BILL NUMBER: SB 1291 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 5, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Senator Leno
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act relating to home furnishings to add
Article 15 (commencing with Section 25257.5) to Chapter 6.5 of
Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to hazardous
chemicals .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1291, as amended, Leno. Home furnishings: bedding
products. Chemicals of concern: flame retardants.
(1) Existing law requires the Department of Toxic Substance
Control to adopt regulations to establish a process by which
chemicals or chemical ingredients in products may be identified and
prioritized for consideration as being chemicals of concern and to
adopt regulations to establish a process by which chemicals of
concern may be evaluated. The regulations are required to adopt
regulations that specify actions that the department may take
following the completion of the analysis. A violation of the
hazardous waste control law is a crime.
Existing law, the Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation Act,
administered by the Bureau of Electronic and Applicance
Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings, and Thermal
Insulation, requires all bedding products, other than
mattresses and mattress sets, that the bureau determines to
contribute to mattress bedding fires to comply with specified
regulations adopted by the bureau imposes specified
flame retardant requirements .
This bill would require the department to evaluate any chemical
that is used, or is proposed to be used, as a flame retardant, as
defined, in accordance with those regulations and to identify and
prioritize those flame retardants that may be considered as being
chemicals of concern.
The bill would prohibit a person from using a new flame retardant
in the manufacture of, or otherwise in connection with, any
upholstered furniture, bedding and filling materials, until the
department completes this evaluation of that new flame retardant.
The bill would require the department, in consultation with the
specified state agencies and interdepartmental workgroups, to perform
a comparative risk assessment that compares the benefits and risks
of the regulations adopted by, or technical bulletins issued by, the
bureau with the benefits and risks of those flame retardants the
department identifies as chemicals of concern.
The bill would require a person to use a flame retardant in
accordance with the regulatory responses adopted by the department.
By creating new prohibitions, the violation of which would be a
crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would suspend the bureau's preparation of specified
flammability regulations contained in Technical Bulletin 604 and
establish a multiagency task force to evaluate fire safety standards
in light of reported health and environmental hazards posed by toxic
flame retardant chemicals and materials.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 15 (commencing with Section
25257.5) is added to Chapter 6.5 of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety Code , to read:
Article 15. Toxic Flame Retardants
25257.5. For purposes of this article, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Bedding" has the same meaning as defined in Section 19007 of
the Business and Profession Code.
(b) "Bureau" means the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair,
Home Furnishings, and Thermal Insulation, as established in Section
9810 of the Business and Professions Code.
(c) "Filling material" means cotton, wool, kapok, feathers, downs,
hair, liquid, or any other material, substance, or any combination
thereof, loose or in batting, pads, or any other prefabricated form,
concealed or not concealed, to be used or that could be used in
articles of bedding or upholstered furniture.
(d) "Flame retardant" means a chemical that is, or is proposed to
be, used to comply with any regulation adopted by, or technical
bulletin issued by, the bureau pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 19000) of Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code to
implement the requirements of Section 19161 of the Business and
Professions Code.
(e) "New flame retardant" means a chemical that is a flame
retardant and that is first used on or after January 1, 2011, for
purposes of complying with the regulations or technical bulletins
specified in subdivision (d).
(f) "Upholstered furniture" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 19006 of the Business and Professions Code.
(g) All other terms used in this article shall have the same
meaning as defined in Article 14 (commencing with Section 25251).
25257.6. (a) The department shall evaluate any chemical that is
used, or is proposed to be used, as a flame retardant in accordance
with the regulations adopted pursuant to Section 25252 and shall
identify and prioritize the chemicals that are used, or proposed to
be used, as flame retardants that the department considers as being
chemicals of concern, in accordance with the review process specified
in Section 25252.5.
(b) (1) After completing the evaluation pursuant to subdivision
(a), the department shall subsequently evaluate any flame retardant
that the department has identified as a chemical of concern by
determining how best to limit exposure or reduce the level of hazard
posed by that flame retardant, in accordance with the regulations
adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 25253.
(2) In addition to evaluating the potential alternatives and
potential hazards pursuant to the requirements of the regulations
specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 25253, the
department shall, in consultation with the bureau, the office, and
any other state agencies or interdepartmental workgroups, perform a
comparative risk assessment that compares the benefits and risks of
the regulations adopted by, or technical bulletins issued by, the
bureau pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 19000) of
Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code to implement the
requirements of Section 19161 of the Business and Professions Code,
with the benefits and risks of those flame retardants that the
department has identified as chemicals of concern.
(3) The department may, after completing the process specified in
paragraphs (1) and (2), take any of the regulatory responses
specified in subdivision (b) of Section 25253.
25257.7. (a) A person shall not use a new flame retardant in the
manufacture of, or otherwise in connection with, any upholstered
furniture or bedding and filling materials until the department has
completed the evaluation of that new flame retardant pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 25257.6.
(b) If the department identifies a flame retardant as a chemical
of concern pursuant to Section 25257.6, a person may use the flame
retardant only in accordance with the regulatory responses adopted by
the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 25257.6.
25257.8. The requirements of the article are in addition to, and
shall not otherwise affect the authority of the department pursuant
to, Article 14 (commencing with Section 25251).
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and
declares the following:
(a) Existing law requires bedding products, other than mattresses
and mattress sets, that the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance
Repair, Home Furnishings, and Thermal Insulation determines to
contribute to mattress bedding fires to comply with regulations
adopted by the bureau.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that
would do both of the following:
(1) Suspend the bureau's preparation of regulations contained in
Technical Bulletin 604.
(2) Establish a multiagency task force to evaluate current fire
safety standards in light of reported health and environmental
hazards posed by toxic flame retardant chemicals and materials.