BILL ANALYSIS AB 1681 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1681 (Pavley) As Amended August 24, 2006 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |48-31|(June 2, 2005) |SENATE: |24-15|(August 29, | | | | | | |2006) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: E.S. & T.M. SUMMARY: Prohibits the manufacture, shipping, sale, or offering for sale of jewelry, children's jewelry, or jewelry used in body piercing that is not made entirely from certain specified materials. The Senate amendments: 1)Change the start date of the program from January 1, 2007, to March 1, 2008. 2)Remove the prohibitions on promotional distribution advertisement of jewelry that does not meet the conditions of the bill. 3)Add a provision specifically prohibiting, after September 1, 2007, any of the actions noted in the summary where children's jewelry is concerned. 4)Add a provision specifically prohibiting, after March 1, 2008, any of the actions in relation to body piercing jewelry. The original language applied to any jewelry that is attached to clothing or the body. 5)Exempt a person in violation of the provisions from the criminal penalties imposed pursuant to the hazardous waste control laws, instead requiring violators to pay a civil penalty, not to exceed $2500 per day, to the Hazardous Waste Control Account. Thus, the bill no longer requires a state-mandated local program. 6)Declare that the jewelry must be made entirely from materials belonging to Class 1, Class 2, or Class 3 materials, rather than the criteria set forth in the version of the bill passed AB 1681 Page 2 by the Assembly. The Classes are defined as follows: a. Class 1: Contains no lead; b. Class 2: Metal Alloys with less than 10 percent lead that are electroplated with suitable under and finish coats before August 31, 2009, and six percent on and after August 31, 2009; unplated metal with less than 1.5 percent lead that is not listed as a Class 1 material; plastic or rubber, including acrylic, polystyrene, plastic beads and stones, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) components can contain no more than 600 parts per million (ppm) on and before August 30, 2009, and 200 ppm on and after August 31, 2009 dyes or surface coatings containing less than 600 ppm lead; and c. Class 3: Not a Class 1 or Class 2 material and contains less than 600 ppm lead. 7)Specify the testing methods and protocols that must be followed to determine compliance with the provisions and authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to change the regulations if necessary. 8)Specify that a party to the amended consent judgment, defined as the amendment consent judgment in the consolidated action, People vs. Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation, et al., is deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of this bill, and provide that any action brought to enforce this article against the party shall be subject to Section 4 of the amended consent judgment. 9)Make related technical and clarifying changes. EXISTING LAW: 1)Regulates the disposal of discarded appliances, lead acid batteries, small household batteries, recyclable latex paint, and household hazardous waste control laws and regulations. 2)States that the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is required to enforce these hazardous waste control laws. 3)Provides for the Hazardous Waste Control Account in the AB 1681 Page 3 General Fund, which can be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes which include the enforcement of hazardous waste control laws by DTSC. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill: 1)Took effect July 1, 2007. 2)Prohibited the advertisement or promotional distribution of jewelry that did not meet the standards set forth in the bill. 3)Specified that violating the provisions would be a crime, and therefore required a state-mandated local program. 4)Included standards the jewelry had to meet that were replaced by the Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 definitions of the Senate version. 5)Did not include any references to the Burlington Coat Factory et al. suit, which was entered by the court on June 15, 2006. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, an increase in penalty revenue of about $100,000 per year, and annual costs to the Department of Toxic Substances Control of about $300,000 to sample the jewelry, as existing law requires. COMMENTS : Although the Senate amendments are substantial, they are consistent with the goals of the bill as it was passed by the Assembly. Specifically, this bill attempts to reduce the amount of lead that Californians are exposed to and extends prohibitions on lead that already apply to pipes and other products to jewelry. This bill no longer requires a state-mandated local program, and instead will create revenue for the state, through fines deposited in the Hazardous Waste Control Account, in order to assist with the implementation of the program. The amended consent judgment relating to Burlington Coat Factory et al. is the culmination of a lawsuit naming Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation, Mervyn's, K-Mart, and Wal-Mart, in addition to numerous other stores, as the defendants. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants violated California state AB 1681 Page 4 law by selling lead-containing jewelry without providing clear and reasonable warnings that use of the jewelry would result in exposure to lead. The consent agreement requires the defendants to adhere to standards that are essentially identical to those of this bill. Section 4 of the consent judgment provides specific procedures that must be undertaken in order to enforce the other provisions of the judgment. In the cases of the defendants named in the suit, any enforcement of the provisions of this bill, which would be the same as enforcing the consent judgment, must follow the procedures outlined in the judgment. This amendment takes into account a relevant legal judgment that was entered by the court after this bill was previously amended on June 12, 2006. Analysis prepared by: Heather Halsey / Kelsey Harnist / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965 FN: 0017441