Senate Bill S2099

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Requires sunscreen products to be labeled with best if used before dates and storage recommendations

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2010	referred to consumer protection
Feb 11, 2009	referred to consumer protection

2009-S2099 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Add §399-i, Gen Bus L

2009-S2099 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires sunscreen products to be labeled with expiration dates and storage recommendations; authorizes the attorney general to seek injunctive relief, restitution, and civil penalties in the case of violations; authorizes persons injured by a violation of this law to bring an action for injunctive relief and actual damages or two hundred and fifty dollars, whichever is greater; authorizes the court, in such an action, to increase the award of damages up to one thousand dollars and to award reasonable attorneys' fees to a prevailing plaintiff.

2009-S2099 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S2099

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring
sunscreen products to be labeled with a best if used before date and
storage recommendations

 PURPOSE :
This bill would require sunscreen products to be labeled with best if
used before dates and storage recommendations.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
The General Business Law is amended by adding a new section 399-dd.

 JUSTIFICATION :
According to the American Cancer Society over 800,000 new skin cancer
cases of highly curable basal cell or squamous cell cancers are
diagnosed per year. More than a million new cases of skin cancer
diagnosed in 2002 make it the most common form of cancer in the United
States. The number of melanomas diagnosed in the United States is
increasing; since 1973, the incidence rate of melanoma has more than
doubled. Skin care prevention involves addressing personal behavior
and individual choices. According to the American Cancer Society the
best ways to prevent skin cancer are as follows: "The sun's
ultraviolet rays are the strongest between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.,
exposure at these times should be avoided, and protective clothing

should be worn.  SUNSCREENS SHOULD BE USED .ct.  These come in various
strengths, ranging from those facilitating gradual tanning to those
that allow practically no tanning. A recent study revealed that only a
third of the young people questioned used sunscreen routinely during
the previous summer. Half of those who reported multiple sunburns
claimed it was worthwhile in order to get a tan.   BECAUSE OF THE
POSSIBLE LINK BETWEEN SEVERE SUNBURNS IN CHILDHOOD AND GREATLY
INCREASED RISK OF MELANOMA IN LATER LIFE, CHILDREN, IN PARTICULAR,
SHOULD BE PROTECTED FROM THE SUN."

Sunscreen products have an effectiveness life of three to five years.
In light of how important these products are in combating skin cancer,
it is appropriate that the consumer know that sunscreen is not
protective against the sun's rays after a certain point. A clear and
conspicuous label, indicating the date after which a sunscreen product
is no longer viable or effective, is necessary to alert the consumer
to added risks of sun exposure they may encounter and will aid the
customer in ensuring that the products they have purchased will retain
their effectiveness. More than 53 million children spend a substantial
portion of their lives in school, and some of that time is spent
outdoors in the sun. These labels will be especially important on
sunscreen for children, as young people tend to be more severely
burned and are in greater danger than adults.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
2007-2008 Consumer Protection Committee (S.4720/A.77)
2005-2006 Consumer Protection Committee (S.5475/A.983-B).
2004 Consumer Protection Committee (S.6448/A.1061).

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
There should be no fiscal impact to the industry. Many of these
products already have coded expiration dates with numbers that have
meaning only to the manufacturer. This bill would only require that
these expiration dates be clear and conspicuous.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.

2009-S2099 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  2099

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 11, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced by Sen. FUSCHILLO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection

AN  ACT  to  amend  the  general  business law, in relation to requiring
  sunscreen products to be labeled with a best if used before  date  and
  storage recommendations

