BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 763
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
763 (Leno)
As Amended August 28, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 30-10
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Business & |12-0 |Bonilla, Baker, | |
|Professions | |Bloom, Campos, Chang, | |
| | |Dodd, Eggman, Gatto, | |
| | |Holden, Mullin, Ting, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Environmental |7-0 |Alejo, Dahle, | |
|Safety | |Gallagher, Gonzalez, | |
| | |Gray, McCarty, Ting | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |16-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Nazarian, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
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| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Requires manufacturers of juvenile products
manufactured on or after July 1, 2016, to indicate on a label if
a product contains added flame retardant chemicals.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines "juvenile product" as a product subject to the Home
Furnishings and Thermal Insulation Act and intended for use by
infants and children younger than 12 years of age, such as a
bassinet, booster seat, infant car seat, changing pad, floor
play mat, highchair, highchair pad, infant bouncer, infant
carrier, infant seat, infant swing, infant walker, nursing
pad, nursing pillow, playpen side pad, playard, portable
hook-on chair, stroller, children's nap mat, and infant foam
crib mattress.
2)Requires a manufacturer of juvenile products manufactured on
or after July 1, 2016, for retail sale in California to
include, for juvenile products containing added flame
retardant chemicals, a label in plain view that includes a
specified flame retardant chemical statement and indicates the
presence of added flame retardant chemicals.
3)Requires the manufacturer of a juvenile product sold in
California to retain documentation to show whether or not
flame retardant chemicals were added to the product and
requires, upon request, the manufacturer to provide the
documentation to the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance
Repair, Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation (BEARHFTI).
4)Requires BEARHFTI to ensure compliance with the labeling and
documentation requirements in this bill.
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5)Specifies a method for detecting mislabeling, including
testing, and requires fines for mislabeling to be assessed in
increasing severity, depending on the frequency of the
violation and in accordance with specified factors.
6)Requires BEARHFTI to assess fines, in increasing severity and
in accordance with specified factors, for the failure of the
manufacturer of the juvenile product to maintain or provide
upon request documentation to show whether flame retardant
chemicals were added to the product.
7)Authorizes BEARHFTI to adopt regulations to carry out the
requirements of this bill.
EXISTING LAW: Requires a manufacturer of upholstered furniture
to indicate whether or not the product contains added flame
retardant chemicals by including a specified flame retardant
chemical statement and a specified indication of the absence or
presence of flame retardant chemicals on the flame retardant.
(Technical Bulletin (TB) 117-2013) label. (Business and
Profession Code Section 19094 (b)(1))
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, enactment of this bill could result in cost
pressures, in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars, to the
Home Furnishing and Thermal Insulation Fund, for enforcement of
the requirements in this bill, including testing for label
accuracy, and could result in negligible costs associated with
adopting regulations.
COMMENTS:
Need for this bill: According to the author, "Growing evidence
show(s) that many fire retardant chemicals have serious human
and environmental health impacts, including cancer, decreased
fertility, hormone disruption, lower IQ, and hyperactivity ?
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Tests have found fire retardant chemicals present in
polyurethane foam in baby products which are in intimate contact
with infants and young children including nap mats, bassinets,
changing pads, strollers, playpens, swings, nursing pillows,
high chairs and toddler chairs?SB 763 will give parents the
information they need to choose safe and healthy products for
their children."
Flame retardant chemicals: Flame retardants are chemicals added
to plastic, foam, textiles, electronics, building materials, and
other products to resist or inhibit the spread of fire. Human
exposure to flame retardants occurs mainly through inhalation or
ingestion of contaminated dust. Food and water contaminated
with flame retardants is another source of exposure. Exposure
from dermal contact with contaminated soil and dust may also
occur.
Human health and environmental impacts of flame retardant
chemicals: Many flame retardant chemicals are persistent
chemicals that bioaccumulate. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers
(PBDEs), the most thoroughly studied of the flame retardant
chemicals, have been found in birds, fish, shellfish,
amphibians, marine mammals, sewage sludge, sediments, air
samples, meats, dairy products, and even vegetables. In humans,
PBDEs have been found to accumulate in blood, fat, and breast
milk. Recent research has shown that PBDE exposure in humans
may lead to endocrine disruption, reproductive difficulty,
neurodevelopmental issues, reduced IQ, and elevated thyroid
levels. Studies have found PBDEs in fetal cord blood,
indicating that these chemicals can cross the placenta and
expose fetuses during critical times of development. While
PBDEs have been largely phased out of use, alternative flame
retardant chemicals are pervasive and have raised similar and
other toxicological concerns to those raised by PBDE
formulations. Studies have linked exposure to many other flame
retardant chemicals to endocrine disruption; fertility issues;
and, carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic, obesogenic, and
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neurotoxicological effects.
Flame retardants in juvenile products: Despite an exemption
from California flammability standards (TB 117-2013), tests on
juvenile products show that these products continue to contain
flame retardant chemicals. For example, tests commissioned by
the Center for Environmental Health and performed by Duke
University in August 2014 on children's nap mats found that six
of the 10 tested mats contained flame retardant chemicals. In
another example, in 2014 the State of Washington Department of
Ecology tested 10 changing pads and found that three contained
flame retardant chemicals. Additional recent testing by Duke
University found that of 17 nap mats purchased in April and May
2015, nearly a year and a half after the exemption from TB
117-2013 went into effect, three were identified as containing
flame retardant chemicals.
Analysis Prepared by:
Shannon McKinney / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965
FN:
0001694