SB 502

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) The hazardous waste control laws require the Department of Toxic Substances Control to regulate the handling and management of hazardous materials and hazardous waste. Existing law, known as the Green Chemistry program, requires the department to adopt regulations to establish a process to identify and prioritize chemicals or chemical ingredients in consumer products that may be considered as being chemicals of concern. Regulations adopted by the department refer to a chemical-product combination that has been identified and prioritized pursuant to that provision as a "priority product." Existing law requires the department to adopt regulations that establish a process for evaluating chemicals of concern in priority products, and their potential alternatives, to determine how best to limit exposure to or to reduce the level of hazard posed by chemicals of concern, as specified. Regulations adopted by the department require a responsible entity, defined to mean a manufacturer, importer, assembler, or retailer, for a priority product to conduct an analysis of alternatives for the priority product. Existing law requires the department's regulations to specify the range of regulatory responses that the department may take following the completion of the analysis of alternatives. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws, including the Green Chemistry program, is a crime. This bill would authorize the department, in lieu of requiring the analysis of alternatives, following public notice and an opportunity for public comment, to instead rely on all or part of one or more applicable publicly available studies or evaluations of alternatives to the chemical of concern under consideration in a consumer product, in existence at the time of consideration, and to proceed directly to a regulatory response, as provided. The bill would require the department to amend specified regulations to conform to these provisions. The bill would authorize the department to issue a formal request for information from product manufacturers, as defined, and would require a product manufacturer to provide to the department data and information on the ingredients and use of a consumer product upon the department's request within a specified timeframe, including, among other specified data and information, information on ingredient chemical identity, concentration, and functional use. The bill would require a product manufacturer, if the product manufacturer certifies in writing that it does not have access to information requested, in whole or in part, and has attempted to, but cannot, obtain that information from the supplier or chemical manufacturer, as defined, to provide the identity and contact information of the supplier or chemical manufacturer to the department. The bill would authorize the department to issue an independent information request to the supplier or chemical manufacturer for the unknown information that the product manufacturer certifies it does not have access to and for the identity and contact information of other suppliers or chemical manufacturers, as necessary to access the information requested. The bill would require the chemical manufacturer or supplier to provide that information to the department. The bill would impose, except as provided, a civil penalty of no more than $50,000 on a person who violates any of these provisions for each separate violation or, for continuing violations, for each day that violation continues, and would require that any penalties collected be deposited in the Toxic Substances Control Account. Because a violation of these requirements would also be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would declare that it is the policy goal of the state to ensure the safety of consumer products sold in California through timely administrative and legislative action on consumer products and chemicals of concern in those products, particularly those products that may have disproportionate impacts on sensitive populations. (2) Regulations adopted by the department require the department to issue a "Priority Product Work Plan" every 3 years that identifies and describes the product categories that the department will evaluate to identify product-chemical combinations to be added to the priority products list during the 3 years following the issuance of the work plan. This bill would require, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, the department to include in each work plan, commencing with the 2024–26 work plan, in addition to any other information that the department is required to include pursuant to the regulations, a brief description of specified information, including any additional ingredient information that is needed for the department to evaluate the safety of the consumer products, as provided. (3) Regulations adopted by the department provide for an informal dispute resolution procedure that authorizes a responsible entity to request that the department informally resolve a dispute regarding a decision made by the department and requires the department to provide the responsible entity with an opportunity to resolve the dispute informally. The regulations also provide for an appeal process, following completion of the informal dispute resolution process, as provided. This bill would provide that, if the department provides public notice of a proposed regulation pursuant to the Green Chemistry program, and an opportunity to comment prior to the adoption of the regulation, that dispute resolution procedure and appeal process is not available to a person who seeks to dispute the regulation. (4) 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.