BILL NUMBER: AB 2694	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 28, 2008
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 22, 2008
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 15, 2008
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 2, 2008

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Ma
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Huffman)
   (Coauthor: Senator Florez)

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2008

   An act to add Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 108590) to
Chapter 5 of Part 3 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to product safety.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2694, as amended, Ma. Children's product safety: lead poisoning
prevention.
   Existing law prohibits a person from manufacturing, selling, or
exchanging, having in his or her possession with intent to sell or
exchange, or expose or offer for sale or exchange to any retailer,
any toy that, among other things, is coated with paints or lacquers
containing compounds of lead of which the lead content is in excess
of prescribed federal standards for lead, or soluble compounds of
antimony, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, selenium, or barium, as
specified. Existing law makes a violation of that prohibition a
misdemeanor.
   This bill would, in addition,  beginning January 1, 2012,
 prohibit a person, firm, or corporation from manufacturing,
selling, or exchanging, having in his or her possession with intent
to sell or exchange, or expose or offer for sale or exchange to any
retailer, any toy or child care article, as defined, or any other
product designed or intended for use by, or for the care of, a child
12 years of age or younger, that is determined to be a lead-bearing
substance, as defined, is coated with a lead-bearing substance, or
includes a component that is determined to be a lead-bearing
substance. The bill would specify that it would not supersede any
more stringent prohibition that would otherwise be applicable under
state or federal law. The bill would exempt from its prohibitions a
component part of a children's product that is not accessible to a
child through normal and foreseeable use and abuse of the product.
The bill would also exempt electronic products and electronic product
components that comply with a specified directive adopted by the
European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) There are no safe blood levels of lead in children, and
children poisoned by lead suffer from learning disabilities,
attention deficits, and behavioral problems.
   (b) Children's products containing lead pose a greater risk to
children because young children often put their hands and other
objects in their mouths.
   (c) Legislation needs to be enacted that will ensure that children
in California are protected from exposure to unsafe levels of lead
in children's products.
  SEC. 2.  Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 108590) is added to
Chapter 5 of Part 3 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to
read:

      Article 2.5.  Lead Poisoning Prevention in Children's Products


   108590.  For purposes of this article, "lead-bearing substance"
means any substance that has a lead content of more than  40
  100  parts per million (ppm) lead by total
weight.
   108591.  (a) No person, firm, or corporation shall manufacture,
sell, or exchange, possess with intent to sell or exchange, or expose
or offer for sale or exchange to any retailer, any toy or child care
article, as defined in Section 108935, or any other product designed
or intended for use by, or for the care of, a child 12 years of age
or younger, that is determined to be a lead-bearing substance, is
coated with a lead-bearing substance, or includes a component that is
determined to be a lead-bearing substance.
   (b) A manufacturer shall use the least toxic alternative when
replacing lead in accordance with this article.
   108592.  (a) The prohibitions contained in this article are in
addition to those contained in Section 108555 or any other provision
of law, and shall not be construed to supersede any more stringent
prohibition that would otherwise be applicable under state or federal
law.
   (b) The prohibitions contained in this article shall not apply to
either of the following:
   (1) A component part of a children's product that is not
accessible to a child through normal and foreseeable use and abuse of
the product. For purposes of this paragraph, a component part is not
accessible if it is not physically exposed by reason of a sealed
covering or casing and does not become physically exposed through
normal and reasonably foreseeable use and abuse of the product. For
purposes of this paragraph, paint, coatings, or electroplating shall
not be considered to be a barrier that would render lead in the
substrate inaccessible to a child through normal and reasonably
foreseeable use and abuse of the product.
   (2) Electronic products and electronic product components that
comply with directive 2002/95/EC of the European Union, adopted by
the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, now or
hereafter in effect. 
   108593.  This article shall become operative on January 1, 2012.