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North Carolina House Bill H686

North Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Carolina House Bill H686 Compare Versions

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11 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
22 SESSION 2025
3-H 1
4-HOUSE BILL 686
3+H D
4+HOUSE BILL DRH40389-NM-29
5+
56
67
78 Short Title: Safe Cosmetics Act. (Public)
8-Sponsors: Representatives Belk, Ball, Harrison, and von Haefen (Primary Sponsors).
9-For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
10-Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
11-April 3, 2025
12-*H686 -v-1*
9+Sponsors: Representative Belk.
10+Referred to:
11+
12+*DRH40389 -NM-29*
1313 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
1414 AN ACT TO PROHIBIT THE DISTRIBUTION OR SALE OF A COSMETIC PRODUCT 2
1515 CONTAINING CERTAIN RESTRICTED SUBSTANCES AS AN INTENTIONALLY 3
1616 ADDED CHEMICAL IN ANY AMOUNT, INCLUDING AS A NONFUNCTIONAL 4
1717 BY-PRODUCT OR A NONFUNCTIONAL CONTAMINANT ABOVE THE PRACTICAL 5
1818 QUANTIFICATION LIMIT. 6
1919 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 7
2020 SECTION 1.(a) Subdivision (14b) of G.S. 106-121 is recodified as subdivision (14c) 8
2121 of that section. 9
2222 SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 106-121, as amended by subsection (a) of this section, reads 10
2323 as rewritten: 11
2424 "§ 106-121. Definitions and general consideration. 12
2525 For the purpose of this Article: 13
2626 … 14
2727 (4b) The term "cosmetic product" means a cosmetic for retail sale or professional 15
2828 use. 16
2929 … 17
3030 (9a) The term "intentionally added chemical" means a chemical added during the 18
3131 manufacturing of a product or product component to provide a specific 19
3232 characteristic, appearance, or quality or to perform a specific function. 20
3333 … 21
3434 (11b) The term "manufacturer" means a person that manufactures a final consumer 22
3535 product or whose brand name is affixed to the consumer product. In the case 23
3636 of a consumer product that is imported into the United States, "manufacturer" 24
3737 includes the importer or first domestic distributor of the consumer product if 25
3838 the person that manufactured or assembled the consumer product or whose 26
3939 brand name is affixed to the consumer product does not have a presence in the 27
4040 United States. 28
4141 … 29
4242 (12b) The term "nonfunctional by-product" means an element or compound that has 30
4343 no functional or technical effect in the finished product and that: 31
4444 a. Was intentionally added during the manufacturing process for a 32
4545 cosmetic product at any point in the supply chain for a product, a raw 33
46-material, or an ingredient; or 34 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
47-Page 2 House Bill 686-First Edition
48-b. Was created or formed during the manufacturing process at any point 1
49-in the supply chain for a product, a raw material, or an ingredient. 2
50-"Nonfunctional by-product" includes, but is not limited to, an unreacted raw 3
51-material, a breakdown product of an intentionally added chemical, or a 4
52-by-product of the manufacturing process. 5
53-(12c) The term "nonfunctional contaminant" means an element or compound 6
54-present in a cosmetic product as an unintentional consequence of 7
55-manufacturing that has no functional or technical effect in the finished 8
56-product. "Nonfunctional contaminant" includes, but is not limited to, elements 9
57-or compounds present in the environment as contaminants that were 10
58-introduced into a product, a raw material, or a product ingredient as a result of 11
59-the use of an environmental medium, such as a naturally occurring mineral, 12
60-air, soil, or water, in the manufacturing process at any point in the supply chain 13
61-for a product's, a raw material's, or an ingredient's supply chain. 14
62-… 15
63-(14b) The term "practical quantification limit" means the lowest concentration of a 16
64-chemical that can be reliably measured within specified limits of precision, 17
65-accuracy, representativeness, completeness, and comparability during routine 18
66-laboratory operating conditions. 19
67-… 20
68-(14g) The term "restricted substance" means any of the following: 21
69-a. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including any 22
70-member of the class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at 23
71-least one fully fluorinated carbon atom. 24
72-b. Heavy metals and heavy metal-containing compounds, including 25
73-arsenic, cadmium, cadmium compounds, chromium, lead, lead 26
74-compounds, nickel, and selenium. 27
75-c. Parabens, including butylparaben, ethylparaben, isobutylparaben, 28
76-isopropylparaben, methylparaben, and propylparaben. 29
77-d. Ortho-phthalates and their esters, including dibutyl phthalate, 30
78-dicyclohexyl phthalate, hexyl phthalate, diisobutyl phthalate, 31
79-diisodecyl phthalate, diisononyl phthalate, diisooctyl phthalate, 32
80-diethylhexyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, and benzyl butyl phthalate. 33
81-e. Formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers, including formaldehyde, 34
82-paraformaldehyde, quaternium-15, diazolidinyl urea, DMDM 35
