines that there is a
reason to believe that a violation of the Act has occurred, the
Attorney General may bring an action in the name of the People
of the State to obtain temporary, preliminary, or permanent
injunctive relief for any act, policy, or practice that
violates this Act.
(g) If any person fails or refuses to file any statement or
report, or obey any subpoena, issued pursuant to subsection (c)
of this Section, the Attorney General may proceed to initiate a
civil action pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section, or
file a complaint in the circuit court for the granting of
injunctive relief, including restraining the conduct that is
alleged to violate this Act until the person files the
statement or report, or obeys the subpoena.
(h) Relief that may be granted.
(1) In any civil action brought pursuant to subsection
(f) of this Section, the Attorney General may obtain as a
remedy, equitable relief (including any permanent or
preliminary injunction, temporary restraining order, or
other order, including an order enjoining the defendant

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from engaging in a violation or ordering any action as may
be appropriate). In addition, the Attorney General may
request and the Court may impose a civil penalty in an
amount not to exceed $50,000 for each violation. For
purposes of this subsection, each item and each standard
constitutes a separate violation.
(2) A civil penalty imposed or a settlement or other
payment made pursuant to this Act shall be made payable to
the Attorney General's State Projects and Court Ordered
Distribution Fund, which is created as a special fund in
the State Treasury. Moneys in the Fund shall be used,
subject to appropriation, for the performance of any
function pertaining to the exercise of the duties of the
Attorney General including but not limited to enforcement
of any law of this State, product testing, and conducting
public education programs.
(3) Any funds collected under this Section in an action
in which the State's Attorney has prevailed shall be
retained by the county in which he or she serves.
(i) The penalties and injunctions provided in this Act are
in addition to any penalties, injunctions, or other relief
provided under any other law. Nothing in this Act shall bar a
cause of action by the State for any other penalty, injunction,
or relief provided by any other law.
Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding

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Section 5.756 as follows:
(30 ILCS 105/5.756 new)
Sec. 5.756. The Attorney General's State Projects and Court
Ordered Distribution Fund.