BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 763  


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          Date of Hearing:  August 19, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          SB 763  
          (Leno) - As Amended July 8, 2015


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  YesReimbursable:   
          No


          SUMMARY:  This bill requires a manufacturer of juvenile products  
          manufactured on or after July 1, 2016 and sold in California, to  
          affix a secure label on the product indicating whether or not  
          the product contains added flame retardant chemicals. This bill  
          also directs the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home  








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          Furnishing and Thermal Insulation Fund (Bureau) to ensure  
          compliance with the labeling and documentation requirements.  
          Specifically, this bill: 


          1)Defines a "juvenile product" as a nonexclusive list of  
            products, including products such as bassinets, floor play  
            mat, changing pad, infant car seat, nursing pillow, infant  
            swing, and children's nap pads that do not have to meet  
            federal flammability standards for mattresses.


          2)Defines a "flame retardant chemical" with language that is  
            consistent with the definition used for the labeling  
            requirements for upholstered furniture.


          3)Requires manufacturers of juvenile products sold in California  
            to retain documentation indicating whether flame retardant  
            chemicals were added.


          4)Requires, within 30 days of a request by the Bureau, a  
            manufacturer of a product sold in California to provide the  
            Bureau with the documentation establishing the accuracy of the  
            flame retardant chemical statement on the label.


          5)Requires the Bureau to provide the California Department of  
            Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) with samples of the product or  
            components of the product sold in California from products  
            marked "contains NO added flame retardant chemicals" for  
            testing for the presence of added flame retardant chemicals.   
            Requires DTSC to provide the results of all testing to the  
            Bureau.


          6)Authorizes the Bureau to issue citations and assess fines for  
            violations of the above provisions, as specified. Fines for  








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            not affixing a label, regardless of the label's accuracy,  
            would be assessed at the same level as other violations of the  
            Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation Act (HFTI Act).


          7)Authorizes the Bureau to adopt regulations to carry out the  
            provisions of the bill.


          8)Explicitly exempts juvenile products from flame retardant  
            requirements for mattresses.


          





          FISCAL EFFECT:


          1)Costs pressures, in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars,  
            to the Home Furnishing and Thermal Insulation Fund (HFTI Fund)  
            for the enforcement of these requirements, including testing  
            for label accuracy.



            The testing for enforcement purposes would be performed by the  
            DTSC. The Bureau would be required to reimburse DTSC for its  
            costs. Testing costs include equipment costs and the staff  
            time to conduct the tests. For context, DTSC estimates that it  
            would cost approximately $150,000 to test 100 products  
            annually. DTSC notes that while it has the capability of  
            conducting these tests, it currently has no capacity to do so.  
            Unless the Bureau's enforcement budget increases, any testing  
            of juvenile products will come at the expense of testing other  
            products or other enforcement activities. 








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            Staff notes that the HFTI fund currently has a structural  
            deficit in that its current fee structure does not provide  
            enough funds to cover its current appropriations. Future  
            appropriation requests for the bureau's enforcement activities  
            could result in the need for future fee increases.





          2)Negligible costs associated with adopting regulations. The  
            bill authorizes, but does not require, the bureau to adopt  
            regulations to carry out this bill. The bureau does not  
            believe it will need to adopt regulations based on its  
            experience implementing SB 1019 (Leno), Chapter 862, Statutes  
            of 2014, which is the model for this bill. In implementing SB  
            1019, the bureau has found that the statutes provide  
            sufficient detail so that additional regulations have not been  
            necessary.
          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose.  According to the author, "Growing evidence show(s)  
            that many fire retardant chemicals have serious human and  
            environmental health impacts, including cancer, decreased  
            fertility, hormone disruption, lower IQ, and hyperactivity.  A  
            typical household can contain up to several pounds of these  
            chemicals, and their extensive use to meet TB 117 has led to  
            contamination of the global environment?  Tests have found  
            fire retardant chemicals present in polyurethane foam in baby  
            products which are in intimate contact with infants and young  
            children including nap mats, bassinets, changing pads,  
            strollers, playpens, swings, nursing pillows, high chairs and  
            toddler chairs? SB 763 will give parents the information they  








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            need to choose safe and healthy products for their children."