83-hydantoin, methylene glycol, imidazolidinyl urea, and sodium 36
84-hydroxymethylglycinate. 37
85-f. Benzophenones, including benzophenone, benzophenone-1, 38
86-benzophenone-2, benzophenone-3, dihydroxybenzophenone, 39
87-resbenzophenone, and oxybenzone. 40
88-g. Known carcinogens, including benzene, carbon black, coal tar, 41
89-ethylene oxide, toluene, naphthalene, metallic nickel, styrene, and 42
90-xylene. 43
91-h. Asbestos and asbestos-containing compounds, including talc. 44
92-i. Butylated compounds, including butylated hydroxytoluene and 45
93-butylated hydroxyanisole. 46
94-j. Siloxanes, including cyclotetrasiloxane, cyclopentasiloxane, 47
95-octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane, and cyclosiloxanes. 48
96-k. Phenylenediamines, i ncluding m -phenylenediamine, 49
97-o-phenylenediamine, and p-phenylenediamine; triclosan; triclocarban; 50
98-and nonylphenol. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
99-House Bill 686-First Edition Page 3
100-l. Nitrosamine and nitrosamine releasers, including diethanolamine and 1
101-triethanolamine. 2
102-…." 3
103-SECTION 2. G.S. 106-132 reads as rewritten: 4
104-"§ 106-132. Additives, etc., deemed unsafe. 5
105-Any added poisonous or added deleterious substance, any food additive, any pesticide 6
106-chemical in or on a raw agricultural commodity or any color additive, shall with respect to any 7
107-particular use or intended use be deemed unsafe for the purpose of application of 8
108-G.S. 106-129(1), paragraphs b and g and 106-129(4) with respect to any food, 106-133(1) with 9
109-respect to any drug or device, or 106-136(1) and (5) 106-136(1), (5), and (6) with respect to any 10
110-cosmetic, unless there is in effect a regulation pursuant to G.S. 106-139 of this Article limiting 11
111-the quantity of substance, and the use or intended use of such substance conforms to the terms 12
112-prescribed by such regulation. While such regulations relating to such substance are in effect, a 13
113-food, drug, or cosmetic shall not, by reason of bearing or containing such substance in accordance 14
114-with the regulations be considered adulterated within the meaning of G.S. 106-129(1)a, 15
115-106-133(1) and 106-136(1)." 16
116-SECTION 3. G.S. 106-136 reads as rewritten: 17
117-"§ 106-136. Cosmetics deemed adulterated. 18
118-A cosmetic shall be deemed to be adulterated: 19
119-… 20
120-(6) If it contains a restricted substance as an intentionally added chemical in any 21
121-amount, including as a nonfunctional by-product or a nonfunctional 22
122-contaminant above the practical quantification limit. The practical 23
123-quantification limit must be based on scientifically defensible, standard 24
124-analytical methods. The practical quantification limit for a given restricted 25
125-substance may be different depending on the analytical method used." 26
126-SECTION 4. Article 12 of Chapter 120 of the General Statutes is amended by adding 27
127-a new section to read: 28
128-"§ 106-141.2. Certificate of compliance for cosmetic products. 29
129-(a) If the Board of Agriculture has reason to believe that a cosmetic product contains a 30
130-restricted substance as an intentionally added chemical and is being offered for sale in violation 31
131-of this article, the Board may issue a notice to the manufacturer of the cosmetic product to provide 32
132-the Board with a certificate of compliance attesting that the cosmetic product does not contain a 33
133-restricted substance as an intentionally added chemical no later than 30 days after the date of the 34
134-notice. 35
135-(b) A manufacturer that does not provide a certificate of compliance shall notify persons 36
136-that sell that cosmetic product in this State that the sale of that cosmetic product is prohibited in 37
137-this State and provide the Board of Agriculture with a list of the names and addresses of those 38
138-notified no later than 30 days after the date of the notice." 39
139-SECTION 5. This act becomes effective January 1, 2026. 40
46+material, or an ingredient; or 34
47+b. Was created or formed during the manufacturing process at any point 35
48+in the supply chain for a product, a raw material, or an ingredient. 36
49+H.B. 686
50+Apr 1, 2025
51+HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
52+Page 2 DRH40389-NM-29
53+"Nonfunctional by-product" includes, but is not limited to, an unreacted raw 1
54+material, a breakdown product of an intentionally added chemical, or a 2
55+by-product of the manufacturing process. 3
56+(12c) The term "nonfunctional contaminant" means an element or compound 4
57+present in a cosmetic product as an unintentional consequence of 5
58+manufacturing that has no functional or technical effect in the finished 6
59+product. "Nonfunctional contaminant" includes, but is not limited to, elements 7
60+or compounds present in the environment as contaminants that were 8
61+introduced into a product, a raw material, or a product ingredient as a result of 9
62+the use of an environmental medium, such as a naturally occurring mineral, 10
63+air, soil, or water, in the manufacturing process at any point in the supply chain 11
64+for a product's, a raw material's, or an ingredient's supply chain. 12
65+… 13
66+(14b) The term "practical quantification limit" means the lowest concentration of a 14
