BILL NUMBER: AB 2125 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chiu
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Roger Hernández)
FEBRUARY 17, 2016
An act to add Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 108960) to Part
3 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to nail
salons.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2125, as amended, Chiu. Healthy Nail Salon Recognition Program.
Existing law regulates the existence and disclosure of specified
chemicals and components in consumer products, including phthalates
and bisphenol A. Existing law also provides for the licensing and
regulation of nail salons and manicurists by the State Board of
Barbering and Cosmetology within the Department of Consumer
Affairs.
This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to
publish guidelines guidelines, including one
or more model ordinances, for cities, counties, and city and
counties to voluntarily implement local healthy nail salon
recognition (HNSR) programs with specified criteria for nail salons,
including the use of less toxic nail polishes and polish removers and
improved ventilation. The bill would also require the department to
develop awareness campaigns, model ordinances for local governments,
and post specified information on its Internet Web site.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
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) According to the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology,
there are 98,613 licensed manicurists, and 41,830 licensed business
establishments providing manicure services. There are 253,571
licensed cosmetologists, many of whom work as nail salon technicians.
(b) Beauty care workers, including cosmetologists and manicurists,
are highly exposed to the potential harm of carcinogens and
reproductive toxins in cosmetics. Cosmetologists and manicurists are
predominantly women and minorities. In California, an estimated 80
percent of nail salons are operated by Vietnamese women.
(c) Nail services are increasing in popularity among consumers.
The money consumers spent in nail salons increased from $7.3 billion
in 2012 to $8.54 billion in 2014.
(d) Chemicals in professional cosmetics can be harmful to salon
customers, who increasingly include prepubescent girls and young
women.
(e) Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can cause harm at very low
levels. Some may enter the body through the skin or cuticle.
(f) Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), included in nail polish to reduce
brittleness and cracking, is a reproductive and developmental
toxicant that is especially harmful to pregnant women.
(g) Developmental toxicants interfere with proper growth or health
of a child, acting at any point from conception to puberty.
(h) Toluene, a solvent found in nail polish, is a developmental
and neurological toxicant that causes headaches, dizziness, and
nausea, among other symptoms.
(i) Formaldehyde, a chemical that acts as a disinfectant and as a
preservative in nail polishes, is a known carcinogen. Exposure to
formaldehyde in the short term can irritate the eyes, nose, throat,
and skin, and in the long term exposure can cause asthma.
(j) Alternatives to substances that cause serious harm, including
cancer or reproductive toxicity, are readily available for use in
cosmetic products. A number of manufacturers, including both small
domestic producers and large multinational corporations, have
eliminated certain substances that cause cancer or reproductive harm
from their products.
(k) Some local governments have already adopted successful Healthy
Nail Salon Recognition Programs (HNSR programs), including the City
and County of San Francisco, the Counties of Alameda, San Mateo, and
Santa Clara, and the City of Santa Monica.
(l) These local HNSR programs support nail salons that use less
toxic products and practices that are safer for workers and their
customers.
(m) Given the presence of substances in cosmetic products that
cause cancer and reproductive toxicity and other serious adverse
impacts, the heavy use of these products by women of childbearing
age, the increasing use of manicure services among consumers
including prepubescent girls and young women, the significant
exposure to these products in occupational settings such as nail and
beauty salons, the recently enacted successful local HNSR programs,
and the availability of safer alternative products, it is in the
interest of the people of the State of California to take steps to
ensure that nail salons are given guidelines to operate safely for
workers and consumers, support local solutions to reduce potentially
harmful chemical exposures among customers and workers, determine the
success of the HNSR programs in reducing harmful exposures
experienced by nail salon customers and workers, and make
recommendations for program improvements, as appropriate.
SEC. 2. Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 108960) is added to
Part 3 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER 14. HEALTHY NAIL SALON RECOGNITION PROGRAM
108960. (a) The State Department of Public Health shall, by
January 1, 2018, publish guidelines and best practices
guidelines, including one or more model ordinances,
for cities, counties, and cities and counties to voluntarily
implement local healthy nail salon recognition (HNSR) programs.
(b) Qualifications The guidelines,
including the model ordinance or ordinances, for an HNSR
program may include, but are not limited to, all of the
following: following qualifications:
(1) The salon shall not use any cosmetic product that contains any
of the following:
(A) Any ingredient, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section
111791.5, that is a chemical classified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency as carcinogenic to humans, likely to
be carcinogenic to humans, or for which there is suggestive evidence
of carcinogenic potential, or identified by the state to cause cancer
as listed in the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of
1986 (Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 25249.5) of Division 20)
list of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.
