Bill Text: CA SB1256 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Product safety: rare earth magnets.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-26 - From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS. [SB1256 Detail]
Download: California-2019-SB1256-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Senate
March 26, 2020 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 1256
| Introduced by Senator Allen |
February 21, 2020 |
An act relating to business. to add Chapter 10.5 (commencing with Section 108930) to Part 3 of Division 104 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to product safety.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1256, as amended, Allen.
Business: magnets marketed as toys. Product safety: rare earth magnets.
Existing law prohibits a person or entity from manufacturing, selling, or distributing in commerce any toy or child care article that contains specified phthalates in concentrations exceeding 0.1% and from manufacturing, selling, or distributing in commerce any toy or child care article intended for use by a child under 3 years of age if that product can be placed in the child’s mouth and contains other specified phthalates in concentrations exceeding 0.1%.
This bill would prohibit a person or entity from manufacturing, selling, or distributing in commerce a rare earth magnet, as defined.
Existing law prohibits the manufacture or sale of a toy that is contaminated with a toxic substance and punishes a violation of the prohibition by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would increase the safety of magnets marketed as toys.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Small powerful rare earth magnets are often marketed as toys and sold to children.
(b) Due to their size and magnetic strength, these magnets present a hidden danger to infants, children, and teens if accidentally ingested.
(c) When two or more of
these high-powered magnets are ingested, the force allows the two magnets to find each other across or between different segments of the digestive system.
(d) A collision of two or more high-powered magnets across segments of the digestive system can lead to serious injury or death.
(e) The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent federal regulatory agency, issued a final safety standard in 2014 limiting the size and strength of high-powered magnets in a toy set, resulting in significant decreases in accidental magnet ingestion by children.
(f) In 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated the 2014 federal safety standards with a ruling that the agency failed to meet standards for the rulemaking process.
(g) Since the decision, there has been a surge in accidental magnet ingestions in the United States.
SEC. 2.
Chapter 10.5 (commencing with Section 108930) is added to Part 3 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:CHAPTER 10.5. Rare Earth Magnets
108930.
For purposes of this chapter, a “rare earth magnet” means a magnet that meets all of the following criteria:(a) Made from alloys of rare earth elements.
(b) Contains an individual magnet with a flux index of greater than 50 kg2mm2.
(c) Contains any individual magnet that fits completely within the small parts cylinder described in Section 1501.4 of Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
108931.
A person or entity shall not manufacture, sell, or distribute in commerce a rare earth magnet.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would increase the safety of magnets marketed as toys.
