California Senate Bill SB1291 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 1291AMENDED 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.