Bill Text: NY A06151 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides for the regulation by the departments of state, health and environmental conservation of chemicals of high concern to children.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 70-3)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to consumer affairs and protection [A06151 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A06151-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6151 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 28, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ, FAHY, JAFFEE, GOTTFRIED, NIOU, LUPARDO, SEAWRIGHT, RODRIGUEZ, ROZIC, JEAN-PIERRE, LAVINE, QUART, RICHARDSON, CARROLL, D'URSO, GALEF, L. ROSENTHAL, SANTABARBARA, DINOWITZ, PAULIN, ABINANTI, SIMOTAS, CAHILL, MAGNARELLI, CYMBROWITZ, SOLAGES, GLICK, PERRY, THIELE, O'DONNELL, STIRPE, PEOPLES-STOKES, PICHARDO, BARRON, D. ROSENTHAL, DICKENS, TAYLOR, COLTON, DE LA ROSA, HYNDMAN, MOSLEY, BLAKE, JONES, WEPRIN, ARROYO, BARNWELL, EPSTEIN, BICHOTTE, RIVERA, HUNTER, WOERNER, STERN, OTIS, ZEBROWSKI, BARRETT -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BUCHWALD, BYRNE, COOK, HEVESI, McDONOUGH, M. L. MILLER, NOLAN, SIMON, STECK, WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to chemicals of high concern to children The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 2 391-u to read as follows: 3 § 391-u. Chemicals of high concern to children. 1. Definitions. For 4 the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the follow- 5 ing meanings: 6 (a) "Children's apparel" means any item of clothing, footwear or 7 apparel, including, but not limited to, accessories that consist of 8 fabric or related material intended or promoted for use in children's 9 clothing. Children's apparel does not include protective equipment 10 designed to prevent injury including, but not limited to, bicycle 11 helmets, athletic supporters, knee pads or elbow pads. 12 (b) "Chemical" means any organic or inorganic substance of a partic- 13 ular molecular identity, including: (i) any combination of such 14 substances occurring in whole or in part as a result of a chemical 15 reaction or occurring in nature; and (ii) any element or uncombined 16 radical. 17 (c) "Chemical of high concern to children" means any chemical that has 18 been identified by a state, federal or international governmental entity 19 on the basis of credible scientific evidence or reliable information as: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05553-02-9A. 6151 2 1 (i) a carcinogen, a reproductive or developmental toxicant, neurotoxi- 2 cant, endocrine disruptor or asthmagen; (ii) persistent, bioaccumulative 3 and toxic; or (iii) very persistent and very bioaccumulative. 4 (d) "Child or children" means a person or persons twelve years of age 5 or younger. 6 (e) "Children's product" means a product primarily intended for, made 7 for or marketed for use by children, including but not limited to: baby 8 products; toys; car seats; children's cosmetics; school supplies; a 9 product designed or intended by the manufacturer to help a child with 10 sucking or teething, to facilitate sleep, relaxation or the feeding of a 11 child; children's novelty products; children's jewelry; children's 12 bedding, furniture and furnishings; and children's apparel. Such term 13 shall not include: (i) batteries; (ii) consumer electronics; (iii) a 14 supplement, food or beverage or an additive to a food or beverage regu- 15 lated by the United States Food and Drug Administration; (iv) a drug, 16 biologic or medical device regulated by the United States Food and Drug 17 Administration; or (v) a pesticide product regulated by the United 18 States Environmental Protection Agency and registered by the department 19 of environmental conservation. 20 (f) "Component" means a uniquely identifiable or reasonably separate 21 material that is intended to be included as a part of a finished chil- 22 dren's product. A single chemical shall not be considered a "component" 23 unless the entire material is composed of that single chemical. 24 (g) "Distributor" means a person who sells children's products to 25 retail establishments. 26 (h) "Manufacturer" means any person who manufactures a children's 27 product or whose brand name is affixed to the children's product. In the 28 case of a children's product that is imported into the United States, 29 "manufacturer" includes the importer or first domestic distributor of 30 the children's product if the person who manufactures or assembles the 31 children's product or whose brand name is affixed to the children's 32 product does not have a presence in the United States. 33 (i) "Priority chemicals for disclosure" means chemicals of high 34 concern to children that are designated for disclosure by the department 35 of health, in consultation with the department of environmental conser- 36 vation. 37 (j) "Retailer" means any person who sells or leases children's 38 products in the state to consumers. Such term shall not include: (i) 39 someone who purchased or acquired a product primarily for personal use 40 and who subsequently resells the product; or (ii) any secondhand dealer. 41 2. Publishing lists. The department of state, department of environ- 42 mental conservation and the department of health shall post the list of 43 chemicals of high concern to children and priority chemicals for disclo- 44 sure on their websites. 45 3. Disclosure of information. Reporting of chemical occurrence. Chem- 46 icals of high concern to children and priority chemicals for disclosure 47 shall be determined by the department of health, in consultation with 48 the department of environmental conservation. Once the department of 49 state, department of health and the department of environmental conser- 50 vation publish the list of chemicals to their websites, every manufac- 51 turer who sells or distributes a children's product in this state shall 52 report to the department of state if any of the priority chemicals for 53 disclosure are present in a children's product. The list of priority 54 chemicals for disclosure, as developed by the department of health and 55 environmental conservation, shall be reviewed by such departments on an 56 ongoing and regular basis and reported to the department of state.A. 6151 3 1 The department of state, in consultation with the department of envi- 2 ronmental conservation and the department of health, shall promulgate 3 rules and regulations regarding the notification format the manufactur- 4 ers must comply with when disclosing information to consumers and the 5 departments. 