BILL NUMBER: AB 706 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 1, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 25, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 17, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Leno
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bass, Berg, Brownley, DeSaulnier,
Hancock, Hayashi, Huffman, Jones, Lieber, Ruskin, and Swanson)
FEBRUARY 22, 2007
An act to amend Sections 125.9, 19161 , and
19161.3 of , and to add Section 19161.7 to, the Business
and Professions Code, and to add Chapter 11 (commencing
with Section 108930) to Part 3 of Division 104 of the Health and
Safety Code, relating to fire retardants.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 706, as amended, Leno. Fire retardants: toxic effects.
Existing law makes various findings related to the toxicity of
certain fire retardants containing chemicals known as brominated fire
retardants (BFRs) and chlorinated fire retardants (CFRs), and
prohibits a person from manufacturing, processing, or distributing a
flame-retardant part of a product containing more than one-tenth of
1% of prescribed retardants.
This bill would revise and extend the findings relating to fire
retardants, and would, commencing January 1, 2010, require all
seating, bedding, and furniture products to comply with certain
requirements, including , but not limited to, the
requirement that they not contain brominated fire
retardants or chlorinated fire retardants, as defined . It
would also require the Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal
Insulation to enforce these provisions ,
and be labeled as prescribed .
Existing law, the Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation Act,
requires all mattresses and box springs manufactured for sale in this
state to be fire retardant . Existing law requires the
bureau to adopt regulations requiring that fire retardant mattresses
and box springs and other bedding products meet a specified
resistance to open flame test , as defined to meet the
federal standards for resistance to open-flame test, and authorizes
the Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation to adopt
regulations to implement those standards. Existing law also requires
other bedding products to comply with regulations adopted by the
bureau specifying that those products be resistant to open-flame
ignition .
This bill, commencing January 1, 2010, would require the bureau to
modify its standards for prescribed bedding products sold or offered
for sale in this state, including, but not limited to, the
requirement that they not contain brominated fire retardants or
chlorinated fire retardants and be labeled as prescribed
. The bill would require the Office of Environmental
Health Hazard Assessment to review human, animal, or environmental
health risk assessments of a component or chemical used to meet fire
retardancy standards set by the bureau if specified conditions are
met, and would set forth notice and procedural requirements for the
review of the risk assessment. The bill would require the office to
provide a report to the bureau of its conclusions and recommendations
regarding the health risks of the component or chemical and to
electronically post the report. The bill would require the bureau,
upon receipt of the report, to determine if the health risk warrants
a prohibition or limitation of the use of the component or chemical,
as specified.
The bill would make a related change involving the assessment of
administrative fines pursuant to the Home Furnishings and Thermal
Insulation Act.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
"California Furniture Safety and Fire Prevention Act."
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Chemicals known as brominated fire retardants (BFRs) and
chlorinated fire retardants (CFRs) are widely used in California. To
meet stringent fire safety standards, manufacturers add BFRs and CFRs
to a multitude of products, including, but not limited to, the
flexible polyurethane foam used in commercial, residential, and
institutional furniture. On June 1, 2006, two categories of fire
retardants known as pentabrominated diphenyl ether (PentaBDE) and
octabrominated diphenyl ether (OctaBDE) were banned for use at levels
higher than one-tenth of 1 percent in virtually all new products,
including the plastic housing of electronics, computers, and circuit
boards as a result of legislation enacted in 2003 and 2004.
(b) Many fire retardants migrate in air, soil, or water, and
accumulate in people's bodies and the environment. For example,
polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE), which is a subcategory of BFRs,
has increased fortyfold in human breast milk since the 1970s. Women
in North America on average have 10 times the levels of women in
Europe or Asia. PBDE has the potential to disrupt thyroid hormone
balance and contribute to a variety of developmental deficits,
including low intelligence and learning disabilities. PBDEs are
structurally similar to dioxin, furans, and polybrominated biphenyls
which are known to cause cancer. In addition to California's ban
enacted in 2003, PentaBDE and OctaBDE have been banned in several
other states and in the European Union.
(c) According to an American Public Health Association Consensus
Resolution, virtually all organochlorides that have been studied
exhibit one or more serious toxic effects, including endocrine
dysfunction, developmental impairment, birth defects, reproductive
dysfunction, immunosuppression, and cancer, often at extremely low
doses. Organobromides are known to exhibit even more serious effects.
