NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A3141A
SPONSOR: Sweeney (MS)
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in
relation to regulation of toxic chemicals in children's products
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: The purpose of this bill is to
provide greater regulation of children's products,
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: This bill would:
* children's apparel;
* define chemical;
* define chemical of high concern; * define children;
* define children's product;
* define distributor;
* define manufacturer;
* define novelty product;
* define priority chemical;
* define toy;
* requires the Department of Environmental Conservation to establish a
website within one hundred and eighty days of the effective date of this
title, that is accessible to the public which lists all chemicals of
high concern and all priority chemicals;
* allows the Department of Environmental Conservation, in consultation
with the Department of Health to periodically review the list of chemi-
cals of high concern and identify or remove priority chemicals or chemi-
cals of high concern or based on credible scientific evidence;
*permit designation of a priority chemical if:
o found to be present in humans;
o found to be present in household dust, indoor air, or drinking water;
o found to be present in fish, wildlife or the natural environment;
o found to be present in a consumer product or present in the home,
school or children's day care center;
o banned for sale in another state
* require every manufacturer that offers a children's product for sale
in this state that contains an intentionally added priority chemical, to
report to the department, in a form prescribed by the department, the
following information:
o the identification of the product,
o the name of the priority chemical,
o the intended purpose of the chemicals
* authorize DEC to waive all or part of the reporting requirement for
one or more specified uses of a priority chemical;
* require a manufacturer or distributor of a children's product contain-
ing a priority chemical to notify persons that offer the children's
product for sale or distribution in the state, of the presence of such
priority chemical, and provide such persons with information regarding
the toxicity of such chemical;
* require the manufacturer or distributor to pay a fee upon submitting
the report of chemical use or waiver request in the amount of six
hundred dollars per chemical;
* prohibit the sale, effective January 1, 2016, of a children's product
containing a priority chemical;
* specify that the provisions of this act shall apply only to new
products;
o exempt the following uses:
o in or for manufacturing;
o motor vehicles, watercrafts, combustion by-products, all terrain
vehicles or their component parts, or off-highway motorcycles or
their components;
o priority chemicals generated solely as combustion by-products or that
are present in combustible fuels;
o retailers who do not knowingly sell a prohibited children's product;
* prohibit the sale or distribution of a children's product if the
manufacturer or distributor has failed to provide the required informa-
tion; and,
* authorize DEC to participate in an interstate chemical clearing house
to assist in carrying out this title
 
JUSTIFICATION: Currently, New York identifies or prohibits the use of
dangerous chemicals on a chemical by chemical basis. This approach is
especially problematic for children's products since children are often
more vulnerable to smaller amounts of chemicals. Several other states,
including Washington, California, and Maine have adopted more comprehen-
sive chemical policies, This. legislation is modeled after those states
and is intended to prevent the use of dangerous chemicals and ensure the
use of safer chemical alternatives in children's products.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: A.10089B of 2010 - Ways and Means
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: Minimal impli-
cations to the state since the state already funds the Interstate Chemi-
cal Clearinghouse.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on the 120th day.