          2)Background. Existing law establishes the Bureau of Electronic  
            and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation  
            (Bureau) within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). The  
            Bureau is authorized to administer and enforce the HFTI Act  
            that provides for the licensing and inspection of businesses  
            that manufacture and sell upholstered furniture, bedding and  
            thermal insulation. Pursuant to the HFTI Act, mattresses, box  
            springs, and upholstered furniture sold in this state are  
            required to be flame retardant. 


            Existing law requires a manufacturer of upholstered furniture  
            to indicate whether or not the product contains added flame  
            retardant chemicals, as defined, by including a specified  
            statement. Manufacturers are required to retain documents and  
            to provide that documentation to the bureau. The bureau has  
            the authority to test for labeling accuracy and to assess  
            fines for violations of the requirements or inaccurate  
            labeling.


          3)Arguments in Support. The Center for Environmental Health  
            argues, "Flame retardant chemicals can migrate out of products  
            into air and dust where children are exposed to them.  These  
            chemicals are associated with a variety of health concerns,  
            including cancer, lower birth weight, decreased fertility,  
            hormone disruption, lower IQ, and hyperactivity.  Due to  
            children's frequent hand to mouth behavior, young children  
            have 3-5 times higher levels of certain flame retardants than  
            their mothers.  It is also of great concern that children of  
            color and children from low-income communities of color have  
            the highest exposure.  Flame retardant chemicals can cross the  
            placenta and this chemical exposure places babies at greater  
            risk than adults because infants' brains, organs, and  
            reproductive systems are still developing? This legislation  
            would require manufacturers to label juvenile products as to  
            whether the product contains added flame retardant chemicals.  








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            Without this type of label it will be impossible for parents  
            to identify products that either do or do not contain flame  
            retardant chemicals."

            The Consumer Federation of California argues, "The proposed  
            disclosures would provide uniform information to consumers in  
            a simple and accessible manner. It would also provide  
            businesses a standard format to communicate the information to  
            consumers."

          4)Arguments in Opposition. The American Chemistry Council, along  
            with a coalition of industry groups, argues, "These proposed  
            requirements lack scientific justification, conflict with  
            existing California consumer product and chemical safety laws  
            and regulations, and as a result, mislead consumers about the  
            potential safety of these products?  Just as there are  
            different types of metals or gases, California should  
            recognize that there are many different types of flame  
            retardants with different exposure, health and environmental  
            profiles.  Yet, under SB 763, manufacturers would be required  
            to label whether their product contains a flame retardant  
            chemical regardless of whether the particular chemical  
            presents any meaningful risk to human health or the  
            environment."

            The Juvenile Product Manufacturer's Association (JPMA) argues,  
            "JPMA understands the importance of notifying consumers if a  
            product contains a flame retardant that has been found to be  
            harmful.  However, SB 763 would also require a product  
            containing no flame retardants to be labeled as "not  
            containing flame retardants"?  SB 763 would subject companies  
            that do not use flame retardants and are not presently subject  
            to labeling requirements, to comply with a new regulatory  
            program that requires record keeping and testing data when no  
            potential harm exists.  This requirement will add significant  
            burdens to companies who are already complying with the  
            Federal Hazardous Substance Act, and the Consumer Product  
            Safety Improvement Act?  SB 763 requires a permanently affixed  
            warning label which will cost manufacturers hundreds of  








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            thousands of dollars, even when their product does not contain  
            flame retardants?  JPMA believes it is very important that  
            labeling requirements provide information to the consumer that  
            is easily understood and does not dilute the message it is  
            trying to convey.  This can be accomplished in SB 763 by  
            removing the labeling requirement for products and components  
            that do not contain intentionally added flame retardants."

          5)Current Legislation. AB 1175 (Ridley-Thomas), Chapter 187,  
            Statutes of 2015, increases the licensure fee caps that  
            support the HFTI Fund.


          6)Prior Legislation. SB 1019 (Leno) Chapter 862, Statutes of  
            2014, requires an upholstered furniture manufacturer to  
            indicate on the product label whether or not a product  
            contains added flame retardant chemicals. 


          Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081