NY State Senate Bill 2021-S417

Senate Bill S417

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Provides for the regulation by the department of environmental conservation of business transaction paper containing bisphenol A

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation 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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Jan 05, 2022	referred to environmental conservation
Jan 06, 2021	referred to environmental conservation

2021-S417 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Environmental Conservation
Law Section:: Environmental Conservation Law
Laws Affected:: Add §37-0508, En Con L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S4532
2013-2014: S3513
2015-2016: S2763
2017-2018: S87
2019-2020: S1096
2023-2024: S1786

2021-S417 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits the distribution and use of paper containing bisphenol A for the recording of any business transaction.

2021-S417 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S417

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to regu-
lation of bisphenol A in business transaction paper

 
PURPOSE:

To expand the proVisions of current NYS law to prohibit the distribution
and use of paper containing bisphenol A for the recording of any busi-
ness transaction and to regulate chemical compounds that are used to
replace BPA.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

The bill prohibits any person, firm, partnership, association, limited
liability company or corporation from distributing or using any paper
containing BPA for the recording of any business or banking transaction.

Furthermore, receipt paper manufacturers shall not produce any paper
containing bisphenol A nor replace bisphenol A with other chemical
compound that has been scientifically established to be a known human
carcinogen as classified by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency, a developmental toxin, an endocrine disruptor or a reproductive
toxin. Paper manufacturers are required to use the least toxic alterna-
tive chemical compound to replace bisphenol A.

The DEC is required to certify that any chemical compound used to
replace BPA in receipt paper is the least toxic alternative available,
and is not a known human carcinogen as classified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, a developmental toxin, an endocrine
disruptor or a reproductive toxin.

DEC is also required to investigate and determine acceptable methods of
disposal and recycling for paper receipts in order to eliminate or mini-
mize exposure to BPA, The Department shall also advise the public
regarding safe practices in handling and disposing of such paper
receipts.

The bill also creates a DEC Advisory Committee on Least-Toxic Alterna-
tives to BPA, composed of competent, independent scientists with
substantial experience in evaluating toxicological and epidemiological
data on toxic chemicals, including their potential carcinogenic, endoc-
rine disruptive, reproductive, developmental or neurological effects.

 
JUSTIFICATION:  Recently the NYS Governor signed legislation that
would prohibit the use of BPA in child care products, including sippy
cups, baby bottles and straws intended for use by a child under the age
of three. BPA is an estrogen-mimicking endocrine disrupting chemical
that has been found to be toxic at low doses and is linked to breast
cancer, early onset of puberty, obesity and prostate cancer. Very small
amounts of hormones can produce immense biological behavioral changes.

BPA has been used in carbonless copy paper (e.g. credit card receipts)
and thermal imaging papers for many years. A powdery layer of BPA is
coated onto a piece of paper along with invisible ink which merge and
provide "color" when subject to heat or pressure. The Warner Babcock
Institute for Green Chemistry, co-founded by organic chemist John C.
Warner, has been testing cash register receipts and has found an alarm-
ing amount to SPA on these receipts. The average receipt using the BPA
technology was found to contain 60 - 100 milligrams of free BPA, which
is a thousand times above levels leaching from polycarbonate bottles.
Free BPA is not bound into a polymer, but just individual molecules
loose and available for uptake. The paper has been published on July
26th in the peer-reviewed journal "Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews".

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) in Washington DC had a testing
program conducted by the Missouri Division of Biological Sciences labo-
ratory on receipts from major retailers, including Wal-Mart, Safeway,
McDonalds, the U.S. Postal Service, and Bank of America ATMs. The labo-
ratory found that the total mass of EPA on a receipt is from 250 to
1,000 times the amount of BPA typically found in a can of food or a can
of baby formula. Forty percent of 36 printed receipts collected from
fast food restaurants, big retailers, grocery stores, gas stations and
post offices in seven states and the District of Columbia contained BPA.

Bio-monitoring surveys by the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention has found BPA in the bodies of 93% of Americans over the age
of 6. The ENG analysis of the CDC data found that people who reported
working in retail industries had 30 percent more BPA in their bodies
than the average U.S. adult and 34% had more BPA than other workers. As
of May 2009, 1 in 17 working Americans - 7 million people were employed
as retail salespersons and cashiers, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.