(d) Recent studies indicate that BFRs and CFRs have migrated into
the environment, and have been detected at high concentrations in
fish, as well as marine mammals, including, but not limited to,
dolphins and harbor seals, indicating that the chemicals are already
bioaccumulating in the food chain and in marine wildlife. Fish and
meat consumption are partly responsible for increasing levels of some
BFRs and CFRs in humans.
(e) Apart from toxic effects in humans and animals from direct
exposures, these chemical substances have been disposed of in ways
that contaminate soils, groundwater, drinking water
sediment , ambient air, and natural ecosystems.
Production and distribution of tens of millions of pounds of these
potentially toxic substances represents an ongoing experiment with
the health of the people and environment of California without an
adequate scientific understanding of the long-term consequences of
exposure to BFRs and CFRs.
(f) According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, infants and children are particularly prone to absorb
BFRs and CFRs through direct physical or oral contact with these
compounds in furniture, inhalation of furniture dust containing BFRs
and CFRs, and via ingestion of these substances from their mothers'
milk and from their diets. Rates
(g) Rates of pediatric health
problems, such as leukemia and brain cancer in children, testicular
cancer in adolescents, birth defects, and neurodevelopmental
disorders, including, but not limited to, dyslexia, mental
retardation, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and
autism, are steadily rising.
(g)
(h) Over the last 30 years, there have been hundreds of
scientific journal articles and reviews citing these and other
negative health impacts in people and in animals resulting from
exposure to brominated and chlorinated fire retardants.
(h)
(i) Substantial efforts to eliminate CFRs and BFRs,
including, but not limited to, PBDE and OBDE
PentaBDE and OctaBDE from products have been made throughout
the world, including the private and public sectors. These efforts
have made available alternatives safe to human health while meeting
fire safety standards.
(i)
(j) Fire safety education, smoke detectors, building
sprinkler systems, decreasing numbers of smokers, and mandated
"fire-safe" cigarettes with lower ignition propensity have greatly
reduced the fire risk posed by furniture and mattresses.
(j)
(k) In order to protect the public health, worker
safety, wildlife, and the environment, the Legislature believes it is
necessary for the state to prohibit the use of chlorinated and
brominated fire retardants in applications, including, but not
limited to, commercial, residential, and institutional furniture,
mattresses, box springs, futons, and bedding products including
pillows, comforters, and other filled blanket products, where the
probability of human exposure and improper disposal are high,
especially if there are technologically and economically feasible
alternatives that can maintain similar or superior fire retardancy.
For these and other reasons, in 2003 the Legislature asserted that it
is necessary for the state to develop a precautionary approach
regarding the production, use, storage, and disposal of products
containing two specific BFRs. The Legislature hereby expands its
concern to include all BFRs and CFRs in furniture, mattresses, and
bedding.
SEC. 3. Section 125.9 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
125.9. (a) Except with respect to persons regulated under Chapter
11 (commencing with Section 7500), and Chapter 11.6 (commencing with
Section 7590) of Division 3, any board, bureau, or commission within
the department, the board created by the Chiropractic Initiative
Act, and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, may establish,
by regulation, a system for the issuance to a licensee of a citation
which that may contain an order of
abatement or an order to pay an administrative fine assessed by the
board, bureau, or commission where if
the licensee is in violation of the applicable licensing act or any
regulation adopted pursuant thereto.
(b) The system shall contain the following provisions:
(1) Citations shall be in writing and shall describe with
particularity the nature of the violation, including specific
reference to the provision of law determined to have been violated.
(2) Whenever appropriate, the citation shall contain an order of
abatement fixing a reasonable time for abatement of the violation.
(3) In no event shall the administrative fine assessed by the
board, bureau, or commission exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000)
for each inspection or each investigation made with respect to the
violation, or five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each violation or
count if the violation involves fraudulent billing submitted to an
insurance company, the Medi-Cal program, or Medicare , or if the
violation involves fines assessed pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing
with Section 19000) of Division 8 and the total fine assessed for
each inspection does not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000) . In assessing a fine, the board, bureau, or
commission shall give due consideration to the appropriateness of the
amount of the fine with respect to factors such as the gravity of
the violation, the good faith of the licensee, and the history of
previous violations.
