BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 928| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: SB 928 Author: Simitian (D) Amended: 3/25/10 Vote: 21 SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 4-1, 4/5/10 AYES: Simitian, Corbett, Lowenthal, Pavley NOES: Runner NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock, Strickland SUBJECT : Consumer products: content information SOURCE : Author DIGEST : The bill requires a manufacturer or wholesaler of a designated consumer product, as defined, on or before March 31, 2011, to provide a notice that lists all substances, identified by a number or other unique identifier, that are contained in that product, by posting that information on the manufacturer's or wholesaler's Internet Web site. A manufacturer or wholesaler that does not maintain an Internet Web site would be required by the bill to establish such an Internet Web site. ANALYSIS : Existing federal law: 1. Pursuant to the Consumer Product Safety Act, provides protection of the public against unreasonable risks of injury associated with consumer products, largely by developing uniform safety standards for those products. CONTINUED SB 928 Page 2 2. Pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), states that adequate data should be developed with respect to the effect of chemical substances and mixtures on health and the environment and that the development of such data should be the responsibility of those who manufacture and those who process such chemical substances and mixtures. Existing California law: 1. Requires the manufacturer of a cosmetic product to disclose to the Department of Public Health a list of any ingredient in their product that is a chemical which has been identified to cause cancer or reproductive damage, pursuant to the California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005. 2. Requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to adopt regulations to: 1) establish a process to identify and prioritize chemicals or chemical ingredients in products that may be considered a "chemical of concern;" 2) establish a process for evaluating chemicals of concern in products, and their potential alternatives in order to determine how best to limit exposure or to reduce the level of hazard posed by a chemical of concern, as specified; and establish a process that includes an evaluation of the availability of potential alternatives and potential hazards posed by alternatives, as well as an evaluation of critical exposure pathways. 3. Requires DTSC to establish a Toxics Information Clearinghouse for the collection, maintenance, and distribution of specific chemical hazard traits and environmental and toxicological end-point data. Also requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to evaluate and specify the hazard traits and environmental and toxicological end-points and any other relevant data that are to be included in the clearinghouse. This bill: SB 928 Page 3 1. Makes legislative findings regarding the federal Consumer Product Safety Act and the authority of states to impose stricter requirements if the state standard provides a higher degree of protection than the federal standard. 2. Defines various terms, including "designated consumer product." 3. Requires a manufacturer or wholesaler of a designated consumer product to provide notice of all substances that are contained in their product. 4. Provides that notice is fulfilled by the posting of required information on a manufacturer's or wholesaler's Web site; manufacturers or wholesalers must establish a Web site for compliance with this bill. 5. Declares that its provisions are severable and if any provision of the bill is held invalid, that invalidity would not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application. Comments According to the author's office, there are currently more than 80,000 chemicals approved under federal law for use in the United States. Each day, a total of 42 billion pounds of chemical substances are produced or imported in the U.S. for commercial and industrial uses. An additional 1,000 new chemicals are introduced into commerce each year. Approximately one new chemical comes to market every 2.6 seconds and global chemical production is projected to double every 25 years. The average U.S. consumer today comes into contact with 100 chemicals per day. In 2009, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control conducted the Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals which measured 212 chemicals in the blood and urine of a representative population of California. California consumers and businesses are becoming increasingly aware and concerned about the abundance of chemicals that they are exposed to in the products that SB 928 Page 4 they use on a day-to-day basis in their homes and in the workplace. However, they lack the ability to make informed decisions about the chemicals in the products that they purchase because product manufacturers are not required to disclose the chemicals in the products. Additionally the author's office states that there is a vast gap in data concerning how Californians are being exposed to these chemicals, at what level and frequency they are being exposed and what the impacts are of the individual or synergistic, long or short term, low or high concentration exposures because there is a lack of chemical ingredient disclosure on consumer products. Given the magnitude of chemical production, use and exposure, it is crucial to construct a better understanding of these exposures. According to the author's office, this bill empowers California consumers and businesses to access basic information about the ingredients in their products and makes informed decisions about the type of products that they purchase and use, and would help construct a clearer picture of where chemicals are used in consumer products and how that impacts exposures. The TSCA . The TSCA of 1976 authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to require reporting, record-keeping and testing requirements, and set restrictions relating to chemical substances and/or mixtures. Certain substances are generally excluded from TSCA, including, among others, food, drugs, cosmetics and pesticides. TSCA addresses the production, importation, use, and disposal of specific chemicals. Among its provisions, TSCA requires USEPA to maintain the TSCA inventory which currently contains more than 83,000 chemicals. As new chemicals are commercially manufactured or imported, they are placed on the list. TSCA requires the submission of health and safety studies which are known or available to those who manufacture, process, or distribute in commerce specified chemicals; and allows USEPA to gather information from manufacturers and processors about production/import volumes, chemical uses and methods of disposal, and the extent to which people and the environment are exposed. Extensive deficiencies in the federal regulation of SB 928 Page 5 chemicals . Of all federal environmental statutes, the TSCA is the only law that is intended to enable regulation of chemicals both before and after they enter commerce. Numerous academic, legal, and scientific bodies have all concluded that TSCA has not served as an effective vehicle for the public, industry, or government to assess the hazards of