NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5612A
SPONSOR: Englebright (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to regu-
lation 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:
*define "children's product" as "a product primarily intended for, made
for or marketed for use by children, such as baby products, toys, car
seats, school supplies, personal care products, a product designed or
intended by the manufacturer to help a child with sucking or teething,
to facilitate sleep, relaxation, or the feeding of a child, novelty
products, children's jewelry, bedding, furniture, furnishings, and chil-
dren's apparel;"
*require the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to post
lists of priority chemicals and chemicals of high concern on the DEC's
website within 180 days;
*allow DEC, in consultation with the Department of Health, to review
periodically the chemical lists and identify or remove chemicals by
regulation based on scientific evidence;
*require manufacturers of children's products that contains intentional-
ly-added priority chemicals to report to DEC the following information:
*the identification of the product,
*the name of the priority chemical, and
*the intended purpose of the chemicals
*authorize DEC to waive all or part of the reporting requirements 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 retailers of the presence of such
priority chemical, and provide information regarding the toxicity of
such chemical;
*require the manufacturer to pay a fee of $500 for reported chemical use
reports and/or waiver requests;
*prohibit the sale, effective January 2019, of a children's product
containing a priority chemical; and,
*authorize DEC to participate in an interstate chemical clearing house.
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, New York prohibits the use of dangerous chemicals on a chemi-
cal by chemical basis. This approach is especially problematic for chil-
dren's products since children are often more vulnerable to smaller
amounts of chemicals. Several other states, including Washington, Cali-
fornia, and Maine have adopted more comprehensive 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 chem-
ical alternatives in children's products.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2015: A.5612 (Englebright) - Passed the Assembly.
2013-14: A.6328 (Sweeney) - Passed the Assembly.
2012: A.3141-A (Sweeney) - Passed the Assembly
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Minimal implications. The State already funds the Interstate Chemical
Clearinghouse.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the 120th day after it shall have become
law.
