What's happening
This bill bans the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in business transaction paper and sets requirements for safer alternatives and oversight.
Why it matters
Direct human health protection. By banning BPA in transaction papers like receipts and bank records, the bill targets a major source of everyday BPA exposure, particularly for workers and consumers, addressing concerns about BPA’s links to hormone disruption and other health risks.
Stronger oversight of chemical substitutes. The legislation requires that any replacement for BPA must be vetted to ensure it isn’t also a known carcinogen, endocrine disruptor, developmental, or reproductive toxin, aiming to prevent “regrettable substitutions” with equally or more harmful chemicals.
Ongoing expert review and transparency. Establishing an independent advisory committee of scientists and mandating annual updates and public disclosures ensures that decisions about chemical safety are based on the latest science and are transparent to businesses and the public.
Safe disposal and recycling. The bill directs the state to investigate and publicize best practices for disposal and recycling of existing BPA-containing paper, reducing the risk of BPA entering the environment and continuing to expose people after the ban.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban BPA Receipts
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to environmental conservation
- Referred to environmental conservation
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
87
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 4, 2017
Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN, AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to regulation of bisphenol A in business transaction paper
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new section 37-0508 to read as follows: § 37-0508. Regulation of bisphenol A in business transaction paper.
1. Bisphenol A prohibition in business transaction paper. No person, firm, partnership, association, limited liability company or corporation, including banking organizations, shall distribute or use any paper containing bisphenol A for the recording of any business or banking transaction including, but not limited to, receipts, credits, withdrawals, deposits, and credit and debit card records.
2. Paper manufacturer responsibilities. a. No paper manufacturer shall produce or distribute any paper containing bisphenol A which is prohibited to be used or distributed pursuant to subdivision one of this section.
b. Any paper manufacturer that produces paper containing bisphenol A for the purposes referred to in subdivision one of this section shall:
(1) not replace bisphenol A with another chemical compound that has been scientifically established to be a known human carcinogen as classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a developmental toxin, an endocrine disruptor or a reproductive toxin;
(2) use the least toxic alternative chemical compound to replace bisphenol A;
(3) provide information on the chemical compound used to replace bisphenol A to the department; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05305-01-7
S. 87 2
(4) not manufacture such paper until the department shall have certified alternative chemical compounds to bisphenol A based upon the recommendations of the advisory committee on least toxic alternatives to bisphenol A.
3. Department responsibilities. a. The department shall certify that any chemical compound used to replace bisphenol A in the manufacture of paper pursuant to subdivision two of this section is:
(1) the least toxic alternative available; and
(2) not a known human carcinogen as classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a developmental toxin, an endocrine disruptor or a reproductive toxin.
b. Not less than once every calendar year, the department shall update the requirements for certification of least toxic alternatives to bisphenol A and provide such information to paper manufacturers subject to the provisions of subdivision two of this section. Furthermore, the department shall annually update its information on those chemical compounds that are known human carcinogens, developmental toxins, endocrine disrupters or reproductive toxins, and shall provide such information to paper manufacturers subject to the provisions of subdivision two of this section. The department shall make all information compiled pursuant to this subdivision available to the public on the department's internet website.
c. The department shall investigate and determine acceptable methods of disposal and recycling of business transaction paper containing bisphenol A so as to eliminate or minimize exposure to bisphenol A. The department shall provide public notice of the safe practices for handling and disposing of such paper.
4. Advisory committee on least toxic alternatives to bisphenol A. a. Within sixty days of the effective date of this section, the department shall convene an advisory panel of experts for the purpose of advising the department on least toxic alternatives to bisphenol A. The names of the members of this committee shall be available on the department's website.
b. The advisory committee shall be composed of competent, independent scientists who have no current or past employment or financial conflicts of interest with manufacturers of bisphenol A or products containing bisphenol A.
c. Advisory committee members shall have substantial experience in evaluating toxicological and epidemiological data on toxic chemicals, including their potential carcinogenic, endocrine disruptive, reproductive, developmental or neurological effects. Chemicals considered to be toxic shall be those likely to cause or contribute to acute illness or chronic impacts negatively altering human biological functions or ability to respond to environmental assaults.
d. The advisory committee shall be convened within sixty days of the effective date of this section and at such times as the department seeks further recommendations or clarifications of current data. All meetings and proceedings of the committee shall be subject to the provisions of article six of the public officers law.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to regulation of bisphenol A in business transaction paper
Purpose
To expand the provisions of current NYS law to prohibit the distribution and use of paper containing bisphenol A for the recording of any business transaction and to regulate chemical compounds that are used to replace BPA.
