Bill Text: NY S09105 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Requires the display of certain labels and warnings on gas stoves sold, displayed for sale, or offered for sale at retail to a consumer in this state; authorizes the department of state to adopt regulations regarding the placement and format of such labels; provides for penalties; authorizes the attorney general to enforce such provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-03 - PRINT NUMBER 9105B [S09105 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S09105-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         9105--A

                    IN SENATE

                                     April 26, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  KRUEGER, CHU, CLEARE, COONEY, GONZALEZ, HARCKHAM,
          HOYLMAN-SIGAL, MAY, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SANDERS, STAVISKY,  THOMAS,  WEBB
          -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
          the  Committee  on  Consumer  Protection -- committee discharged, bill
          amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
          tee

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  general  business  law, in relation to labeling
          requirements for gas stoves

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

     1    Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  the "Healthy Homes Right To Know Act".
     3    § 2. Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares that:
     4    1. New York has a long history of protecting its  citizens  by  making
     5  sure they have adequate knowledge to make informed purchasing decisions.
     6    2.  The  public  is broadly unaware of the health dangers posed by gas
     7  stoves. On May 8, 2023,  ten  state  attorneys  general,  including  the
     8  attorney  general  of New York State as well as the New York City Corpo-
     9  ration Counsel, sent a letter to the Consumer Product Safety  Commission
    10  (CPSC),  in  which  they asserted, "Most of the research and evidence on
    11  the health risks associated with elevated levels of emissions  from  gas
    12  appliances  has  been circulated among decisionmakers and engaged stake-
    13  holders. This has left the public to try to piece  together  health  and
    14  safety information--which can be false or misleading--from the internet,
    15  social  media,  and other non-authoritative sources. Thus, when it comes
    16  to gas stove emissions, consumers are presently unprotected against, and
    17  inadequately informed about, the health hazards these appliances  pose."
    18  Those  dangers  may  now be particularly acute as, according to the U.S.
    19  Environmental Protection Agency, "Americans on average,  spend  approxi-
    20  mately 90% of their time indoors where concentrations of some pollutants
    21  are often 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations."
    22    3.  The  same letter suggests, "requiring warning labels on gas stoves
    23  that provide more information on their health risks". The letter goes on
    24  to say, "Proper labeling on gas stoves would represent an important step

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14481-04-4
        S. 9105--A                          2

     1  in helping to educate consumers about the health risks  associated  with
     2  gas  stoves. Providing this information upfront is essential to enabling
     3  consumers to make a fully informed decision."
     4    4.  Current  New  York state regulations regarding unvented gas appli-
     5  ances are inconsistent. Since there is no statewide requirement that gas
     6  stoves be ventilated to the outdoors, a precautionary approach to public
     7  safety requires that these appliances be treated as unvented.
     8    5. Although the research regarding the impacts of unvented gas heaters
     9  is vastly less robust than that regarding gas stoves, the New York State
    10  Department of Health nonetheless adopted regulations in January of  2023
    11  to  require  labeling  of unvented gas heaters including, "WARNING: This
    12  appliance produces CARBON MONOXIDE, a poisonous gas. You MUST use carbon
    13  monoxide alarms to avoid injury or  death".  Labeling  requirements  for
    14  unvented  heaters  in  California  also include warnings of exposure to:
    15  "...chemicals including benzene, which is known to the state of Califor-
    16  nia to cause cancer and cause birth defects or other reproductive harm".
    17    6. Given that the research regarding gas stoves is even more  complete
    18  and  compelling,  New York State should also act to inform the public as
    19  has already been done with unvented gas heaters.
    20    7. The scientific consensus on gas stove emissions is robust and grow-
    21  ing.  It is now understood that gas  stoves  can  emit  carbon  monoxide
    22  (CO),  nitrogen  dioxide (NO2), benzene, and formaldehyde. Methane emis-
    23  sions can occur even when the gas stove is turned off. According to  the
    24  Concerned Health Professionals of New York and the Physicians for Social
    25  Responsibility,  "Nearly  three-quarters  of  methane emissions from gas
    26  stoves take place while the stove is turned off and not in use.  At  the
    27  same  time  levels  of hazardous air pollutants from everyday use of gas
    28  stoves often exceed the limits of outdoor air quality standards.  Indoor
    29  concentrations  are  often much higher than health-protective guidelines
    30  set by the World Health Organization."
    31    8. According to  the  Centers  for  Disease  Control  and  Prevention,
    32  "Carbon  monoxide,  or "CO," is an odorless, colorless gas that can kill
    33  you". The New York State Department of Health refers to carbon  monoxide
    34  as  a  poisonous gas. Approximately 430 people die each year from carbon
    35  monoxide exposure. Thousands more become ill and seek medical attention.
    36  Carbon monoxide poisoning is estimated to cause more than  50,000  emer-
    37  gency  room  visits in the United States each year. According to the New
    38  York State Department of Health, annually, "In New York State, about 200
    39  people are hospitalized and over 1800 people visit an emergency  depart-
    40  ment  because  of  accidental  CO  poisoning." The numbers of accidental
    41  poisonings are on the rise. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety  Commission
    42  "found  evidence of a statistically significant upward trend in non-fire
    43  CO deaths for the 11-year  period  from  2009  to  2019".  According  to
    44  Preventative  Medicine  reports, "Accidental, non-fire related poisoning
    45  accounts for over $1.3 billion annually in societal costs."
    46    9. Notably, while carbon monoxide alarms are an important preventative
    47  measure to lower the risk of carbon monoxide  poisoning,  they  are  not
    48  guaranteed  to  be  effective. According to the National Carbon Monoxide
    49  Awareness Association: "Only 14% of families in the US have  a  properly
    50  functioning  carbon  monoxide  alarm".  An earlier report showed that in
    51  2009, 83% of NYC residents reported having CO alarms. However, only  54%
    52  of them had recently tested or replaced their batteries.
    53    10.  Nitrogen  dioxide, or NO2, is a gaseous air pollutant composed of
    54  nitrogen and oxygen and is formed when fossil fuels are burned. The  EPA
    55  has  determined that NO2 is "causal" of more severe respiratory symptoms
    56  in people with asthma and that long-term  exposure  to  NO2  is  "likely
        S. 9105--A                          3

