BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 977
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Date of Hearing: August 30, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Richard Pan, Chair
SB 977 (Yee) - As Amended: August 29, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 36-0
SUBJECT : Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law: nail polish.
SUMMARY : Subjects a manufacturer of nail polish that violates
provisions of existing law governing misbranded cosmetics, if
convicted, to a maximum fine of $2,000 and/or imprisonment for
one year in the county jail.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law (Sherman
Law), administered by the Department of Public Health (DPH),
to regulate the packaging, labeling, and advertising of food,
drugs, devices, and cosmetics in conformity with the federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
2)Prohibits a person from manufacturing, selling, delivering,
holding, offering for sale, or receiving in commerce, any
cosmetic that is adulterated, and prohibits a person from
manufacturing or selling any cosmetic that is misbranded, as
prescribed.
3)Makes any person who violates any provision of the Sherman
Law, or any regulation adopted pursuant to it, if convicted,
subject to imprisonment for up to one year in the county jail
or a maximum fine of $1,000, or both.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL . The author points to a recent report by
the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) that found
that ingredients listed on the labels of some nail polishes
did not accurately reflect the products' chemical composition
as evidence of the need for this bill. The author states that
this bill is intended to influence the bad behavior of some
nail polish manufacturers by imposing a greater monetary
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disincentive against mislabeling or misrepresenting their
ingredients. According to the author, this bill attempts to
address a health and public safety risk to consumers and to
nail salon workers, in particular, who are exposed to the
chemicals in nail polish on a daily basis and deserve to be
informed of what is in the products they use.
2)TOXIC-TRIO CHEMICALS . According to the DTSC, nail products
containing the "toxic-trio" of the chemicals called dibutyl
phthalate (DBP), toluene, and formaldehyde pose health and
safety risks to roughly 121,000 nail salon technicians in more
than 48,000 salons throughout California. These chemicals
have been the subject of ongoing public scrutiny from
non-government organizations, environmental and worker rights
groups, and various regulatory agencies over concerns about
nail product safety. Exposure to toxic-trio chemicals is
associated with cancer, birth defects, asthma, and other
chronic health conditions.
3)DTSC REPORT . In May 2011, DTSC conducted a limited-scale
sampling of nail products offered for sale in the San
Francisco Bay Area in an effort to further support a local
ordinance establishing a voluntary recognition program for
nail salons that choose safer nail products. DTSC's objective
in sampling the products was to investigate the accuracy of
claims made by a small number of nail product manufacturers
that their goods were free of some or all toxic-trio
chemicals; provide information on hazardous chemicals used in
these products; and, examine trends of possible ingredient
substitutions. Twenty-five nail product samples, which
included both products with toxic-trio related claims and
those with no claims about chemical content, were randomly
collected from six distributors and tested. Manufacturers of
12 of the 25 products claimed that they were free of at least
one toxic-trio chemical and that seven claimed to contain none
of the toxic-trio chemicals.
Toluene was detected more frequently and at higher
concentrations in products that claimed to be free of one or
more of the toxic-trio chemicals than in products that made no
claim at all. Ten of the 12 products with "toluene-free"
claims actually contained toluene. In five of the seven
products that claimed to be free of all of the toxic-trio
chemicals, the products contained high levels of DBP, toluene,
or a combination of both. DTSC also found chemicals in the
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nail products whose functionality, toxicities, environmental
behavior, and exposure risks remain unknown and stated that
these unknown chemicals may be alternatives to the toxic-trio.
Based on the findings of its study, DTSC recommended that
manufacturers disclose nail product formulations and provide
information demonstrating that substitutions are safer to
public health and the environment. DTSC also urged more
collaboration and coordination among interested stakeholders,
in addition to expanded outreach, education, and training of
nail salon owners and workers.
4)PRIOR LEGISLATION .
a) AB 237 (Galgiani) of 2011 and AB 595 (Dymally) of 2007
would have required cosmetic product manufacturers that do
not comply with the federal Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) Voluntary Cosmetic Reporting Program (VCRP) to
provide to DPH the same kind of information disclosed
through the VCRP. AB 237 was held on the Assembly
Appropriations Committee Suspense File, and AB 595 was held
on the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File.
b) SB 1712 (Migden) of 2008 would have required a
manufacturer of lipstick sold in this state to provide
evidence to DPH that the lipstick contains no more than an
unavoidable trace of lead. SB 1712 failed passage in the
Assembly Health Committee.
c) SB 484 (Migden), Chapter 729, Statutes of 2005,
establishes the California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005,
which requires cosmetic manufacturers to disclose to DPH a
list of their products' chemical ingredients that cause
cancer or reproductive harm.
d) AB 908 (Chu) of 2005 would have prohibited a person or
entity from manufacturing, selling, or distributing in
commerce any cosmetic that contains any of two specified
chemicals, and would have defined a cosmetic as misbranded
if sold by an Internet Website where the list of
ingredients in the cosmetic is not easily viewable before
the purchase. AB 908 failed passage in the Assembly Health
Committee.
e) AB 2025 (Chu) of 2004 would have required the
manufacturer of any cosmetic or personal care product sold
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in California to submit to the California Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) a list of
ingredients contained in the product, including the name of
each ingredient for purposes of fragrance or flavoring and
the name of each ingredient identified by the phrase "and
other ingredients." AB 2025 would have banned a cosmetic
or personal care product that contains a chemical known to
cause cancer or reproductive toxicity unless OEHHA issued a
safe use determination on that product. AB 2025 was not
heard in the Assembly Health Committee at the request of
the author.
f) AB 2012 (Chu) of 2004 would have required, by January 1,
2006, the manufacturer of any cosmetic or personal care
product subject to regulation by the FDA and manufactured,
processed, or distributed in commerce in the state to
notify OEHHA of any ingredient in its product that is a
chemical identified as causing cancer or reproductive
toxicity, as specified. AB 2012 failed passage in the
Assembly Health Committee.
5)SUPPORT . The Personal Care Products Council states in support
of a prior version of this bill, which contained a $15,000
fine, that this bill will protect consumers from misleading
claims and advertisements concerning nail polish.
6)POLICY COMMENT . This bill would double the fine for nail
polish manufacturers from $1,000 to $2,000 for any Sherman Law
violations. Is it appropriate, from a policy perspective, to
single out the manufacturers of nail polish for a higher fine?
The author may wish to identify what differentiates these
manufacturers from those of other food, drugs, devices, or
cosmetics who violate the Sherman Law.
7)AUTHOR'S AMENDMENTS . The author will offer amendments in
committee to clarify that the provisions of this bill shall
not apply to a nail salon or to a distributor, retailer, or
wholesaler of nail polish.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Personal Care Products Council (prior version)
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Cassie Royce / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097