chemicals in commerce. After decades of implementation, TSCA has largely failed to provide the necessary information to assess the health and environmental effects for tens of thousands of chemicals in commerce. TSCA's weaknesses have far-reaching effects. Lacking comprehensive and standardized information on toxicity and eco-toxicity for most chemicals, it is very difficult for businesses and industry to choose safer chemicals or to identify and reduce the use of hazardous chemicals in their supply chains. Government agencies do not have the information they need to systematically identify and prioritize chemical hazards, nor the legal tools to efficiently mitigate known hazards. In 2003, the Senate Environmental Quality Committee and the Assembly committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials commissioned a report from the University of California to investigate the current legal and regulatory structure for chemical substance and report on how a California chemicals policy could address environmental and health concerns about chemical toxicity, build a long-term capacity to improve the design and use of chemicals, and understand the implications of European policy on the California chemical market. In 2006, the U.C. Berkeley authors presented the commissioned report, Green Chemistry in California: A Framework for Leadership in Chemicals Policy and Innovation and made a connection between weaknesses in federal policy, namely TSCA, and the health and environmental damage happening in California. The report broadly summarized their findings into what they called the "three gaps". 1. Data Gap: There is a lack of information on which chemicals are safe, which are toxic, and what chemicals are in products. The lack of access to chemical data SB 928 Page 6 creates an unequal marketplace. California businesses cannot choose and make safer products and respond to consumer demand without ingredient disclosure and safety testing. 2. Safety Gap: Government agencies do not have the legal tools or information to prioritize chemical hazards. Under TSCA only 5 chemicals out of 83,000 have been banned since 1976. The California legislature has frequently addressed this problem by approving individual chemical bans. Chemical bans come before the legislature because there are very few other mechanisms in place at the federal or state level that can remove harmful chemicals from the marketplace. 3. Technology Gap: There is an absence of regulatory incentives, market motivation which stems from the data gap, and educational emphasis on green chemistry methodologies and technologies. In order to build a substantial green chemistry infrastructure, a coincident investment and commitment must be made to strengthen industrial and academic research and development. In 2007, the California Environmental Protection Agency launched California's Green Chemistry Initiative within the DTSC. The California Green Chemistry Initiative Final Report released in December 2008 included the following six policy recommendations for implementing this comprehensive program in order to foster a new era in the design of a new consumer products economy, inventing, manufacturing and using toxic-free, sustainable products. 1. Expand Pollution Prevention and product stewardship programs to more business sectors to focus on prevention rather than simple source reduction or waste controls. 2. Develop Green Chemistry Workforce Education and Training, Research and Development and Technology Transfer through new and existing educational program and public/private partnerships. 3. Create an Online Product Ingredient Network to disclose chemical ingredients for products sold in California, while protecting trade secrets. SB 928 Page 7 4. Create an Online Toxics Clearinghouse, an online database providing data on chemical, toxicity and hazard traits to the market place and public. 5. Accelerate the Quest for Safer Products, creating a systematic, science-based process to evaluate chemicals of concern and identify safer alternatives to ensure product safety. 6. Move Toward a Cradle-to-Cradle Economy to leverage market forces to produce products that are "benign-by-design" in part by establishing a California Green Products Registry to develop green metrics and tools for a range of consumer products and encourage their use by businesses. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 4/6/10) Breast Cancer Action Breast Cancer Fund Clean Water Action Environment California Environmental Working Group Sierra Club Women's Voices for the Earth OPPOSITION : (Verified 4/6/10) California Chamber of Commerce California Manufacturers & Technology Association ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters state that in the quest for sparkling clean, germ-free homes, today's consumers have a vast array of products at their disposal: detergents, disinfectants, glass cleaners, carpet cleaners, stain removers, air fresheners and all-purpose cleansers. Sales of cleaning products to U.S. consumers reached $7.3 billion dollars in 2007. But many consumers don't know, and the labels won't tell them, that chemicals found in some ordinary household products are known or suspected to SB 928 Page 8 cause cancer, birth defects, asthma, skin sensitivities, allergic reactions and other serious health effects. Supporters state that current law does not require manufacturers to disclose the ingredients in cleaning products to consumers. While some companies are beginning to disclose cleaning product ingredients, many chemicals remain hidden, particularly those found in fragrances. Consumers who want to make educated purchases are often in the dark when it comes to how to purchase safe cleaning products. They add that similarly, institutions like hospitals and schools who serve vulnerable populations are often denied access to ingredient information from manufacturers. These institutions are then forced to buy products about which they know little or nothing regarding possible health hazards. Even physicians treating patients who have suffered adverse reactions from exposure to cleaning products cannot get access to ingredient lists. The supporters believe that this bill will give consumers the information they need to make educated decisions about their purchases. ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents state that, the full ingredient disclosure in this bill is unnecessary, not scientifically sound, likely to cause consumer confusion and is potentially harmful to product innovation. This bill requires redundant layers of compliance by requiring manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to disclose ingredients in products they sell on their websites, which will add cost to products sold in California. California businesses cannot ultimately compel the manufacturers that they do business with to disclose ingredient information and as such would have to stop selling products in California for which information cannot be obtained. Many small businesses do not currently maintain a website because they lack the expertise to do so and the cost of SB 928 Page 9 paying someone to build and maintain a website is cost prohibitive. The opposition feels that requiring website disclosure is an impediment to small business. TSM:nl 4/7/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****