     1  causal" of respiratory illnesses such as asthma. The New England Journal
     2  of  Medicine  has  found  that,  "Gas  combustion in stoves, boilers and
     3  furnaces generates oxides of nitrogen," to which the article attributes,
     4  "Increased   asthma   risk;  exacerbation  of  COPD  and  cardiovascular
     5  disease".  The EPA includes NO2 on its  list  of  asthma  triggers,  and
     6  "unvented  combustion  appliances, e.g. gas stoves" is first on its list
     7  of "primary sources of NO2 indoors".
     8    11. Each year, asthma accounts for more than 439,000 hospitalizations,
     9  1.6 million emergency department  visits,  and  10.5  million  physician
    10  office visits in the United States. About 10 people die from the disease
    11  every day. Asthma has been linked to 13.8 million missed school days and
    12  14.2  million  missed  workdays annually. The cost of treating asthma in
    13  the United States is $62.8 billion every year.
    14    12. A 2013 meta-analysis of 41 studies found that children  living  in
    15  homes with gas stoves had a 42 percent higher risk of experiencing asth-
    16  ma symptoms, and, over their lifetime, a 24 percent increase in the risk
    17  of  being diagnosed with asthma, and a 2022 peer-reviewed research paper
    18  published in the International Journal  of  Environmental  Research  and
    19  Public Health found that more than 12% of current childhood asthma cases
    20  in  the  US  can be attributed to gas stove use. The same paper suggests
    21  that attribution number is 18.8% of children with  asthma  in  New  York
    22  State.
    23    13.  The  asthma  crisis does not equally affect all New York communi-
    24  ties.  Black Americans are approximately two times more likely to die of
    25  asthma than White Americans. Further, the percentage of  Black  children
    26  in  the  U.S.  suffering from asthma is nearly twice that of White chil-
    27  dren, and their death rate is ten times  higher.  According  to  a  2023
    28  joint  report  from  the New York State Department of Health and the New
    29  York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, "The burden of asthma
    30  falls disproportionately among specific demographic groups, specifically
    31  for persons and communities of color, where asthma prevalence is  higher
    32  among  Black, American Indian, and multiracial New Yorkers." The Centers
    33  for Disease Control  and  Prevention  concurs  with  the  assessment  of
    34  disproportionate burden.
    35    14.  While the age-adjusted asthma mortality rate for New York City is
    36  higher than for New York State as a whole, with the Bronx  demonstrating
    37  a  notably  higher  mortality rate than the other boroughs, this problem
    38  should not be construed as a New York City issue. Other  hotspots  exist
    39  around  the  state. For example, years of academic research has convinc-
    40  ingly demonstrated alarmingly high rates of  asthma  on  Buffalo's  West
    41  Side.  A  study  by  Dr.  Lwebuga-Mukasa,  Professor  of Medicine at the
    42  University of Buffalo, found that "nearly 45% of  West  Side  households
    43  reported at least one case of chronic respiratory illness or asthma".
    44    15.  Gas and propane combustion from gas stoves emits benzene. A study
    45  from the Stanford Woods Institute  for  the  Environment  found  that  a
    46  single  gas  cooktop  burner  set on high, or an oven set at 350 degrees
    47  Fahrenheit can, "raise indoor levels of  the  carcinogen  benzene  above
    48  those  of secondhand smoke". According to the World Health Organization,
    49  "Human exposure to benzene has been associated with a range of acute and
    50  long-term adverse health effects  and  diseases,  including  cancer  and
    51  haematological effects."
    52    16. Formaldehyde is listed as a human carcinogen and has been found at
    53  more elevated levels associated with gas burners set to "simmer".
    54    17.  Ventilation  of  gas  stove emissions to the outdoors can improve
    55  indoor air quality. However, many homeowners do  not  have  ventilation,
    56  and it is not required by state law. In addition, studies also show that
        S. 9105--A                          4

