BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1681
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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 1681 (Pavley)
          As Amended August 24, 2006
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |48-31|(June 2, 2005)  |SENATE: |24-15|(August 29,    |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2006)          |
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           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  








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            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  








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            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  








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          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



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