STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________
143
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
(Prefiled)
January 6, 2021 ___________
Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED, ENGLEBRIGHT, L. ROSENTHAL, REYES, THIELE, GALEF, DICKENS, STECK -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the regulation of ingredients in personal care products
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. There are thousands of 2 chemicals used in personal care, household cleaning, and other consumer 3 products, many of which have never been fully tested for potential 4 impacts on human health or the environment. This has led national and 5 international organizations to develop lists of chemicals of concern, 6 including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's 7 Household Cleaning Product Ingredient Disclosure Program (HCPIDP). While 8 federal law requires personal care product labels to list certain inten- 9 tionally added ingredients, information concerning potential health 10 effects is not widely available and certain categories of chemical 11 ingredients are exempt from labeling requirements. Furthermore, over 40 12 countries, including countries in the European Union, Japan, Cambodia, 13 and Vietnam, have stricter restrictions on chemicals in personal care 14 products than does the United States. Therefore, the legislature finds 15 and declares that federal disclosure requirements are inadequate to 16 educate and protect consumers, and that it shall be the policy of the 17 state to require the personal care product industry to more fully 18 disclose ingredients and identify ingredients published as chemicals of 19 concern on lists identified by the commissioner such as the HCPIDP or 20 other national or international lists. 21 § 2. Article 37 of the environmental conservation law is amended by 22 adding a new title 10 to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00402-01-1
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1 TITLE X 2 REGULATION OF PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS 3 Section 37-1001. Definitions. 4 37-1003. Disclosure. 5 37-1005. Periodic review. 6 37-1007. Sales prohibition. 7 37-1009. Small business exemption. 8 37-1011. Penalties. 9 § 37-1001. Definitions. 10 As used in this title, unless the context requires otherwise: 11 1. "Chemical of concern" shall mean a chemical appearing on any of the 12 lists included in the department of environmental conservation division 13 of materials management program policy on household cleansing product 14 information disclosure published on June sixth, two thousand eighteen 15 pursuant to article thirty-five of this chapter and 6 NYCRR part 659, or 16 as designated by the commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner 17 of health. 18 2. "Ingredient" shall mean all of the following: 19 (a) an intentionally added ingredient present in any quantity in a 20 personal care product; 21 (b) a nonfunctional byproduct or nonfunctional contaminant present in 22 a personal care product, in any quantity exceeding one part per million 23 of the content of the product, by weight or other amount determined by 24 the commissioner; 25 (c) a nonfunctional byproduct present in a personal care product in 26 any quantity not exceeding one part per million of the content of the 27 product by weight present at or above the practical quantification limit 28 as determined by the commissioner, provided such element or compound has 29 been published as a chemical of concern on one or more lists identified 30 by the commissioner; 31 (d) a nonfunctional contaminant present in a personal care product in 32 a quantity determined by the commissioner and not exceeding one part per 33 million of the content of the product by weight present at or above the 34 practical quantification limit, provided such element or compound has 35 been published as a chemical of concern on one or more lists identified 36 by the commissioner. 37 3. "Intentionally added ingredient" shall mean any element or compound 38 that a manufacturer has intentionally added to a personal care product, 39 and which has a functional or technical effect in the finished product, 40 including, but not limited to, the components of intentionally added 41 fragrance, flavoring and colorants, and the intentional breakdown 42 products of an added element or compound that also has a functional or 43 technical effect on the finished product. 44 4. "Nonfunctional byproduct" shall mean any element or compound which 45 has no functional or technical effect in the finished product which: 46 (a) was intentionally added during the manufacturing process for a 47 personal care product at any point in a product's, a raw material's or 48 ingredient's supply chain; or 49 (b) was created or formed during the manufacturing process as an 50 intentional or unintentional consequence of the manufacturing process at 51 any point in a product's, a raw material's, or an ingredient's supply 52 chain. 53 Nonfunctional byproduct shall include, but is not limited to, an 54 unreacted raw material, a breakdown product of an intentionally added 55 ingredient, or a byproduct of the manufacturing process.