Summary of provisions
The bill prohibits any person, firm, partnership, association, limited liability company or corporation from distributing or using any paper containing BPA for the recording of any business or banking transaction.
Read the full memo (861 words)
Furthermore, receipt paper manufacturers shall not produce any paper containing bisphenol A nor replace bisphenol A with other chemical compound that has been scientifically established to be a known human carcinogen as classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a developmental toxin, an endocrine disruptor or a reproductive toxin. Paper manufacturers are required to use the least toxic alternative chemical compound to replace bisphenol A.
The DEC is required to certify that any chemical compound used to replace BPA in receipt paper is the least toxic alternative available, and is not a known human carcinogen as classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a developmental toxin, an endocrine disruptor or a reproductive toxin.
DEC is also required to investigate and determine acceptable methods of disposal and recycling for paper receipts in order to eliminate or minimize exposure to BPA, The Department shall also advise the public regarding safe practices in handling and disposing of such paper receipts.
The bill also creates a DEC Advisory Committee on Least-Toxic Alternatives to BPA, composed of competent, independent scientists with substantial experience in evaluating toxicological and epidemiological data on toxic chemicals, including their potential carcinogenic, endocrine disruptive, reproductive, developmental or neurological effects.
Justification
Recently the NYS Governor signed legislation that would prohibit the use of BPA in child care products, including sippy cups, baby bottles and straws intended for use by a child under the age of three. BPA is an estrogen-mimicking endocrine disrupting chemical that has been found to be toxic at low doses and is linked to breast cancer, early onset of puberty, obesity and prostate cancer. Very small amounts of hormones can produce immense biological behavioral changes.
BPA has been used in carbonless copy paper (e.g. credit card receipts) and thermal imaging papers for many years. A powdery layer of BPA is coated onto a piece of paper along with invisible ink which merge and provide "color" when subject to heat or pressure. The Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry, co-founded by organic chemist John C. Warner, has been testing cash register receipts and has found an alarming amount to SPA on these receipts. The average receipt using the BPA technology was found to contain 60 - 100 milligrams of free BPA, which is a thousand times above levels leaching from polycarbonate bottles. Free BPA is not bound into a polymer, but just individual molecules loose and available for uptake. The paper has been published on July 26th in the peer-reviewed journal "Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews".
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) in Washington DC had a testing program conducted by the Missouri Division of Biological Sciences laboratory on receipts from major retailers, including Wal-Mart, Safeway, McDonalds, the U.S. Postal Service, and Bank of America ATMs. The laboratory found that the total mass of BPA on a receipt is from 250 to 1,000 times the amount of BPA typically found in a can of food or a can of baby formula. Forty percent of 36 printed receipts collected from fast food restaurants, big retailers, grocery stores, gas stations and post offices in seven states and the District of Columbia contained BPA.
Bio-monitoring surveys by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found BPA in the bodies of 93% of Americans over the age of 6. The ENG analysis of the CDC data found that people who reported working in retail industries had 30 percent more BPA in their bodies than the average U.S. adult and 34% had more BPA than other workers. As of May 2009, 1 in 17 working Americans - 7 million people were employed as retail salespersons and cashiers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The nation's largest manufacturer of thermal paper, Appleton Papers in Wisconsin, stopped using BPA in 2006 because of a growing concern about the safety of the chemical.
This potentially damaging source of BPA cannot be allowed to remain in the marketplace, where everyone is being exposed unknowingly. In order to reduce public exposure to this chemical, the bill would ban the use of paper containing or made with BPA within 6 months of becoming law. Further, the bill would require replacement chemicals to be the least toxic available and not to be classified as known human carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, developmental or reproductive toxins.
Prior legislative history
S.2763 of 2015-2016 (Hoylman): Died in Environmental Conservation S.3513 of 2013-2014 (O'Brien): Died in Environmental Conservation S.4532-A of 2011-2012 (Alesi): Died in Environmental Conservation
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act would take effect 180 days after it becomes law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.