BILL NUMBER: S2057A
SPONSOR: WEBB
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
regulation of ingredients in personal care products and cosmetics
 
PURPOSE:
Enacts the Beauty Justice Act
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 states that this act shall be known as the "beauty justice
act."
Section 2 states the legislative fmdings and intent that outlines the
need for regulation of cosmetics and personal care products.
Section 3 amends article 37 of the Environmental Conservation law by
adding a new title XII, Safe Personal Care and Cosmetics Act. This
section adds new definitions of restricted substances for use in
personal care and cosmetic products and what it means for ingredients to
be intentionally added.
This section prohibits the sale of personal care products and cosmetics
containing a restricted substance as an internationally added ingredient
after January 1, 2029. It also directs the Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) to promulgate within a year regulations the levels at
which listed restricted substances would be allowable to be present in a
product. DEC is authorized to identify a list of chemicals used in these
products that release formaldehyde to deem as restricted substances.
The section defines deadlines by which manufacturers and the agency must
take action: For those ingredients that are present, manufacturers shall
have two years after the department adopts regulations to comply with
the levels set by the department. By January 1, 2028, the Department
shall make available to industry a listing of safer alternatives to the
restricted substances for use in product formulation.
Effective January 1, 2029, manufacturers would be prohibited from the
distribution or sale of any personal care or cosmetic products that
contain a restricted substance as an intentionally added ingredient.
Section 4 amends section 71-3703 of the Environmental Conservation Law
to add civil penalties on manufacturers and directs the Department of
Environmental Conservation to promulgate regulations to implement Title
XII.
Section 5 establishes a severability clause.
Section 6 establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
There are thousands of chemicals in personal care, household cleaning,
and other consumer products, many of which have never been fully tested
for potential impacts on human health or the environment. This has led
national and international organizations to develop lists of chemicals
of concern and require their disclosure, such as the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation's Household Cleaning Product
Ingredient Disclosure Program (HCPIDP).
Personal care products can contain chemicals associated with asthma,
allergies, hormone disruption, neurodevelopmental problems, infertility,
even cancer. Americans use an average of 10 personal care products every
day, resulting in exposure to hundreds of unique chemicals, and multiple
exposures to some. Exposure to chemicals in personal care products
begins in utero - when chemicals absorbed by a pregnant mother are
transferred across the placenta, and continues in infancy, with products
such as baby shampoo and diaper cream, and continues throughout their
lifespan.
New York State is not alone in seeking to promote greater transparency
and safety with personal care products. European Union countries prohib-
it (with few exceptions) substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagen-
ic, or toxic for reproduction in cosmetic products. The Canadian govern-
ment regularly updates a Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist that includes
hundreds of chemicals and contaminants prohibited and restricted from
cosmetics, such as formaldehyde, triclosan, selenium, nitrosamines, and
1,4 -dioxane. Furthermore, over 40 countries including Japan, Cambodia,
and Vietnam, have stricter restrictions on chemicals in personal care
products than does the United States.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: S3331B/A143A; Died on calendar
2019-20: S6007A/A7978A; Died in Environmental Conservation
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a law.

Statutes affected:
S2057: 71-3703 environmental conservation law
S2057A: 71-3703 environmental conservation law