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1 5. "Nonfunctional contaminant" shall mean any element or compound 2 present in a personal care product as an unintentional consequence of 3 manufacturing which has no functional or technical effect in the 4 finished product. Nonfunctional contaminants include, but are not limit- 5 ed to, elements or compounds present in the environment as contaminants 6 which were introduced into a product, a raw material, or a product 7 ingredient as a result of the use of an environmental medium, such as a 8 naturally occurring mineral, air, soil or water, in the manufacturing 9 process at any point in a product's, a raw material's, or an ingredi- 10 ent's supply chain. 11 6. "Manufacturer" shall mean any person, firm, association, partner- 12 ship, limited liability company, or corporation which produces, 13 prepares, formulates, or compounds a personal care product, or whose 14 brand name is affixed to such product. In the case of a personal care 15 product imported into the United States, "manufacturer" shall mean the 16 importer or first domestic distributor of the product if the entity that 17 manufactures the product or whose brand name is affixed to the product 18 does not have a presence in the United States. 19 7. "Personal care product" shall mean articles intended to be rubbed, 20 poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied 21 to the human body or any part thereof for cleansing, beautifying, 22 promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance, and articles 23 intended for use as a component of any such articles; except that such 24 term shall not include soap. 25 8. "Restricted substance" shall mean lead, mercury and related 26 compounds, formaldehyde, triclosan, toluene, per- and polyfluoroalkyl 27 substances, dibutyl phthalate, di(2)exylhexyl phthalate, and isobutyl-, 28 isopropyl-, butyl-, and propyl paraben. 29 9. "Soap" shall mean articles comprised entirely of an alkali salt of 30 fatty acids where the detergent properties of the article are due to the 31 alkali-fatty acid compounds, and the article shall be labeled, sold, and 32 represented only as a soap. 33 § 37-1003. Disclosure. 34 1. Manufacturers of personal care products distributed, sold or 35 offered for sale in this state, whether at retail or wholesale, for 36 personal, professional or commercial use, or distributed for promotional 37 purposes, shall furnish to the commissioner for public record, in a 38 manner prescribed by the commissioner that is readily accessible to the 39 public and machine readable, such information regarding such products 40 pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner. For 41 each personal care product, such information shall include, but shall 42 not be limited to: 43 (a) (i) a list naming each ingredient, as defined in subdivision two 44 of section 37-1001 of this title, of the product in descending order of 45 predominance by weight in the product, except that ingredients present 46 at a weight below one percent (1%) may be listed following other ingre- 47 dients without respect to the order of predominance by weight; 48 (ii) such list shall disclose that the ingredient is published as a 49 chemical of concern as identified in this title, including specification 50 of which list or lists such chemical of concern is on; and 51 (b) the nature and extent of investigations and research performed by 52 or for the manufacturer concerning the effects on human health and the 53 environment of such product or such ingredients. 54 2. Such manufacturers shall furnish information on or before July 55 first, two thousand twenty-two and every two years thereafter. In addi- 56 tion, such manufacturers shall furnish such information prior to the
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1 sale of any new personal care product, when the formulation of a 2 currently disclosed product is substantially or materially changed, when 3 any list of chemicals of concern identified by the commissioner pursuant 4 to this article is changed to include an ingredient present in a 5 personal care product subject to this article, or at such other times as 6 may be required by the commissioner. 7 3. Such information shall be made available to the public by the 8 commissioner, in accordance with this section, with the exception of 9 those portions which the manufacturer determines, subject to the 10 approval of the commissioner, is related to a proprietary process the 11 disclosure of which would compromise the manufacturer's competitive 12 position. The commissioner shall not approve any exceptions under this 13 subdivision with respect to any ingredient published as a chemical of 14 concern on one or more lists identified by the commissioner. 15 4. The commissioner may direct submission of such information to the 16 Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse, which may make the reported informa- 17 tion available to the public, subject to information to be withheld 18 under subdivision three of this section. 19 § 37-1005. Periodic review. 20 The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of health, 21 shall periodically review the list of chemicals of concern and, may 22 through regulation, add or remove chemicals from such list. 23 § 37-1007. Sales prohibition. 24 Effective three years after this section takes effect, no person shall 25 distribute, sell or offer for sale in this state a personal care product 26 containing a restricted substance. 27 § 37-1009. Small business exemption. 28 The requirements of this title shall not apply to personal care prod- 29 uct manufacturers that employ five persons or fewer, and are independ- 30 ently owned and operated. 31 § 37-1011. Penalties. 32 A manufacturer in violation of this title is subject to a civil penal- 33 ty not to exceed five thousand dollars for each violation in the case of 34 a first offense. Manufacturers who commit subsequent violations are 35 subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars for each 36 additional offense. 37 § 3. Severability. If any provision of this act, or any application of 38 any provision of this act, is held to be invalid, or to violate or be 39 inconsistent with any federal law or regulation, that shall not affect 40 the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of this act, or of 41 any other application of any provision of this act, which can be given 42 effect without that provision or application; and to that end, the 43 provisions and applications of this act are severable. 44 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 45 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 46 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 47 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 48 completed on or before such effective date.