STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1548
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 10, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. FERNANDEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Women's Issues
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 three new paragraphs (c), (d) and (e) are added to read as
4 follows:
5 (b) "menstrual product" shall mean products used for the purpose of
6 catching menstruation and vaginal discharge, including but not limited
7 to tampons, pads, and menstrual cups. These products may be either
8 disposable or reusable[.];
9 (c) "restricted substance" shall mean an unsafe chemical for inclusion
10 in menstrual products as determined by the commissioner of health, which
11 shall include, but not be limited to, lead, mercury and related
12 compounds, formaldehyde, triclosan, toluene, talc, dibutyl phthalate,
13 di(2)exylhexyl phthalate, butylphenyl methylpropional and isobutyl-,
14 isopropyl-, butyl-, propylparaben, and perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroal-
15 kyl substances;
16 (d) "perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances" shall mean a class
17 of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluori-
18 nated carbon atom;
19 (e) "intentionally added ingredient" shall mean any element or
20 compound that a manufacturer has intentionally added to a menstrual
21 product, and which has a functional or technical effect in the finished
22 product, including, but not limited to, the components of intentionally
23 added fragrance, flavoring and colorants, and the intentional breakdown
24 products of an added element or compound that also has a functional or
25 technical effect on the finished product.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04698-01-5
S. 1548 2
1 § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 399-aaaa of the general business law is
2 renumbered subdivision 5 and a new subdivision 4 is added to read as
3 follows:
4 4. No menstrual products distributed, sold or offered for sale in this
5 state, whether at retail or wholesale, for personal, professional or
6 commercial use, or distributed for promotional purposes, shall contain:
7 (a) as of the effective date, a restricted substance present as an
8 intentionally added ingredient at any level; or
9 (b) as of two years after thresholds are established in regulation,
10 but no later than January first, two thousand twenty-nine, a restricted
11 substance at or above a level that the department of health, in consul-
12 tation with the department of environmental conservation, shall estab-
13 lish in regulation that is the lowest level that can feasibly be
14 achieved; provided, however, that the department of health and depart-
15 ment of environmental conservation shall review such level every five
16 years to determine whether it should be lowered. The commissioner of
17 health shall promulgate regulations establishing these levels no later
18 than a year after the effective date of this section.
19 § 3. This act shall take effect twelve months after it shall have
20 become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment, and/or
21 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
22 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
23 on or before such effective date.
