NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5990A
SPONSOR: Rosenthal L TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to the restriction
of certain substances in menstrual products
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would prohibit the use of certain restricted substances in
menstrual products including, but not limited to, talc, lead, and mercu-
ry.
Section one amends paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 399-aaaa of
the general business law by adding a new paragraph (c).
Section two renumbers subdivision 4 of section 399-aaaa of the general
business law and adds a new subdivision 4.
Section three establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
People who menstruate may use more than 16,000 menstrual products over
the course of their lifetime, exposing their bodies to numerous chemi-
cals and substances. There have been reported instances of toxic shock
syndrome, which can stem from micro-tears in the vaginal wall through
which tampons can allow bacteria to accumulate. The World Health Organ-
ization has also identified certain dioxins as detrimental to human
health.
This bill will prohibit the use of certain chemicals, as determined by
the Commissioner of Health, in menstrual products. Such chemicals
include, but are not limited to, talc, mercury, and lead, all of which
can cause complications to a person's health. This bill would protect
public health by prohibiting the use of restricted substances in
menstrual products.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A2246 of 2022
A8529 OF 2020
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect twelve months after it shall have become a
law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5990--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 28, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, GLICK, FAHY, SIMON, GALLAGHER,
REYES, LEVENBERG, CRUZ, JACKSON, TAYLOR, SIMONE, BORES, DICKENS --
read once and referred to the Committee on Health -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to the restriction
of certain substances in menstrual products
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 399-aaaa of the
2 general business law, as added by chapter 362 of the laws of 2019, is
3 amended and a new paragraph (c) is added to read as follows:
4 (b) "menstrual product" shall mean products used for the purpose of
5 catching menstruation and vaginal discharge, including but not limited
6 to tampons, pads, and menstrual cups. These products may be either
7 disposable or reusable[.];
8 (c) "restricted substance" shall mean an unsafe chemical for inclusion
9 in menstrual products as determined by the commissioner of health, which
10 shall include, but not be limited to, lead, mercury and related
11 compounds, formaldehyde, triclosan, toluene, talc, per- and polyfluoro-
12 alkyl substances, dibutyl phthalate, di(2)exylhexyl phthalate, butylphe-
13 nyl methylpropional and isobutyl-, isopropyl-, butyl-, and propylpara-
14 ben.
15 § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 399-aaaa of the general business law is
16 renumbered subdivision 5 and a new subdivision 4 is added to read as
17 follows:
18 4. No menstrual products distributed, sold or offered for sale in this
19 state, whether at retail or wholesale, for personal, professional or
20 commercial use, or distributed for promotional purposes, shall contain a
21 restricted substance or use such restricted substance as a fragrance,
22 colorant, dye, preservative or other intentionally added ingredient.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04800-06-3
A. 5990--A 2
1 § 3. This act shall take effect twelve months after it shall have
2 become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment, and/or
3 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
4 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
5 on or before such effective date.