(B) Any ingredient, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section
111791.5, that is a reproductive toxicant that causes birth defects,
reproductive harm, or developmental harm as identified by the United
States Environmental Protection Agency, or listed in the Safe
Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Chapter 6.6
(commencing with Section 25249.5) of Division 20) list of chemicals
known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.
(C) Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), formaldehyde, toluene, or methyl
ethyl ketone.
(2) The salon shall ensure that all nail salon staff wear nitrile
or other gloves determined to be sufficiently protective when using
nail products.
(3) The salon shall be ventilated to improve air quality. A
specific area shall be designated for artificial nail services and
that area shall be properly ventilated with mechanical ventilation
units.
(4) All salon staff, whether on payroll or on contract, and owners
shall be trained on safer practices delineated in the HNSR program
guidelines.
(5) The salon shall not allow clients to bring in outside products
for use, unless those products meet the program criteria, as
determined by salon staff.
(6) The salon shall be in compliance with Chapter 10 (commencing
with Section 7301) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions
Code.
(7) Any other guidelines or best practices determined by the
department to further the goals of an HNSR program.
(c) The model ordinance required pursuant to subdivision (a) shall
impose, but not be limited to, all of the following requirements on
a local entity that adopts a HNSR program:
(1) Coordinate with other local HNSR programs to assist businesses
in achieving and moving beyond regulatory compliance.
(2) Encourage businesses to implement strategies to reduce toxic
exposures to chemicals in nail salon products, improve ventilation
strategies, and achieve greater understanding of products and their
impacts on health.
(3) Promote improved community health outcomes, economic vitality,
and sustainable business approaches.
(4) Require training for the salon owners and staff to ensure
thorough knowledge of safe and environmentally friendly procedures.
(5) Provide an approved seal or certificate to a salon that has
met all specified requirements, required to be displayed in full
public view in the salon location.
(6) Establish a process by which a salon can enroll in an HNSR
program and be verified by the local entity.
(7) Establish the frequency at which the local entity shall verify
continued compliance by a salon that has previously met all
specified requirements.
(d) The State Department of Public Health shall, throughout the
process of developing guidelines pursuant to subdivision (a), consult
with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, representatives
of local agencies with existing HNSR programs, personnel of private
nonprofit entities who have experience and skills in implementing
HNSR programs, and members of affected communities, among others.
(c)
(e) The department shall promote the HNSR program
established pursuant to this chapter by doing all of the following:
(1) Solicit and support voluntary implementation of HNSR programs
through awareness campaigns directed at nail salon business owners
and local governments.
(2) Develop and implement a consumer education program to promote
awareness about HNSR programs.
(3) Develop and adopt one or more model ordinances that local
entities may adopt to implement an HNSR program. The model ordinance
shall direct local entities to, at a minimum, do all of the
following:
(A) Coordinate with other local HNSR programs to assist businesses
in achieving and moving beyond regulatory compliance.
(B) Encourage businesses to implement strategies to reduce toxic
exposures to chemicals in nail salon products, improve ventilation
strategies, and achieve greater understanding of products and their
impacts on health.
(C) Promote improved community health outcomes, economic vitality,
and sustainable business approaches.
(D) Require a training element for owners and staff to ensure
thorough knowledge of safe and environmentally friendly procedures.
(E) Provide an approved seal or certificate upon meeting all
requirements to be hung in full public view in the business.
(F) Establish a process by which a salon can enroll in an HNSR
program and be verified by the local entity.
(G) Establish the frequency at which salon compliance will be
reverified by the local entity.
(4) Consult with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health,
representatives of local agencies with existing HNSR programs,
personnel of private nonprofit entities who have experience and
skills in implementing HNSR programs, and members of affected
communities, among others, throughout the development of the model
program or ordinance.
(5)
(3) Develop and either distribute or post on its
Internet Web site information for local entities, including, but not
limited to, suggestions for successful implementation of HNSR
programs and resource lists that include names and contact
information of vendors, consultants, or providers of financial
assistance or loans for purchases of ventilation equipment.
(6)
(4) Develop an Internet Web site or a section on the
department's Internet Web site that links to county HNSR Internet Web
sites.
(d)
(f) The department may prioritize its outreach to those
counties that have the greatest number of nail salons and that have
the highest pollution burdens and vulnerabilities as determined by
CalEnviroScreen.