6 The department of state, department of health and the department of 7 environmental conservation are authorized to participate in an inter- 8 state chemicals clearinghouse to assist in carrying out the requirements 9 of this section. Such departments may also enter into reciprocal data- 10 sharing agreements with other states in which a manufacturer of chil- 11 dren's products is required to disclose information related to chemicals 12 of high concern to children in children's products. 13 4. Waiver of reporting. Upon application by a manufacturer, the 14 commissioner of health may waive all or part of the disclosure require- 15 ments. In making such determination, such commissioner may consider: 16 (a) whether substantially equivalent information is already publicly 17 available or such information is not needed for the purposes of this 18 article; 19 (b) whether similar waivers have been granted by other states; 20 (c) whether the specified use or uses are minor in volume; or 21 (d) whether the manufacturer either individually or jointly submits 22 the information required in a notice under this section to: (i) a state 23 with which the department of state has entered a reciprocal data-sharing 24 agreement; or (ii) a trade association, the Interstate Chemicals Clear- 25 inghouse, a federal governmental agency, or other independent third 26 party, who makes that data available to the department of health on 27 behalf of the manufacturer. 28 5. Notice to retailers. A manufacturer of a children's product 29 containing a priority chemical for disclosure shall notify, in a form 30 prescribed by the department of state, retailers that offer the chil- 31 dren's product for sale or distribution in the state of the presence of 32 such priority chemical for disclosure and any other information the 33 departments of state and health deem appropriate. 34 6. Notice to consumers. The department of state shall notify consumers 35 about children's products containing priority chemicals for disclosure. 36 The notification shall link chemical disclosure to known and potential 37 health impacts, and shall be published on the department of health's and 38 department of environmental conservation's websites in a form and manner 39 determined by the commissioners of such departments. 40 7. Certificate of compliance. A manufacturer required to submit 41 notice pursuant to this section to the commissioners of health and envi- 42 ronmental conservation may rely on a certificate of compliance, data or 43 information from suppliers for determining reporting obligations. A 44 certificate of compliance provided by a supplier under this subdivision 45 shall be solely for the purpose of compliance with the requirements of 46 this section. 47 8. Applicability. The provisions of this section shall apply to chem- 48 icals in children's products sold or distributed as new. It shall not 49 apply to used children's products that are sold or distributed for free 50 at secondhand stores, yard sales, on the internet or donated to chari- 51 ties. 52 9. Transportation. The requirements of this section shall not apply 53 to motor vehicles or their component parts, watercraft or their compo- 54 nent parts, all-terrain vehicles or their component parts, or off-high- 55 way motorcycles or their component parts, except that the presence ofA. 6151 4 1 priority chemicals for disclosure in detachable car seats shall not be 2 exempt. 3 10. Combustion. The requirements of this section shall not apply to 4 chemicals generated solely as combustion byproducts or that are present 5 in combustible fuels. 6 11. Industry. The requirements of this section shall not apply to 7 priority chemicals for disclosure used in or for industry or manufactur- 8 ing, including chemicals processed or otherwise used in or for indus- 9 trial or manufacturing processes and not present in the final product. 10 12. Statement of compliance. If the department of environmental 11 conservation suspects that a children's product is being offered or sold 12 in violation of this section, such department may request the manufac- 13 turer of the children's product to provide within thirty days of receipt 14 of a request from the department of environmental conservation, a state- 15 ment of compliance on a form provided by the department of environmental 16 conservation. The statement of compliance shall: (a) attest that the 17 children's product does not contain the priority chemical for disclo- 18 sure; or (b) attest and provide the department of state with documenta- 19 tion that notification of the presence of a priority chemical for 20 disclosure was provided to the department pursuant to this section; or 21 (c) attest that the manufacturer has notified retailers of the presence 22 of the priority chemical for disclosure pursuant to this section. 23 13. Unauthorized sales. The commissioner of environmental conserva- 24 tion may issue an order directing the cessation of the sale or distrib- 25 ution by manufacturers, distributors or retailers of any children's 26 product being distributed, sold, leased or otherwise offered for sale in 27 this state that is in violation of this section. In the instance of 28 non-compliance with such order, the department of environmental conser- 29 vation shall provide the attorney general any information on the sale, 30 lease, or distribution of prohibited children's products. 31 14. Enforcement. Where it is determined, following a hearing, that a 32 manufacturer has violated one or more provisions of this section, the 33 commissioner of environmental conservation may assess a civil penalty no 34 greater than five thousand dollars per violation. Upon the occasion of a 35 second violation, and subsequent violations of this section, a civil 36 penalty of no greater than fifty thousand dollars may be assessed. 37 Any proceeding conducted pursuant to this subdivision shall be subject 38 to the state administrative procedure act. The hearing officer shall 39 consider whether a retailer knowingly offered such items for sale as a 40 defense to violations of this section. 41 15. Regulations. The department of state, department of health and 42 the department of environmental conservation may adopt such rules and 43 regulations as shall be necessary to implement the provisions of this 44 section. 45 § 2. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part 46 of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to 47 be invalid and after exhaustion of all further judicial review, the 48 judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, 49 but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, para- 50 graph, section or part of this act directly involved in the controversy 51 in which the judgment shall have been rendered. 52 § 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020. Effective immediately, 53 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rules or regulations neces- 54 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are 55 authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such 56 effective date.