(4) A citation or fine assessment issued pursuant to a citation
shall inform the licensee that if he or she desires a hearing to
contest the finding of a violation, that hearing shall be requested
by written notice to the board, bureau, or commission within 30 days
of the date of issuance of the citation or assessment. If a hearing
is not requested pursuant to this section, payment of any fine shall
not constitute an admission of the violation charged. Hearings shall
be held pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part
1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(5) Failure of a licensee to pay a fine within 30 days of the date
of assessment, unless the citation is being appealed, may result in
disciplinary action being taken by the board, bureau, or commission.
Where If a citation is not contested
and a fine is not paid, the full amount of the assessed fine shall be
added to the fee for renewal of the license. A license shall not be
renewed without payment of the renewal fee and fine.
(c) The system may contain the following provisions:
(1) A citation may be issued without the assessment of an
administrative fine.
(2) Assessment of administrative fines may be limited to only
particular violations of the applicable licensing act.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a fine is paid
to satisfy an assessment based on the finding of a violation, payment
of the fine shall be represented as satisfactory resolution of the
matter for purposes of public disclosure.
(e) Administrative fines collected pursuant to this section shall
be deposited in the special fund of the particular board, bureau, or
commission.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. Section 19161 of the
Business and Professions Code, as added by Section 14 of Chapter 760
of the Statutes of 2006, is amended to read:
19161. (a) All mattresses and mattress sets manufactured for sale
in this state shall be fire retardant. "Fire retardant," as used in
this section, means a product that meets the standards for resistance
to open-flame test adopted by the United States Consumer Product
Safety Commission and set forth in Part 1633 of Title 16 of the Code
of Federal Regulations. The bureau may adopt regulations it deems
necessary to implement those standards.
(b) All other bedding products that the bureau determines
contribute to mattress bedding fires shall comply with regulations
adopted by the bureau specifying that those products be resistant to
open-flame ignition, except in the case that the bureau finds that
resistance to open-flame ignition cannot be achieved without using
components or chemicals prohibited pursuant to Chapter 11
(commencing with Section 108930) of Part 3 of Division 104 of the
Health and Safety Code. Section 19161.7.
(c) All seating furniture sold or offered for sale by an importer,
manufacturer, or wholesaler for use in this state, including any
seating furniture sold to or offered for sale for use in a hotel,
motel, or other place of public accommodation in this state, and
reupholstered furniture to which filling materials are added, shall
comply with the regulations adopted by the bureau specifying the
degree of fire or flame retardance, shall be labeled in a manner
specified by the bureau, and shall comply with Section 108931 of the
Health and Safety Code. This does not include furniture used
exclusively for the purpose of physical fitness and exercise.
(d) Regulations adopted by the bureau for other bedding products
shall not apply to any hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, inn, or
similar transient lodging establishment that has an automatic fire
extinguishing system that conforms to the specifications established
in Section 904.1 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.
SEC. 4. SEC. 5. Section 19161.3 of
the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
19161.3. All flexible polyurethane foam in the form of slabs,
blocks, or sheets, or which is shredded (loose or packaged), except
polyurethane foam sold for use as carpet underlayment and
polyurethane foam which cannot reasonably be expected to be used in
or as an article of furniture or a mattress, that is offered for sale
to the general public at retail outlets in this state for
noncommercial or nonmanufacturing purposes, shall comply with the
regulations adopted by the bureau specifying the degree of fire or
flame retardance.
SEC. 5. Chapter 11 (commencing with Section
108930) is added to Part 3 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety
Code, to read:
CHAPTER 11. BROMINATED AND CHLORINATED FIRE RETARDANTS
108930. The definitions within Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
19000) of Division 6 of the Business and Professions Code shall
apply to this chapter. In addition, the
SEC. 6. Section 19161.7 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
19161.7. (a) The
following definitions shall apply for purposes of this
chapter section :
(a)
(1) "Brominated fire retardant" means an organobromine
chemical or organobromide used as a fire or flame retardant. It does
not include inherently fire or flame resistant fiber used in seating
furniture, mattresses, or other bedding products.
(b)
(2) "Chlorinated fire retardant" means an
organochlorine chemical or organochloride used as a fire or flame
retardant. It does not include inherently fire or flame resistant
fiber used in seating furniture, mattresses, or other bedding
products.
