BILL NUMBER: AB 2297	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Vargas

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2004

   An act to add Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 105320) to Part
5 of Division 103 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to lead
contamination of candy.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2297, as introduced, Vargas.  Candy:  maximum allowable lead
levels.
   Under existing law, the State Department of Health Services is
responsible for administering the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention
Act of 1991.  Existing law requires the department to establish a
childhood lead poisoning prevention program to identify and conduct
medical followup of high-risk children, and to establish procedures
for environmental abatement and followup designed to reduce the
incidence of excessive childhood lead exposures. Existing law
requires the department to assess a fee for these purposes against
persons who contributed to sources of lead contamination.
   This bill would, in addition, require the department to monitor
lead levels in candy sold or distributed in the state to determine
the lead levels contained in the candy.  The bill would require the
department to establish maximum allowable lead levels for candy.
   This bill would require the department, if it tests candy and
determines that the candy exceeds the maximum allowable lead level,
to issue health advisory notices to county health departments
alerting them to the dangers posed by consumption of the candy, and
to notify the manufacturer and distributor of the candy that the
candy exceeds the maximum allowable lead level and that the candy may
not be sold or distributed in the state unless further testing
proves that the candy is in compliance with the maximum allowable
lead level.
   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 that dangerous lead
levels have been found in candy.
  SEC. 2.  Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 105320) is added to
Part 5 of Division 103 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

      CHAPTER 5.5.  LEAD IN CANDY

   105320.  (a) The department shall monitor lead levels in all candy
sold or distributed in the state.  Monitoring shall include sampling
and testing to determine the lead levels contained in the candy.
   (b) The department shall establish maximum allowable lead levels
for all candy sold or distributed in the state.  In establishing
these levels, the department shall consider any relevant standards,
guidelines, and information available from the federal Food and Drug
Administration and the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, and any other source that the department deems
appropriate.
   (c) If the lead level in a candy that is tested by the department
pursuant to subdivision (a) exceeds the maximum allowable lead level,
the department shall do both of the following:
   (1) Issue health advisory notices to county health departments
alerting them to the danger posed by consumption of the candy.
   (2) Notify the manufacturer and the distributor of the candy that
the candy exceeds the maximum allowable lead level, and that the
candy may not be sold or distributed in the state until further
testing proves that the candy is in compliance with the maximum
allowable lead level.
   (d) (1) If a candy exceeds the maximum allowable lead level, the
manufacturer or distributor may correct the problem and resubmit the
candy to the department for further testing.
   (2) If the lead content of the candy is below the maximum
allowable lead level when it is retested, the department shall
provide the manufacturer or distributor and the county health
department with a letter stating that the candy has been retested and
determined to contain less than the maximum allowable lead level
established by the department, and that the sale and distribution of
the candy in the state may resume.
   (3) If the candy still exceeds the maximum allowable lead level
after it has been retested, the manufacturer or distributor may take
corrective measures and continue to resubmit samples for testing
until the candy's lead content is below the maximum allowable lead
level if the manufacturer or distributor wishes to sell or distribute
the candy in the state.