Bill Text: NY A07978 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Relates to the regulation of ingredients in personal care products to include chemicals of concern which shall be provided on lists identified by the commissioner.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-09 - print number 7978a [A07978 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A07978-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         7978--A

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 29, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  GOTTFRIED, ENGLEBRIGHT, L. ROSENTHAL, REYES,
          D'URSO, THIELE, ORTIZ, GALEF, DICKENS, STECK -- read once and referred
          to  the  Committee  on  Environmental  Conservation  --  reported  and
          referred  to  the  Committee  on  Ways and Means -- recommitted to the
          Committee on Ways and Means in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2
          -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted  as  amended
          and recommitted to said committee

        AN  ACT  to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
          regulation of ingredients in personal care products

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Legislative  findings  and intent. There are thousands of
     2  chemicals used in personal care, household cleaning, and other  consumer
     3  products,  many  of  which  have  never  been fully tested for potential
     4  impacts on human health or the environment. This has  led  national  and
     5  international  organizations  to  develop lists of chemicals of concern,
     6  including the New York State Department of Environmental  Conservation's
     7  Household Cleaning Product Ingredient Disclosure Program (HCPIDP). While
     8  federal law requires personal care product labels to list certain inten-
     9  tionally  added  ingredients,  information  concerning  potential health
    10  effects is not widely  available  and  certain  categories  of  chemical
    11  ingredients  are exempt from labeling requirements. Furthermore, over 40
    12  countries, including countries in the European Union,  Japan,  Cambodia,
    13  and  Vietnam,  have  stricter restrictions on chemicals in personal care
    14  products than does the United States.  Therefore, the legislature  finds
    15  and  declares  that  federal  disclosure  requirements are inadequate to
    16  educate and protect consumers, and that it shall be the  policy  of  the
    17  state  to  require  the  personal  care  product  industry to more fully
    18  disclose ingredients and identify ingredients published as chemicals  of
    19  concern  on  lists  identified by the commissioner such as the HCPIDP or
    20  other national or international lists.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11385-04-0

        A. 7978--A                          2

     1    § 2. Article 37 of the environmental conservation law  is  amended  by
     2  adding a new title 10 to read as follows:
     3                                   TITLE X
     4                    REGULATION OF PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS
     5  Section 37-1001. Definitions.
     6          37-1003. Disclosure.
     7          37-1005. Periodic review.
     8          37-1007. Sales prohibition.
     9          37-1009. Small business exemption.
    10          37-1011. Penalties.
    11  § 37-1001. Definitions.
    12    As used in this title, unless the context requires otherwise:
    13    1. "Chemical of concern" shall mean a chemical appearing on any of the
    14  lists  included in the department of environmental conservation division
    15  of materials management program policy on  household  cleansing  product
    16  information  disclosure  published  on June sixth, two thousand eighteen
    17  pursuant to article thirty-five of this chapter and 6 NYCRR part 659, or
    18  as designated by the commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner
    19  of health.
    20    2. "Ingredient" shall mean all of the following:
    21    (a) an intentionally added ingredient present in  any  quantity  in  a
    22  personal care product;
    23    (b)  a nonfunctional byproduct or nonfunctional contaminant present in
    24  a personal care product, in any quantity exceeding one part per  million
    25  of  the  content of the product, by weight or other amount determined by
    26  the commissioner;
    27    (c) a nonfunctional byproduct present in a personal  care  product  in
    28  any  quantity  not  exceeding one part per million of the content of the
    29  product by weight present at or above the practical quantification limit
    30  as determined by the commissioner, provided such element or compound has
    31  been published as a chemical of concern on one or more lists  identified
    32  by the commissioner;
    33    (d)  a nonfunctional contaminant present in a personal care product in
    34  a quantity determined by the commissioner and not exceeding one part per
    35  million of the content of the product by weight present at or above  the
    36  practical  quantification  limit,  provided such element or compound has
    37  been published as a chemical of concern on one or more lists  identified
    38  by the commissioner.
    39    3. "Intentionally added ingredient" shall mean any element or compound
    40  that  a manufacturer has intentionally added to a personal care product,
    41  and which has a functional or technical effect in the finished  product,
    42  including,  but  not  limited  to, the components of intentionally added
    43  fragrance,  flavoring  and  colorants,  and  the  intentional  breakdown
    44  products  of  an added element or compound that also has a functional or
    45  technical effect on the finished product.
    46    4. "Nonfunctional byproduct" shall mean any element or compound  which
    47  has no functional or technical effect in the finished product which:
    48    (a)  was  intentionally  added  during the manufacturing process for a
    49  personal care product at any point in a product's, a raw  material's  or
    50  ingredient's supply chain; or
    51    (b)  was  created  or  formed  during  the manufacturing process as an
    52  intentional or unintentional consequence of the manufacturing process at
    53  any point in a product's, a raw material's, or  an  ingredient's  supply
    54  chain.