     1  many  people  who have ventilation systems don't use them, often because
     2  of noise concerns. Vents can become blocked with debris and  the  effec-
     3  tiveness  of  ventilation  systems  can be compromised by changes in air
     4  pressure  in  the  building envelope caused by the opening of windows or
     5  doors or the activation of bathroom  fans,  for  example.  Lastly,  some
     6  people with range hoods may be under the mistaken belief that pollutants
     7  are being vented outdoors when in fact many hoods simply recirculate the
     8  air into the kitchen after filtering it. The effectiveness of filtration
     9  varies  widely  and  is  partially  based  on  active maintenance of the
    10  filtration system.
    11    18. Therefore it is the intent of the legislature  to  promote  public
    12  health,  support  informed consumer choice, and create consistent public
    13  policy, by requiring labeling and signage regarding the  health  impacts
    14  of gas stoves.
    15    § 3. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 322-d
    16  to read as follows:
    17    §  322-d. Labeling requirements for gas stoves. 1. For the purposes of
    18  this section, "gas stove" means a stove or range that  utilizes  natural
    19  gas or propane and is used for food preparation, whether in a commercial
    20  or residential setting, and provides at least one of the following func-
    21  tions:
    22    (a) surface cooking;
    23    (b) oven cooking; or
    24    (c) broiling.
    25    2.  No  person,  firm,  partnership, association, or corporation shall
    26  sell or offer for sale to a consumer in this state any gas stove  unless
    27  the following requirements are met:
    28    (a)  A  removable  label  is affixed to the gas stove if such stove is
    29  displayed for sale outside of a package, or the package in which  it  is
    30  contained,  with  a type size no smaller than the largest type size used
    31  for other consumer information on the product or package, is in a promi-
    32  nent location, and bears the following message:
    33    "WARNING: Gas stoves can release NITROGEN DIOXIDE and CARBON  MONOXIDE
    34    (a poisonous gas) inside homes at levels exceeding the EPA's standards
    35    for  outdoor air quality. The presence of these pollutants may exacer-
    36    bate pre-existing respiratory illnesses or lead to the development  of
    37    asthma,  especially  in  children.  Gas  stoves may also release other
    38    pollutants including BENZENE, and FORMALDEHYDE."
    39    (b) (i) A sign or poster shall be displayed conspicuously at the prem-
    40  ises on which the sale takes place bearing the message required by para-
    41  graph (a) of this subdivision. Such sign or poster must have conspicuous
    42  lettering in at least seventy-two point bold face type, except that  the
    43  word  "warning"  shall  be  in at least two-inch lettering. Such sign or
    44  poster shall be placed as close as  possible  to  the  place  where  gas
    45  stoves  are displayed for sale so that it is noticeable and easily read-
    46  able by a consumer examining any displayed gas stoves for sale.
    47    (ii) If the sale takes place on the internet, a notice shall be posted
    48  in a conspicuous location on the web page on  which  the  gas  stove  is
    49  listed  for  sale, bearing the message required by paragraph (a) of this
    50  subdivision.
    51    3. The department of state may adopt regulations regarding the  place-
    52  ment  and  format  of  labels,  signs,  and  posters to comply with this
    53  section.
    54    4. Any person who violates any provision of this section shall receive
    55  a warning notice for the first such violation. A person shall be  liable
    56  to  the  state of New York for a civil penalty not to exceed two hundred
        S. 9105--A                          5

     1  fifty dollars for the second violation and one thousand dollars for  any
     2  subsequent violation in the same calendar year. A hearing or opportunity
     3  to  be  heard  shall  be  provided  prior to the assessment of any civil
     4  penalty.
     5    5.  The department of state and the office of the attorney general are
     6  authorized to enforce the provisions of this section.
     7    § 4. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become  a
     8  law.