(c)
(3) "Inherently fire or flame resistant fiber" means a
polymeric fiber or mixture of polymeric fibers, where one or more
fibers is comprised of a polymer with covalently attached fire
retarding chemical groups built directly into the molecular structure
of some or all of the repeating structural units. Nothing in this
definition shall be construed to limit the authority of the bureau to
prohibit the use of components or chemicals pursuant to subdivision
(e) of Section 108931 (f) .
108931. (a)
(b) Commencing January 1, 2010, all seating furniture,
mattresses, box springs, mattress sets, futons, and other bedding
products including, but not limited to, pillows, comforters, other
filled blanket products, and sleeping bags that are sold or offered
for sale by an importer, manufacturer, or wholesaler for use in this
state, including any seating furniture, mattresses, box springs,
mattress sets, futons, and other bedding products including, but not
limited to, pillows, comforters, other filled blanket products, and
sleeping bags sold to or offered for sale for use in a hotel, motel,
or other place of public accommodation in this state, and
reupholstered furniture to which filling materials are added, shall
comply with the following:
(1) Shall not contain brominated fire retardants or chlorinated
fire retardants.
(2) Shall be labeled with a permanent label attachment in a manner
specified by the Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation.
(b)
(c) All permanent label attachments required pursuant
to subdivision (a) (b) shall comply
with the following:
(1) Use plain language understandable to consumers, and in
sufficient size as to be readily visible and legible.
(2) Include the following statement, "DOES NOT CONTAIN BROMINATED
OR CHLORINATED FIRE RETARDANTS."
(3) Include other markings or language specified by the Bureau of
Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation.
(c)
(d) By January 1, 2010, the Bureau of Home Furnishings
and Thermal Insulation shall modify Technical Bulletins 116 and 117
with product standards for furniture that shall achieve fire
retardancy properties comparable to existing standards, sufficient to
protect human health and safety, but without the use of brominated
fire retardants and chlorinated fire retardants and without
significant increases in costs to the consumer.
(d) The Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation in
consultation with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment may review relevant scientific and medical literature as
well as the findings, rulings, and regulations of the United States
Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the United States Environmental Protection
Agency, the European Union, and other international, federal, and
state agencies, to assess the potential health and environmental
impacts of fire retardants that may be used to meet fire retardancy
standards.
(e) (1) The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall
review human, animal, or environmental health risk assessments of a
component or chemical used to meet fire retardancy standards set by
the bureau if all of the following conditions are met:
(A) The chief of the bureau has submitted a request for a risk
assessment or an interested person has submitted a petition for a
risk assessment pursuant to paragraph (4).
(B) The office has determined in its discretion that a risk
assessment shall be pursued.
(C) The person responsible for the manufacture of the component or
chemical has entered into an enforceable agreement with the office
to fully reimburse the office for all of the costs associated with
coordination and evidentiary review of the risk assessment.
(2) Within 90 days of receipt of a request or petition, the office
shall notify the requester or petitioner whether the office will
seek an enforceable agreement with the person responsible for
manufacture of the component or chemical used to meet fire retardancy
standards set by the bureau.
(3) The bureau may use fines collected for violations of this
chapter to reimburse the office for the actual costs associated with
determining if a risk assessment requested by the chief of the bureau
will be pursued. All other costs related to the risk assessment
shall be reimbursed by the person responsible for manufacture
pursuant to paragraph (5).
(4) A petition for risk assessment may be submitted to the office
by any interested person. The petition shall include the name and
manufacturer of the component or chemical used to meet fire
retardancy standards set by the bureau, and may include relevant
comments, data, studies, or other written information documenting the
risk to human, animal, or environmental health. The office may
charge a fee set by the office, not to exceed one thousand dollars
($1,000), to be paid by the petitioner for the actual costs
associated with determining if the risk assessment will be pursued.
All other costs related to the risk assessment shall be reimbursed by
the person responsible for manufacture pursuant to paragraph (5).
