Bill Text: NJ A2081 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits sale of certain cleaning products containing triclosan.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee [A2081 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A2081-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JAMES J. KENNEDY
District 22 (Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits sale of certain cleaning products containing triclosan.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning cleaning products that contain triclosan and supplementing Title 24 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. No person shall sell or offer for sale in the State any cleaning product that contains triclosan and is used by consumers for sanitizing or hand and body cleansing.
b. Subsection a. of this section shall not apply to an individual product for which specific United States Food and Drug Administration approval for consumer use has been secured.
c. A person who violates this section shall be liable to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation, to be collected in a summary proceeding pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which it continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. The municipal court and the Superior Court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999." The Department of Health may institute a civil action for injunctive relief to enforce this act and to prevent a violation of its provisions, and the court may proceed in the action in a summary manner.
2. This act shall take effect one year after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would, beginning one year after its enactment into law, prohibit the sale of any cleaning product that contains triclosan and is used by consumers for sanitizing or hand and body cleansing. The bill would not apply to individual products for which specific United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for consumer use has been secured. A person who violates this bill would be liable to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each offense, and each day during which the violation continues would constitute a separate offense.
In September 2016, the FDA banned the use of triclosan in over-the-counter consumer antiseptic wash products. According to the FDA, manufacturers of these products did not demonstrate that the ingredient is both safe for long-term daily use and more effective than plain soap and water in preventing illness and the spread of disease. Specifically, triclosan has been associated with hormone disruption in animals and possibly contributes to making bacteria resistant to antibiotics. The federal ban will take effect in September 2017, and some manufacturers have already started removing triclosan from their products. However, the federal ban only applies to products intended to be used with water and rinsed off after use, and does not apply to consumer hand-sanitizers or wipes. Following the lead of Minnesota, this bill would prohibit the use of triclosan in all products used by consumers for sanitizing or hand and body cleansing, except those that receive specific approval for consumer use from the FDA.