Bill Text: NY S02199 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to regulation of toxic chemicals in children's products; establishes the interstate chemical clearinghouse.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION [S02199 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S02199-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2199 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 23, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sens. BAILEY, ADDABBO, BRESLIN, GIANARIS, HOYLMAN, KENNE- DY, KRUEGER, MONTGOMERY, PARKER, SERRANO, STAVISKY, STEWART-COUSINS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to regu- lation of toxic chemicals in children's products The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Article 37 of the environmental conservation law is amended 2 by adding a new title 9 to read as follows: 3 TITLE IX 4 TOXIC CHEMICALS IN CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS 5 Section 37-0901. Definitions. 6 37-0903. Chemicals of high concern. 7 37-0905. Priority chemicals. 8 37-0907. Disclosure of information on priority chemicals. 9 37-0909. Sales prohibition. 10 37-0911. Applicability. 11 37-0913. Enforcement and implementation. 12 37-0915. Interstate chemical clearinghouse. 13 37-0917. Regulations. 14 § 37-0901. Definitions. 15 As used in this title, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 16 following terms have the following meanings. 17 1. "Children's apparel" means any item of clothing that consists of 18 fabric or related material intended or promoted for use in children's 19 clothing. Children's apparel does not mean protective equipment designed 20 to prevent injury, including, but not limited to, bicycle helmets, 21 athletic supporters, knee pads or elbow pads. 22 2. "Chemical" means a substance with a distinct molecular composition 23 or a group of structurally related substances and includes the breakdown EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05571-01-9S. 2199 2 1 products of the substance or substances that form through decomposition, 2 degradation or metabolism. 3 3. "Chemical of high concern" means a chemical included in the list of 4 "Chemicals of High Concern" published in June 2009 pursuant to chapter 5 16-D of title 38 of the Maine revised statutes annotated. 6 4. "Children" means a person or persons aged twelve and under. 7 5. "Children's product" means a product primarily intended for, made 8 for or marketed for use by children, including baby products, toys, car 9 seats, personal care products, a product designed or intended by the 10 manufacturer to help a child with sucking or teething, to facilitate 11 sleep, relaxation, or the feeding of a child, novelty products, bedding, 12 furniture, furnishings, and children's apparel. "Children's product" 13 does not include (a) batteries; or (b) consumer electronic products 14 including but not limited to personal computers, audio and video equip- 15 ment, calculators, wireless phones, game consoles, and handheld devices 16 incorporating a video screen, used to access interactive software and 17 their associated peripherals; or (c) a food or beverage or an additive 18 to a food or beverage regulated by the United States Food and Drug 19 Administration; or (d) a tobacco product or paper or forest product; or 20 (e) a pesticide regulated by the United States Environmental Protection 21 Agency. "Children's product" also does not include a drug, biologic or 22 medical device regulated by the United States Food and Drug Adminis- 23 tration. 24 6. "Distributor" means a person who sells children's products to 25 retail establishments on a wholesale basis. 26 7. "Intentionally added" means the deliberate use in the formulation 27 of a product or subpart where its continued presence is desired in the 28 final product or subpart to provide a specific characteristic, appear- 29 ance or quality. 30 8. "Manufacturer" means any person who currently manufactures a final 31 children's product or whose brand name is affixed to the children's 32 product. In the case of a children's product that was imported into the 33 United States, "manufacturer" includes the importer or first domestic 34 distributor of the children's product if the person who currently manu- 35 factures or assembles the children's product or whose brand name is 36 affixed to the children's product does not have a presence in the United 37 States. 38 9. "Novelty product" means a product intended mainly for personal or 39 household enjoyment or adornment. Novelty products include, but are not 40 limited to, items intended for use as practical jokes, figurines, adorn- 41 ments, toys, games, cards, ornaments, yard statues and figures, candles, 42 jewelry, holiday decorations, or similar products. 