67+chemical that can be reliably measured within specified limits of precision, 15
68+accuracy, representativeness, completeness, and comparability during routine 16
69+laboratory operating conditions. 17
70+… 18
71+(14g) The term "restricted substance" means any of the following: 19
72+a. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including any 20
73+member of the class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at 21
74+least one fully fluorinated carbon atom. 22
75+b. Heavy metals and heavy metal-containing compounds, including 23
76+arsenic, cadmium, cadmium compounds, chromium, lead, lead 24
77+compounds, nickel, and selenium. 25
78+c. Parabens, including butylparaben, ethylparaben, isobutylparaben, 26
79+isopropylparaben, methylparaben, and propylparaben. 27
80+d. Ortho-phthalates and their esters, including dibutyl phthalate, 28
81+dicyclohexyl phthalate, hexyl phthalate, diisobutyl phthalate, 29
82+diisodecyl phthalate, diisononyl phthalate, diisooctyl phthalate, 30
83+diethylhexyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, and benzyl butyl phthalate. 31
84+e. Formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers, including formaldehyde, 32
85+paraformaldehyde, quaternium-15, diazolidinyl urea, DMDM 33
86+hydantoin, methylene glycol, imidazolidinyl urea, and sodium 34
87+hydroxymethylglycinate. 35
88+f. Benzophenones, including benzophenone, benzophenone-1, 36
89+benzophenone-2, benzophenone-3, dihydroxybenzophenone, 37
90+resbenzophenone, and oxybenzone. 38
91+g. Known carcinogens, including benzene, carbon black, coal tar, 39
92+ethylene oxide, toluene, naphthalene, metallic nickel, styrene, and 40
93+xylene. 41
94+h. Asbestos and asbestos-containing compounds, including talc. 42
95+i. Butylated compounds, including butylated hydroxytoluene and 43
96+butylated hydroxyanisole. 44
97+j. Siloxanes, including cyclotetrasiloxane, cyclopentasiloxane, 45
98+octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane, and cyclosiloxanes. 46
99+k. Phenylenediamines, including m -phenylenediamine, 47
100+o-phenylenediamine, and p-phenylenediamine; triclosan; triclocarban; 48
101+and nonylphenol. 49
102+l. Nitrosamine and nitrosamine releasers, including diethanolamine and 50
103+triethanolamine. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
104+DRH40389-NM-29 Page 3
105+…." 1
106+SECTION 2. G.S. 106-132 reads as rewritten: 2
107+"§ 106-132. Additives, etc., deemed unsafe. 3
108+Any added poisonous or added deleterious substance, any food additive, any pesticide 4
109+chemical in or on a raw agricultural commodity or any color additive, shall with respect to any 5
110+particular use or intended use be deemed unsafe for the purpose of application of 6
111+G.S. 106-129(1), paragraphs b and g and 106-129(4) with respect to any food, 106-133(1) with 7
112+respect to any drug or device, or 106-136(1) and (5) 106-136(1), (5), and (6) with respect to any 8
113+cosmetic, unless there is in effect a regulation pursuant to G.S. 106-139 of this Article limiting 9
114+the quantity of substance, and the use or intended use of such substance conforms to the terms 10
115+prescribed by such regulation. While such regulations relating to such substance are in effect, a 11
116+food, drug, or cosmetic shall not, by reason of bearing or containing such substance in accordance 12
117+with the regulations be considered adulterated within the meaning of G.S. 106-129(1)a, 13
118+106-133(1) and 106-136(1)." 14
119+SECTION 3. G.S. 106-136 reads as rewritten: 15
120+"§ 106-136. Cosmetics deemed adulterated. 16
121+A cosmetic shall be deemed to be adulterated: 17
122+… 18
123+(6) If it contains a restricted substance as an intentionally added chemical in any 19
124+amount, including as a nonfunctional by-product or a nonfunctional 20
125+contaminant above the practical quantification limit. The practical 21
126+quantification limit must be based on scientifically defensible, standard 22
127+analytical methods. The practical quantification limit for a given restricted 23
128+substance may be different depending on the analytical method used." 24
129+SECTION 4. Article 12 of Chapter 120 of the General Statutes is amended by adding 25
130+a new section to read: 26
131+"§ 106-141.2. Certificate of compliance for cosmetic products. 27
132+(a) If the Board of Agriculture has reason to believe that a cosmetic product contains a 28
133+restricted substance as an intentionally added chemical and is being offered for sale in violation 29
134+of this article, the Board may issue a notice to the manufacturer of the cosmetic product to provide 30
135+the Board with a certificate of compliance attesting that the cosmetic product does not contain a 31
136+restricted substance as an intentionally added chemical no later than 30 days after the date of the 32
137+notice. 33
138+(b) A manufacturer that does not provide a certificate of compliance shall notify persons 34
139+that sell that cosmetic product in this State that the sale of that cosmetic product is prohibited in 35
140+this State and provide the Board of Agriculture with a list of the names and addresses of those 36
141+notified no later than 30 days after the date of the notice." 37
142+SECTION 5. This act becomes effective January 1, 2026. 38