STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8840
IN SENATE
April 22, 2022
___________
Introduced by Sen. THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring
notice to consumers of radio frequency exposure from cell phones
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new article
2 19-A to read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 19-A
4 NOTICE TO CELL PHONE CUSTOMERS REGARDING RADIO FREQUENCY EXPOSURE
5 Section 310. Definitions.
6 311. Required notice.
7 312. Violations; remedies.
8 § 310. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following
9 terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context requires
10 otherwise.
11 1. "Cell phone" means a portable wireless telephone device that is
12 designed to send or receive transmissions through a cellular radiotele-
13 phone service, as defined in section 22.99 of Title 47 of the Code of
14 Federal Regulations. A cell phone does not include a wireless telephone
15 device that is integrated into the electrical architecture of a motor
16 vehicle.
17 2. "Cell phone retailer" means any person or entity that sells or
18 leases, or offers to sell or lease, cell phones to the public, including
19 formula cell phone retailers. "Cell phone retailer" shall not include:
20 (a) anyone selling or leasing cell phones over the telephone, by mail,
21 or over the internet; or (b) anyone selling or leasing cell phones
22 directly to the public at a convention, trade show, or conference, or
23 otherwise selling or leasing cell phones directly to the public on fewer
24 than ten days in a year.
25 3. "Formula cell phone retailer" means a cell phone retailer that
26 sells or leases cell phones to the public, or which offers cell phones
27 for sale or lease, through a retail sales establishment that, along with
28 eleven or more other retail sales establishments located in the United
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15405-01-2
S. 8840 2
1 States, maintains two or more of the following features: a standardized
2 array of merchandise; a standardized facade; a standardized decor and
3 color scheme; a uniform apparel; standardized signage; or a trademark or
4 service mark.
5 § 311. Required notice. 1. A cell phone retailer shall provide to each
6 customer who buys or leases a cell phone a notice containing the follow-
7 ing language:
8 "New York state law requires that you be provided the following
9 notice:
10 To assure safety, the Federal Government requires that cell phones
11 meet radio frequency (RF) exposure guidelines. If you carry or use your
12 phone in a pants or shirt pocket or tucked into a bra when the phone is
13 ON and connected to a wireless network, you may exceed the federal
14 guidelines for exposure to RF radiation. Refer to the instructions in
15 your phone or user manual for information about how to use your phone
16 safely."
17 2. The notice required by this section shall either be provided to
18 each customer who buys or leases a cell phone or shall be prominently
19 displayed at any point of sale where cell phones are purchased or
20 leased. If provided to the customer, the notice shall be printed on
21 paper that is no less than five inches by eight inches in size, and
22 shall be printed in no smaller than an eighteen-point font. The paper on
23 which the notice is printed may contain other information in the
24 discretion of the cell phone retailer, as long as that information is
25 distinct from the notice language required by subdivision one of this
26 section. If prominently displayed at a point of sale, the notice shall
27 be printed on a poster no less than eight and one-half inches by eleven
28 inches in size, and shall be printed in no smaller than a twenty-eight
29 point font.
30 3. A cell phone retailer that believes the notice language required by
31 subdivision one of this section is not factually applicable to a cell
32 phone model that retailer offers for sale or lease may request permis-
33 sion to not provide the notice required by this section in connection
34 with sales or leases of that model of cell phone. Such permission shall
35 not be unreasonably withheld.
36 § 312. Violations; remedies. 1. Whenever there shall be a violation of
37 this article, an application may be made by the attorney general in the
38 name of the people of the state of New York to a court of competent
39 jurisdiction by a special proceeding for the imposition of a fine or the
40 issuance of an injunction against any violation of this article, upon
41 notice to such retailer not less than five days, to enjoin and restrain
42 the continuance of such violations.
43 2. Any person found by a court of competent jurisdiction to have
44 violated a provision of this article shall be subject to a penalty of
45 one thousand dollars for each violation. Each individual cell phone that
46 is sold or leased contrary to the provisions of this article shall
47 constitute a separate violation.
48 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
49 have become a law.
