Protects consumers from toxic chemicals in children's products

25 Co-sponsors

• Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.
• Neil D. Breslin
• David Carlucci
• Leroy Comrie
• Ruben Diaz
• Martin Malavé Dilan
• Adriano Espaillat
• Michael Gianaris
• Jesse Hamilton
• Ruth Hassell-Thompson
• Todd Kaminsky
• Timothy M. Kennedy
• Liz Krueger
• George Latimer
• Velmanette Montgomery
• Marc Panepinto
• Kevin S. Parker
• José Peralta
• Bill Perkins
• Gustavo Rivera
• James Sanders Jr.
• José M. Serrano
• Daniel L. Squadron
• Toby Ann Stavisky
• Andrea Stewart-Cousins

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:

*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 children'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 intentionally-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 containing 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 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, and equally-toxic, less well-regulated chemicals can be chosen as replacements. Several other states, including Washington, California, Vermont 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 chemical alternatives in children's products.

Prior legislative history

New Bill

Fiscal implications

Minimal implications to the state as the interstate chemical clearing house is already state funded, and the small fee covers implementation costs.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the 120th day after it shall have become