BILL NUMBER: SB 1291 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 1, 2010
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 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 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
include, as a chemical under consideration as being a
chemical of concern, 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 review process established by the department
.
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
has considered and determined whether the new flame retardant
is a chemical of concern .
The bill would require the department and the bureau, in
consultation with any other state agencies and interdepartmental
workgroups, to 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 Professions
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) "Chemical under consideration" means a chemical on the list of
chemicals that the department is considering whether to include as a
chemical of concern for purposes of Article 14 (commencing with
Section 25251).
(c)
(d) "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)
(e) "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)
(f) "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) (e) .
(f)
(g) "Upholstered furniture" has the same meaning as
defined in Section 19006 of the Business and Professions Code.
(g)
(h) 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
include, as a chemical under consideration, 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. and in
accordance with the review process established pursuant to 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)
(b) (1) In addition to evaluating
the potential alternatives and potential hazards of a chemical
deemed to be a chemical of concern, pursuant to the
requirements of the regulations specified in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 25253, the 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)
(2) The department may, after completing the process
specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) paragraph
(1) , 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.
department has considered and determined whether the new flame
retardant is a chemical of concern pursuant to 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.