BILL NUMBER: SB 1291 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 22, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 5, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Senator Leno
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act 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. Chemicals of concern: flame retardants.
(1) Existing law requires the Department of Toxic
Substance Substances 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 Appliance Repair, Home
Furnishings, and Thermal Insulation, 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 and the bureau ,
in consultation with the specified any other
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
jointly evaluate the current technical bulletins issued by the bureau
and determine whether appropriate changes to those bulletins are
warranted .
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: 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.
department and the bureau shall jointly, in consultation with the
office and any other state agencies or interdepartmental workgroups,
evaluate the current 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 and determine
whether appropriate changes to those bulletins are warranted based on
the evaluations of flame retardants made by the department pursuant
to this section.
(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.