(5) If the office determines that a risk assessment shall be
pursued, the office shall send the person responsible for manufacture
of the component or chemical a request for risk assessment,
requesting evidence of safety to human, animal, or environmental
health, specifying endpoint concerns for the intended use to be
addressed, setting a due date for when the risk assessment shall be
completed, and stating the estimated cost to be reimbursed to the
state for evidentiary review of the risk assessment. Within 90 days
of the date of receipt of the request for risk assessment, the person
responsible for manufacture shall enter into an enforceable
agreement with the office to fully reimburse the office for all the
costs associated with coordinating and reviewing the risk assessment.
Failure by the person responsible for manufacture to enter into an
enforceable agreement with the office shall result in the prohibition
of use of the component or chemical in products under the
jurisdiction of the bureau. The office shall issue a failure to
comply letter to the person responsible for manufacture and shall
notify the bureau. The bureau shall determine through regulation the
date at which the resulting prohibition of use shall be effective,
except that the date shall not exceed two years from the issuance of
the failure to comply letter from the office.
(6) Upon the receipt of the risk assessment from the person
responsible for manufacture, the office shall review the risk
assessment and may request additional evidence of safety related to
the endpoint concern for the intended use identified in the request
for risk assessment.
(7) The office shall, upon the signing of an enforceable agreement
with a person responsible for manufacture as provided by this
section, electronically post on its Internet Web site a notice that a
risk assessment has been initiated. The notice shall respect
proprietary concerns of the person responsible for manufacture and
shall include both of the following:
(A) A brief description, or a bibliography, of the technical
documents or other information the office has identified to date as
relevant to the preparation of the risk assessment.
(B) A statement to inform persons who wish to submit information
concerning the component or chemical that is the subject of the risk
assessment of the name and address of the person in the office to
whom the information may be sent, the date by which the information
must be received in order for the office to consider it in the review
of the risk assessment, and that all information submitted will be
made available to any member of the public who requests it.
(8) Upon completion of the review of the risk assessment, the
office shall do all of the following:
(A) Provide a report to the bureau of its conclusions and
recommendations regarding the risk to human, animal, or environmental
health.
(B) Include its recommendation of a level of exposure with no
significant risk to public health based on probable usage.
(C) Electronically post the report or a redacted version of the
report respecting proprietary concerns of the person responsible for
manufacture.
(9) If the office finds in its review of the risk assessment that
currently available scientific data are insufficient to determine a
safe level of exposure to the component or chemical at which there is
no significant risk to human, animal, or environmental health based
on probable usage, the office shall recommend to the bureau a level
of exposure that is expected to protect public health. This level
shall be based exclusively on health considerations and shall be
determined, to the extent scientific data are available, using the
most current principles, practices, and methods used by public health
professionals who are experienced practitioners in the fields of
epidemiology, risk assessment, toxicology, and exposure assessment.
The office may recommend a level of exposure of zero if necessary to
satisfy the requirements of this section.
(e)
(f) The Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal
Insulation, in consultation with the California Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, may adopt regulations that
protect human health and safety, and the environment, and may
prohibit in products under its jurisdiction the use of components or
chemicals for which the safety to human or animal health cannot be
clearly established.
(f) The Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation shall
enforce this chapter pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
19000) of Division 6 of the Business and Professions Code.
(g) Upon receipt of the office's report on its review of a risk
assessment of a component or chemical used to meet the fire
retardancy standards of the bureau, the bureau shall determine if the
risk to human, animal, or environmental health warrants a
prohibition or limitation of the use of a component or chemical in
products under the jurisdiction of the bureau. In making this
determination the bureau shall consider all of the following:
(1) The best available evidence of the degree of fire safety
achieved and the number of burn injuries or fatalities that may be
prevented by the use of the component or chemical.
(2) The safe levels of exposure to the component or chemical based
on probable usage recommended by the office's report on the risk
assessment.
(3) The human, animal, or environmental health impacts identified
by the office report of a lifetime daily exposure to the component or
chemical.
(4) The availability of alternatives for the component or chemical
in the products under the jurisdiction of the bureau.
(5) The efficacy of other means to reduce burn injuries or
fatalities including, but not limited to, furniture construction
standards, existing or expanded limitations on ignition sources,
reduction of fuel load, existing or improved electrical or building
materials and building standards, and expanded use of fire safety
equipment, including sprinkler systems, smoke detectors, and other
technologies that might extinguish or warn of the presence of fire.
SEC. 6. SEC. 7. The provisions of
this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its
application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other
provisions or applications that can be given effect without the
invalid provision or application.