1 of 1
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1640 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 640
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Mark C. Montigny
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act promoting humane cosmetics and other household products by limiting the use of animal
testing.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Mark C. MontignySecond Bristol and PlymouthJohn F. KeenanNorfolk and Plymouth1/29/2025Joanne M. ComerfordHampshire, Franklin and Worcester2/2/2025Michael O. MooreSecond Worcester2/3/2025Marcus S. Vaughn9th Norfolk2/5/2025James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol2/7/2025James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/10/2025Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/14/2025Adam GomezHampden2/20/2025Bruce E. TarrFirst Essex and Middlesex2/26/2025Paul W. MarkBerkshire, Hampden, Franklin and
Hampshire
2/27/2025Adam J. Scanlon14th Bristol3/4/2025Patrick M. O'ConnorFirst Plymouth and Norfolk3/10/2025 1 of 3
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1640 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 640
By Mr. Montigny, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 640) of Mark C. Montigny, John
F. Keenan, Joanne M. Comerford, Michael O. Moore and other members of the General Court
for legislation to promote humane cosmetics and other household products by limiting the use of
animal testing. Environment and Natural Resources.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1424 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
_______________
An Act promoting humane cosmetics and other household products by limiting the use of animal
testing.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 140 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
2Section 174H the following new section:-
3 Section 174I.
4 (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless
5the context clearly requires otherwise:
6 "Alternative test method", a process or procedure implemented to obtain information
7regarding the biological effects of exposure to a chemical or agent that does not employ the use
8of an animal and results in the gathering of valid information that would otherwise be acquired 2 of 3
9through the use of a traditional animal test method, including, but not limited to, computational
10toxicology, bioinformatics, high-throughput screening methods, chemical substances testing,
11tiered testing methods, in vitro studies, and systems biology.
12 “Commissioner”, the commissioner of the department of public health.
13 "Contract testing facility", a partnership, corporation, association, or other legal
14relationship that tests chemicals, ingredients, product formulations, or products.
15 "Manufacturer", a partnership, corporation, association, or other legal relationship that
16produces products, product formulations, chemicals, or ingredients.
17 "Medical research", investigations, experiments, and studies to discover, develop, or
18verify knowledge relating to the causes, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, or control of physical
19or mental diseases and impairments of humans and animals or relating to the development of
20biomedical products, devices, or pharmaceuticals.
21 "Traditional animal test method", a process or procedure using animals to obtain
22information regarding the biological effects of exposure to a chemical or agent.
23 (b) (1) When testing a product, product formulation, chemical, or ingredient in the
24Commonwealth, no manufacturer or contract testing facility shall use a traditional animal test
25method for which a valid alternative test method exists. No provision of this subsection shall be
26construed to apply to a test method conducted for the purposes of medical research.
27 (c) The commissioner shall promulgate regulations to implement, enforce, and administer
28this section and shall establish standards for alternative test methods to ensure safety and
29comparable validity of results to traditional animal test methods. The commissioner shall 3 of 3
30consider the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s Guidelines for the
31Testing of Chemicals when establishing said standards.
32 SECTION 2. The commissioner of public health shall promulgate regulations to
33implement this act no later than 180 days following passage of this act.
34 SECTION 3. Section 1 shall take effect 6 months after the passage of this act and section
352 shall take effect upon passage.