The nation's largest manufacturer of thermal paper, Appleton Papers in
Wisconsin, stopped using BPA in 2006 because of a growing concern about
the safety of the chemical.

This potentially damaging source of BPA cannot be allowed to remain in
the marketplace, where everyone is being exposed unknowingly. In order
to reduce public exposure to this chemical, the bill would ban the use
of paper containing or made with BPA within 6 months of becoming law.
Further, the bill would require replacement chemicals to be the least
toxic available and not to be classified as known human carcinogens,
endocrine disruptors, developmental or reproductive toxins.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.1096 of 2019-2020 (Hoylman): Died in Environmental Conservation

S.0087 of 2017-2018 (Hoylman): Died in Environmental Conservation

S.2763 of 2015-2016 (Hoylman): Died in Environmental Conservation

S.3513 of 2013-2014 (O'Brien): Died in Environmental Conservation

S.4532-A of 2011-2012 (Alesi): Died in Environmental Conservation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act would take effect 180 days after it becomes law.

2021-S417 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    417
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
 
 AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to regu-
   lation of bisphenol A in business transaction paper

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a
 new section 37-0508 to read as follows:
 § 37-0508. REGULATION OF BISPHENOL A IN BUSINESS TRANSACTION PAPER.
   1. BISPHENOL A PROHIBITION IN BUSINESS TRANSACTION PAPER.  NO  PERSON,
 FIRM,  PARTNERSHIP,  ASSOCIATION,  LIMITED  LIABILITY  COMPANY OR CORPO-
 RATION, INCLUDING BANKING ORGANIZATIONS, SHALL  DISTRIBUTE  OR  USE  ANY
 PAPER  CONTAINING BISPHENOL A FOR THE RECORDING OF ANY BUSINESS OR BANK-
 ING TRANSACTION INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, RECEIPTS, CREDITS,  WITH-
 DRAWALS, DEPOSITS, AND CREDIT AND DEBIT CARD RECORDS.
   2. PAPER MANUFACTURER RESPONSIBILITIES. A. NO PAPER MANUFACTURER SHALL
 PRODUCE  OR DISTRIBUTE ANY PAPER CONTAINING BISPHENOL A WHICH IS PROHIB-
 ITED TO BE USED OR DISTRIBUTED  PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF  THIS
 SECTION.
   B.  ANY  PAPER MANUFACTURER THAT PRODUCES PAPER CONTAINING BISPHENOL A
 FOR THE PURPOSES REFERRED TO IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION SHALL:
   (1) NOT REPLACE BISPHENOL A WITH ANOTHER CHEMICAL  COMPOUND  THAT  HAS
 BEEN  SCIENTIFICALLY ESTABLISHED TO BE A KNOWN HUMAN CARCINOGEN AS CLAS-
 SIFIED BY THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, A  DEVELOP-
 MENTAL TOXIN, AN ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR OR A REPRODUCTIVE TOXIN;
   (2)  USE  THE  LEAST  TOXIC  ALTERNATIVE  CHEMICAL COMPOUND TO REPLACE
 BISPHENOL A;
   (3) PROVIDE INFORMATION ON  THE  CHEMICAL  COMPOUND  USED  TO  REPLACE
 BISPHENOL A TO THE DEPARTMENT; AND
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD03586-01-1