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
399-i to read as follows:
  S 399-I. DATE AND STORAGE LABELING OF SUNSCREEN PRODUCTS. 1. IT  SHALL
BE  UNLAWFUL  FOR  ANY  PERSON,  FIRM, CORPORATION, PARTNERSHIP, LIMITED
LIABILITY CORPORATION, OR OTHER ENTITY TO MANUFACTURE, FOR SALE, RESALE,
OR DISTRIBUTION IN THIS STATE, SUNSCREEN WHICH DOES NOT CONTAIN A  CLEAR
AND  CONSPICUOUS LABEL INDICATING A DATE ON WHICH THE PRODUCT IS BEST IF
USED BEFORE. THE DATE REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION SHALL BE LABELED BY MONTH
AND YEAR.
  2. IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL FOR ANY PERSON,  FIRM,  CORPORATION,  PARTNER-
SHIP, LIMITED LIABILITY CORPORATION, OR OTHER ENTITY TO MANUFACTURE, FOR
SALE,  RESALE,  OR  DISTRIBUTION IN THIS STATE, SUNSCREEN WHICH DOES NOT
CONTAIN A CLEAR AND CONSPICUOUS LABEL  PROVIDING  INFORMATION  REGARDING
THE RECOMMENDED STORAGE OF SUCH SUNSCREEN PRODUCT.
  3. NO PERSON, FIRM, CORPORATION, PARTNERSHIP, LIMITED LIABILITY CORPO-
RATION,  OR  OTHER  ENTITY  SHALL SELL SUNSCREEN WHICH IT KNOWS DOES NOT
CONTAIN THE LABELING INFORMATION REQUIRED BY SUBDIVISIONS ONE AND TWO OF
THIS SECTION.
  4. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION,  SUNSCREEN  SHALL  MEAN  SUNBLOCK  OR
SIMILAR LOTION OR TOPICAL PREPARATION MANUFACTURED AND SOLD FOR THE SOLE
PURPOSE  OF  PROTECTING  THE SKIN FROM SOLAR AND ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT EXPO-
SURE.
  5. (A) WHENEVER THERE SHALL BE A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION, AN  APPLI-
CATION  MAY BE MADE BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE OF

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD00906-01-9

S. 2099                             2

THE STATE OF NEW YORK TO A COURT OR JUSTICE  HAVING  JURISDICTION  BY  A
SPECIAL  PROCEEDING  TO  ISSUE  AN  INJUNCTION,  AND  UPON NOTICE TO THE
DEFENDANT OF NOT LESS THAN FIVE DAYS, TO ENJOIN OR RESTRAIN THE  CONTIN-
UANCE  OF  SUCH VIOLATION; AND IF IT SHALL APPEAR TO THE SATISFACTION OF
THE COURT OR JUSTICE THAT THE DEFENDANT  HAS,  IN  FACT,  VIOLATED  THIS
ARTICLE, AN INJUNCTION MAY BE ISSUED BY SUCH COURT OR JUSTICE, ENJOINING
AND  RESTRAINING ANY FURTHER VIOLATION, WITHOUT REQUIRING PROOF THAT ANY
PERSON HAS, IN FACT, BEEN  INJURED  OR  DAMAGED  THEREBY.  IN  ANY  SUCH
PROCEEDING,  THE  COURT  MAY  MAKE ALLOWANCES TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AS
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH SIX OF SUBDIVISION  (A)  OF  SECTION  EIGHTY-THREE
HUNDRED  THREE  OF THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES, AND DIRECT RESTITU-
TION. WHENEVER THE COURT SHALL DETERMINE THAT A VIOLATION OF THIS  ARTI-
CLE  HAS OCCURRED, THE COURT MAY IMPOSE A CIVIL PENALTY OF NOT MORE THAN
TWO HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS FOR EACH SUCH VIOLATION.  IN  CONNECTION  WITH
ANY  SUCH  PROPOSED  APPLICATION,  THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IS AUTHORIZED TO
TAKE PROOF AND MAKE A DETERMINATION OF THE RELEVANT FACTS AND  TO  ISSUE
SUBPOENAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES.
  (B)  IN  ADDITION  TO  THE  AUTHORITY  GRANTED TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION, ANY PERSON WHO HAS BEEN INJURED BY  REASON  OF
ANY VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION MAY BRING AN ACTION IN HIS OR HER OWN NAME
TO ENJOIN SUCH UNLAWFUL ACT OR PRACTICE. IN SUCH ACTION, SUCH PERSON MAY
RECOVER HIS OR HER ACTUAL DAMAGES OR TWO HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS, WHICHEV-
ER  IS  GREATER.  THE  COURT  MAY, IN ITS DISCRETION INCREASE THE DAMAGE
AWARD TO AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED ONE THOUSAND  DOLLARS.  THE  COURT  MAY
AWARD REASONABLE ATTORNEYS' FEES TO A PREVAILING PLAINTIFF.
  S  2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S2099

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Actions

2009-S2099 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S2099 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S2099 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S2099 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Charles J. Fuschillo Jr.

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Actions

2009-S2099 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S2099 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S2099 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S2099 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments