What's happening
This bill prohibits the use of bisphenol A in business transaction paper and sets requirements for safer chemical alternatives.
Why it matters
Shifts responsibility to manufacturers and regulators. The bill not only bans bisphenol A (BPA) in transaction papers but also requires paper manufacturers to use and disclose safer alternatives, and mandates state certification of those alternatives—moving oversight and accountability upstream in the supply chain.
Prevents harmful substitutions. Manufacturers are explicitly barred from replacing BPA with chemicals that are also known carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, or reproductive or developmental toxins, reducing the risk of "regrettable substitutions" that could harm health.
Creates a transparent, science-based process. An independent advisory committee of scientists with no ties to the chemical industry will help identify the least toxic alternatives, and the Department of Environmental Conservation must make their findings and recommendations public.
Addresses end-of-life concerns. The bill requires the Department to determine and publicize safe disposal and recycling methods for BPA-containing papers, aiming to limit ongoing environmental and public exposure to BPA from legacy materials.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban BPA in Receipt Paper
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
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
1096
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 10, 2019
Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN -- 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
(4) not manufacture such paper until the department shall have certified alternative chemical compounds to bisphenol A based upon the recom-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06828-01-9
S. 1096 2
mendations 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 busi- ness 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 (868 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 alterna- tive 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 mini- mize 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 Alterna- tives to BPA, composed of competent, independent scientists with substantial experience in evaluating toxicological and epidemiological data on toxic chemicals, including their potential carcinogenic, endoc- rine 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 alarm- ing 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 labo- ratory on receipts from major retailers, including Wal-Mart, Safeway, McDonalds, the U.S. Postal Service, and Bank of America ATMs. The labo- ratory found that the total mass of EPA 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.0087 of 2017-2018(Hoylman): Died in Environmental Conservation 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.