        A. 7978--A                          3

     1    Nonfunctional  byproduct  shall  include,  but  is  not limited to, an
     2  unreacted raw material, a breakdown product of  an  intentionally  added
     3  ingredient, or a byproduct of the manufacturing process.
     4    5.  "Nonfunctional  contaminant"  shall  mean  any element or compound
     5  present in a personal care product as an  unintentional  consequence  of
     6  manufacturing  which  has  no  functional  or  technical  effect  in the
     7  finished product. Nonfunctional contaminants include, but are not limit-
     8  ed to, elements or compounds present in the environment as  contaminants
     9  which    were  introduced  into  a product, a raw material, or a product
    10  ingredient as a result of the use of an environmental medium, such as  a
    11  naturally  occurring  mineral,  air, soil or water, in the manufacturing
    12  process at any point in a product's, a raw material's,  or  an  ingredi-
    13  ent's supply chain.
    14    6.  "Manufacturer"  shall mean any person, firm, association, partner-
    15  ship,  limited    liability  company,  or  corporation  which  produces,
    16  prepares,  formulates,  or compounds a   personal care product, or whose
    17  brand name is affixed to such product. In the case of  a  personal  care
    18  product  imported  into the United States, "manufacturer" shall mean the
    19  importer or first domestic distributor of the product if the entity that
    20  manufactures the product or whose brand  name is affixed to the  product
    21  does not have a presence in the United States.
    22    7.  "Personal care product" shall mean articles intended to be rubbed,
    23  poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise  applied
    24  to  the  human  body  or  any  part  thereof for cleansing, beautifying,
    25  promoting attractiveness,  or  altering  the  appearance,  and  articles
    26  intended  for  use as a component of any such articles; except that such
    27  term shall not include soap.
    28    8.  "Restricted  substance"  shall  mean  lead,  mercury  and  related
    29  compounds,  formaldehyde,  triclosan,  toluene, per- and polyfluoroalkyl
    30  substances, dibutyl phthalate, di(2)exylhexyl phthalate, and  isobutyl-,
    31  isopropyl-, butyl-, and propyl paraben.
    32    9.  "Soap" shall mean articles comprised entirely of an alkali salt of
    33  fatty acids where the detergent properties of the article are due to the
    34  alkali-fatty acid compounds, and the article shall be labeled, sold, and
    35  represented only as a soap.
    36  § 37-1003. Disclosure.
    37    1. Manufacturers  of  personal  care  products  distributed,  sold  or
    38  offered  for  sale  in  this  state, whether at retail or wholesale, for
    39  personal, professional or commercial use, or distributed for promotional
    40  purposes, shall furnish to the commissioner  for  public  record,  in  a
    41  manner  prescribed by the commissioner that is readily accessible to the
    42  public and machine readable, such information  regarding  such  products
    43  pursuant  to  rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner. For
    44  each personal care product, such information shall  include,  but  shall
    45  not be limited to:
    46    (a)  (i)  a list naming each ingredient, as defined in subdivision two
    47  of section 37-1001 of this title, of the product in descending order  of
    48  predominance  by  weight in the product, except that ingredients present
    49  at a weight below one percent (1%) may be listed following other  ingre-
    50  dients without respect to the order of predominance by weight;
    51    (ii)  such  list  shall disclose that the ingredient is published as a
    52  chemical of concern as identified in this title, including specification
    53  of which list or lists such chemical of concern is on; and
    54    (b) the nature and extent of investigations and research performed  by
    55  or  for  the manufacturer concerning the effects on human health and the
    56  environment of such product or such ingredients.

        A. 7978--A                          4

     1    2. Such manufacturers shall furnish  information  on  or  before  July
     2  first,  two thousand twenty-one and every two years thereafter. In addi-
     3  tion, such manufacturers shall furnish such  information  prior  to  the
     4  sale  of  any  new  personal  care  product,  when  the formulation of a
     5  currently disclosed product is substantially or materially changed, when
     6  any list of chemicals of concern identified by the commissioner pursuant
     7  to  this  article  is  changed  to  include  an  ingredient present in a
     8  personal care product subject to this article, or at such other times as
     9  may be required by the commissioner.
    10    3. Such information shall be made  available  to  the  public  by  the
    11  commissioner,  in  accordance  with  this section, with the exception of
    12  those  portions  which  the  manufacturer  determines,  subject  to  the
    13  approval  of  the  commissioner, is related to a proprietary process the
    14  disclosure of which  would  compromise  the  manufacturer's  competitive
    15  position.  The  commissioner shall not approve any exceptions under this
    16  subdivision with respect to any ingredient published as  a  chemical  of
    17  concern on one or more lists identified by the commissioner.
    18    4.  The  commissioner may direct submission of such information to the
    19  Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse, which may make the reported informa-
    20  tion available to the public, subject  to  information  to  be  withheld
    21  under subdivision three of this section.
    22  § 37-1005. Periodic review.
    23    The  commissioner,  in  consultation  with the commissioner of health,
    24  shall periodically review the list of  chemicals  of  concern  and,  may
    25  through regulation, add or remove chemicals from such list.
    26  § 37-1007. Sales prohibition.
    27    Effective three years after this section takes effect, no person shall
    28  distribute, sell or offer for sale in this state a personal care product
    29  containing a restricted substance.
    30  § 37-1009. Small business exemption.
    31    The  requirements of this title shall not apply to personal care prod-
    32  uct manufacturers that employ five persons or fewer, and  are  independ-
    33  ently owned and operated.
    34  § 37-1011. Penalties.
    35    A manufacturer in violation of this title is subject to a civil penal-
    36  ty not to exceed five thousand dollars for each violation in the case of
    37  a  first  offense.  Manufacturers  who  commit subsequent violations are
    38  subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars  for  each
    39  additional offense.
    40    § 3. Severability. If any provision of this act, or any application of
    41  any  provision  of  this act, is held to be invalid, or to violate or be
    42  inconsistent with any federal law or regulation, that shall  not  affect
    43  the  validity or effectiveness of any other provision of this act, or of
    44  any other application of any provision of this act, which can  be  given
    45  effect  without  that  provision  or  application;  and to that end, the
    46  provisions and applications of this act are severable.
    47    § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    48  it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,  amend-
    49  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    50  tation  of  this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
    51  completed on or before such effective date.
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