 S. 417                              2
 
   (4)  NOT MANUFACTURE SUCH PAPER UNTIL THE DEPARTMENT SHALL HAVE CERTI-
 FIED ALTERNATIVE CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS TO BISPHENOL A BASED UPON THE RECOM-
 MENDATIONS OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE  ON  LEAST  TOXIC  ALTERNATIVES  TO
 BISPHENOL A.
   3.  DEPARTMENT  RESPONSIBILITIES. A. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL CERTIFY THAT
 ANY CHEMICAL COMPOUND USED TO REPLACE BISPHENOL A IN THE MANUFACTURE  OF
 PAPER PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION IS:
   (1) THE LEAST TOXIC ALTERNATIVE AVAILABLE; AND
   (2)  NOT  A  KNOWN HUMAN CARCINOGEN AS CLASSIFIED BY THE UNITED STATES
 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, A  DEVELOPMENTAL  TOXIN,  AN  ENDOCRINE
 DISRUPTOR OR A REPRODUCTIVE TOXIN.
   B. NOT LESS THAN ONCE EVERY CALENDAR YEAR, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL UPDATE
 THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR  CERTIFICATION  OF  LEAST  TOXIC  ALTERNATIVES TO
 BISPHENOL A AND PROVIDE SUCH INFORMATION TO PAPER MANUFACTURERS  SUBJECT
 TO  THE  PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION. FURTHERMORE, THE
 DEPARTMENT SHALL ANNUALLY  UPDATE  ITS  INFORMATION  ON  THOSE  CHEMICAL
 COMPOUNDS THAT ARE KNOWN HUMAN CARCINOGENS, DEVELOPMENTAL TOXINS, ENDOC-
 RINE  DISRUPTERS OR REPRODUCTIVE TOXINS, AND SHALL PROVIDE SUCH INFORMA-
 TION TO PAPER MANUFACTURERS SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION TWO
 OF THIS SECTION. THE DEPARTMENT  SHALL  MAKE  ALL  INFORMATION  COMPILED
 PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC ON THE DEPARTMENT'S
 INTERNET WEBSITE.
   C.  THE  DEPARTMENT SHALL INVESTIGATE AND DETERMINE ACCEPTABLE METHODS
 OF DISPOSAL AND  RECYCLING  OF  BUSINESS  TRANSACTION  PAPER  CONTAINING
 BISPHENOL  A SO AS TO ELIMINATE OR MINIMIZE EXPOSURE TO BISPHENOL A. THE
 DEPARTMENT SHALL PROVIDE PUBLIC NOTICE OF THE SAFE PRACTICES FOR  HANDL-
 ING AND DISPOSING OF SUCH PAPER.
   4.  ADVISORY  COMMITTEE ON LEAST TOXIC ALTERNATIVES TO BISPHENOL A. A.
 WITHIN SIXTY DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, THE  DEPARTMENT
 SHALL  CONVENE  AN ADVISORY PANEL OF EXPERTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ADVISING
 THE DEPARTMENT ON LEAST TOXIC ALTERNATIVES TO BISPHENOL A. THE NAMES  OF
 THE  MEMBERS  OF  THIS  COMMITTEE SHALL BE AVAILABLE ON THE DEPARTMENT'S
 WEBSITE.
   B. THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE SHALL BE COMPOSED OF COMPETENT,  INDEPENDENT
 SCIENTISTS WHO HAVE NO CURRENT OR PAST EMPLOYMENT OR FINANCIAL CONFLICTS
 OF  INTEREST  WITH  MANUFACTURERS  OF BISPHENOL A OR PRODUCTS CONTAINING
 BISPHENOL A.
   C. ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS SHALL  HAVE  SUBSTANTIAL  EXPERIENCE  IN
 EVALUATING  TOXICOLOGICAL  AND  EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DATA ON TOXIC CHEMICALS,
 INCLUDING THEIR POTENTIAL CARCINOGENIC, ENDOCRINE DISRUPTIVE,  REPRODUC-
 TIVE,  DEVELOPMENTAL OR NEUROLOGICAL EFFECTS. CHEMICALS CONSIDERED TO BE
 TOXIC SHALL BE THOSE LIKELY TO CAUSE OR CONTRIBUTE TO ACUTE  ILLNESS  OR
 CHRONIC IMPACTS NEGATIVELY ALTERING HUMAN BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OR ABILI-
 TY TO RESPOND TO ENVIRONMENTAL ASSAULTS.
   D.  THE  ADVISORY COMMITTEE SHALL BE CONVENED WITHIN SIXTY DAYS OF THE
 EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION AND AT SUCH TIMES AS THE DEPARTMENT SEEKS
 FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS OR CLARIFICATIONS OF CURRENT DATA. ALL  MEETINGS
 AND  PROCEEDINGS  OF THE COMMITTEE SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF
 ARTICLE SIX OF THE PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law.

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