43 10. "Priority chemical" means (a) the following chemicals: 44 CASRN115-96-8 Tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate 45 CASRN71-43-2 Benzene 46 CASRN7439-92-1 Lead and compounds (inorganic) 47 CASRN7439-97-6 Mercury and mercury compounds, including methyl 48 mercury (CASRN 22967-92-6) 49 CASRN7439-98-7 Molybdenum and molybdenum compounds 50 CASRN7440-36-0 Antimony and antimony compounds 51 CASRN7440-38-2 Arsenic and arsenic compounds including arsenic 52 trioxide (CASRN 1327-53-3) 53 and dimethyl arsenic (CASRN 75-60-5) 54 CASRN7440-43-9 Cadmium 55 CASRN7440-48-4 Cobalt and cobalt compounds andS. 2199 3 1 (b) a chemical adopted by the department pursuant to section 37-0905 2 of this title. 3 11. "Toy" means a product designed or intended by the manufacturer to 4 be used by a child at play. 5 § 37-0903. Chemicals of high concern. 6 1. Publishing of list. Within one hundred eighty days of the effective 7 date of this title, the department shall ensure that a website accessi- 8 ble to the public is established that lists all chemicals of high 9 concern. 10 2. Periodic review. (a) The department, in consultation with the 11 department of health, may periodically review the list of chemicals of 12 high concern and, through regulation, identify additional chemicals of 13 high concern, or remove a chemical from the list of chemicals of high 14 concern based on evidence that the chemical does not meet the criteria 15 of this subdivision. In the event that a new determination is made by a 16 state, federal or international governmental entity that a chemical 17 meets the high concern criteria, nothing herein shall prevent the 18 department from acting to add such chemicals outside of the periodic 19 review process. 20 (b) The department shall, upon this review, identify a chemical as a 21 chemical of high concern if it determines that the chemical has been 22 identified by a state, federal or international governmental entity on 23 the basis of credible scientific evidence as: 24 (i) A carcinogen, a reproductive or developmental toxicant or an 25 endocrine disruptor; 26 (ii) Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic; or 27 (iii) Very persistent and very bioaccumulative. 28 (c) In making such determination, the department may consider but is 29 not limited to considering: 30 (i) chemicals identified as "Group 1 carcinogens" or "Group 2A carci- 31 nogens" by the World Health Organization, International Agency for 32 Research on Cancer; 33 (ii) chemicals identified as "known to be a human carcinogen" and 34 "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" by the Secretary of 35 the United States Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to 36 the Public Health Service Act, 42 United States Code, Section 241(b)(4), 37 as amended; 38 (iii) chemicals identified as "Group A carcinogens" or "Group B carci- 39 nogens" by the United States Environmental Protection Agency; 40 (iv) chemicals identified as reproductive or developmental toxicants 41 by: 42 (A) the United States Department of Health and Human Services, 43 National Toxicology Program, Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human 44 Reproduction; and 45 (B) the California Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environ- 46 mental Health Hazard Assessment pursuant to the California Health and 47 Safety Code, Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, 48 Chapter 6.6, Section 25249.8; 49 (v) chemicals identified as a chemical of high concern for children or 50 a high priority chemical of high concern for children or as a persistent 51 bioaccumulative toxic chemical by the state of Washington Department of 52 Ecology, pursuant to chapter 70.240 of the revised code of Washington or 53 chapter 173-333 of the state of Washington administrative code; 54 (vi) chemicals of high concern as such chemicals are identified by the 55 state of Maine's Department of Environmental Conservation and appearing 56 on such department's list of chemicals of high concern;S. 2199 4 1 (vii) chemicals identified as known or likely endocrine disruptors 2 through screening or testing conducted in accordance with protocols 3 developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant 4 to the United States Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 United States Code, 5 346a(p), as amended by the federal Food Quality Protection Act (Public 6 Law 104-170) or the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 United States 7 Code, Section 300j-17; 8 (viii) chemicals listed on the basis of endocrine-disrupting proper- 9 ties in Annex XIV, List of Substances Subject to Authorisation, Regu- 10 lation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament concerning the 11 Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals; 12 (ix) persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals identified by 13 other states or the United States Environmental Protection Agency; and 14 (x) a very persistent, very bioaccumulative chemical listed in Annex 15 XIV, List of Substances Subject to Authorisation, Regulation (EC) No 16 1907/2006 of the European Parliament concerning the Registration, Evalu- 17 ation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. 18 § 37-0905. Priority chemicals. 19 1. Publishing of list. Within one hundred eighty days of the effective 20 date of this title, the department shall ensure that a website accessi- 21 ble to the public is established that lists all priority chemicals. 22 2. Periodic review. (a) The department, in consultation with the 23 department of health, may periodically review the list of priority chem- 24 icals and, through regulation, identify additional priority chemicals or 25 remove a chemical from the list of priority chemicals based on evidence 26 that the chemical is not present in a children's product or otherwise 27 should not be subject to the requirements of this title. In the event 28 that a new determination is made by a state, federal or international 29 governmental entity that a chemical meets the priority chemical crite- 30 ria, nothing herein shall prevent the department from acting to add such 31 chemicals outside of the periodic review process. 32 (b) The department, in consultation with the department of health, may 33 identify a chemical as a priority chemical if, upon such review, it 34 determines that a chemical of high concern meets any of the following 35 criteria: 36 (i) The chemical or its metabolites have been found through biomoni- 37 toring to be present in humans, including human blood, umbilical cord 38 blood, breast milk, urine or other bodily tissues or fluids; 39 (ii) The chemical has been found through sampling and analysis to be 40 present in household dust, indoor air, drinking water or elsewhere in 41 the home environment; 42 (iii) The chemical has been found through monitoring to be present in 43 fish, wildlife or the natural environment; 44 (iv) The chemical is present in a children's product used or present 45 in the home, school, or childcare center; or 46 (v) The sale or use of the chemical or a product containing the chemi- 47 cal has been banned in another state or states within the United States 48 because of the health effects of such chemical. 49 (c) If a chemical is removed from the listing of chemicals of high 50 concern, it shall also be undesignated as a priority chemical. 51 § 37-0907. Disclosure of information on priority chemicals. 52 1. Reporting of chemical use. No later than twelve months after a 53 priority chemical is listed on the list published pursuant to section 54 37-0905 of this title, every manufacturer who offers a children's prod- 55 uct for sale or distribution in this state that contains an inten- 56 tionally added priority chemical shall report such chemical use to theS. 2199 5 1 department in a form prescribed by the department. The department may 2 collaborate with other states and an interstate chemicals clearinghouse 3 in developing such form. 4 (a) This report must at a minimum identify the children's product, the 5 priority chemical or chemicals contained in the children's product, and 6 the intended purpose of the chemicals in the children's product. The 7 department may also require reporting of the following information: 8 (i) the potential for harm to human health and the environment from 9 specific uses of the priority chemical; 10 (ii) the amount of such chemical in each unit of the children's prod- 11 uct, expressed in a range; 12 (iii) information on the likelihood that the chemical will be released 13 from the children's product to the environment during the product's life 14 cycle and the extent to which users of the product are likely to be 15 exposed to the chemical; or 16 (iv) information on the extent to which the chemical is present in the 17 environment or human body. 18 (b) The department is authorized to direct submission of a copy of 19 such report to the interstate chemicals clearinghouse. 20 2. Waiver of reporting. Upon application by a manufacturer, the 21 commissioner may waive all or part of the reporting requirements under 22 subdivision one of this section for one or more specified uses of a 23 priority chemical. In making such determination, the commissioner may 24 consider: (a) if substantially equivalent information is already public- 25 ly available or that the information is not needed for the purposes of 26 this chapter, (b) similar waivers granted by other states, and (c) 27 whether the specified use or uses are minor in volume. 28 3. Notice to retailers. A manufacturer or distributor of a children's 29 product containing a priority chemical shall notify persons that offer 30 the children's product for sale or distribution in the state, in a form 31 prescribed by the department, of the presence of such priority chemical, 32 and provide such persons with information regarding the toxicity of such 33 chemical. 34 4. Fees. The manufacturer or distributor shall pay a fee upon 35 submission of a report of chemical use pursuant to subdivision one of 36 this section or a waiver request pursuant to subdivision two of this 37 section to cover the department's reasonable costs in the amount of six 38 hundred dollars per chemical. 39 § 37-0909. Sales prohibition. 40 Effective January first, two thousand twenty-four, no person shall 41 distribute, sell or offer for sale in this state a children's product 42 containing a priority chemical that has been listed for at least one 43 year. This provision shall not apply to a children's product solely 44 based on its containing an enclosed battery or enclosed electronic 45 components. The commissioner may exempt a children's product from this 46 prohibition if, in the commissioner's judgment, the lack of availability 47 of the children's product could pose an unreasonable risk to public 48 health, safety or welfare. 49 § 37-0911. Applicability. 50 1. New children's products. The provisions of this title shall apply 51 to chemicals in children's products sold or distributed as new and does 52 not apply to used children's products that are sold or distributed for 53 free at secondhand stores, yard sales, on the internet or donated to 54 charities. 55 2. Industry. The requirements of this title shall not apply to priori- 56 ty chemicals used in or for industry or manufacturing, including chemi-S. 2199 6 1 cals processed or otherwise used in or for industrial or manufacturing 2 processes and not included in the final product. 3 3. Transportation. The requirements of this title shall not apply to 4 motor vehicles or their component parts, watercraft or their component 5 parts, all terrain vehicles or their component parts, or off-highway 6 motorcycles or their component parts, except that the use of priority 7 chemicals in detachable car seats is not exempt. 8 4. Combustion. The requirements of this title shall not apply to 9 priority chemicals generated solely as combustion by-products or that 10 are present in combustible fuels. 11 5. Retailers. A retailer is exempt from the requirements of this title 12 unless that retailer knowingly sells a children's product containing a 13 priority chemical after the effective date of its prohibition for which 14 that retailer has received prior notification from a manufacturer, 15 distributor or the state. 16 § 37-0913. Enforcement and implementation. 17 1. Failure to provide notice. A children's product containing a prior- 18 ity chemical may not be sold, offered for sale or distributed for sale 19 in this state unless the manufacturer or distributor has provided the 20 notification required under section 37-0907 of this title by the date 21 required in such section. The commissioner may exempt a children's prod- 22 uct from this prohibition if, in the commissioner's judgment, the lack 23 of availability of the children's product could pose an unreasonable 24 risk to public health, safety or welfare. 25 2. Statement of compliance. If there are grounds to suspect that a 26 children's product is being offered for sale in violation of this title, 27 the department may request the manufacturer or distributor of the chil- 28 dren's product to provide a statement of compliance on a form provided 29 by the department, within ten days of receipt of a request from the 30 department. The statement of compliance shall: 31 (a) attest that the children's product does not contain the priority 32 chemical; or 33 (b) attest and provide the department with documentation that notifi- 34 cation of the presence of the priority chemical has been provided to the 35 department or provide notice as required by section 37-0907 of this 36 title; or 37 (c) attest that the manufacturer has notified persons who sell the 38 product in this state that the sale of the children's product is prohib- 39 ited. 40 § 37-0915. Interstate chemical clearinghouse. 41 1. The department is authorized to participate in an interstate chemi- 42 cals clearinghouse to assist in carrying out the requirements of this 43 title. The department shall work in collaboration with other states and 44 an interstate chemicals clearinghouse for the purpose of, including but 45 not limited to: 46 (a) collection and dissemination of information regarding chemical 47 hazards; 48 (b) collection and dissemination of information regarding the use of 49 chemicals in children's products; 50 (c) assessment of alternatives to chemicals and their use in products; 51 and 52 (d) public education. 53 2. Such clearinghouse is authorized to maintain information on behalf 54 of the state of New York, including, but not limited to, information 55 regarding chemicals contained in children's products disclosed pursuant 56 to section 37-0907 of this title.S. 2199 7 1 § 37-0917. Regulations. 2 The department may adopt any rules and regulations it deems necessary 3 to implement the provisions of this title. 4 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 5 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the department of 6 environmental conservation is authorized to implement rules and regu- 7 lations for the timely implementation of this act on its effective date.