Senate Bill S8835

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8835
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 19, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  CLEARE -- 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  enacting  the
   "consumer protection and automotive transparency act"
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "consumer protection and automotive transparency act".
   §  2.  Legislative  purpose  and intent. The purpose of this act is to
 mandate transparency in  automotive  labeling,  ensuring  consumers  are
 accurately informed about the materials used in the interiors of automo-
 biles. Consumers are often misled by the marketing of different types of
 materials  used  in  making  seating  surfaces, steering wheels and gear
 shifters in the  automotive  industry.  This  misleading  marketing  can
 result in consumers paying more for products that are not what they were
 expecting or buying a product that they assume is a certain material and
 it  is  not. It is important to protect consumers (monetarily, ethically
 and health-related) by requiring automotive  manufacturers  to  disclose
 the  materials used in their interior products. This legislation aims to
 protect consumers from deceptive marketing practices and promote  trans-
 parency across the automotive industry.
   (a)  The  purpose  of  this legislation is to protect consumers in the
 automotive industry by ensuring transparency and  accurate  labeling  of
 materials used in automobile interiors.
   (b)  This  legislation  aims to prevent misleading marketing practices
 and provide consumers with clear and  understandable  information  about
 the content of automobile interiors.
   (c)  This legislation mandates transparency in the labeling of automo-
 tive interiors to protect consumers from misleading marketing  practices
 related to leather, fabric and plastic materials.
   (d)  This  legislation aims to ensure that consumers can make informed
 decisions about the materials used in automotive interiors.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14206-02-4
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   (e) This legislation seeks to  establish  clear  and  simple  labeling
 requirements, avoiding unnecessary complexity and ensuring accessibility
 for consumers of all educational backgrounds.
   § 3. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 198-d
 to read as follows:
   §  198-D.  CONSUMER  PROTECTION AND AUTOMOTIVE TRANSPARENCY. (A) DEFI-
 NITIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION,  THE  FOLLOWING  TERMS  SHALL
 HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (1)  "LEATHER"  MEANS  ANY  HIDE OR SKIN PRODUCTS DERIVED FROM ANIMALS
 THAT POSSESS AN INTACT ORIGINAL FIBROUS STRUCTURE, OBTAINED  FROM  HIDES
 TANNED  TO  PREVENT  DECAY,  THAT  MAY  HAVE  BEEN SPLIT BEFORE OR AFTER
 TANNING INTO LAYERS OR SEGMENTS, AND THAT MAY HAVE A COATING APPLIED.
   (2) "FABRIC" MEANS ANY CLOTH OR MATERIAL PRODUCED BY WEAVING OR  KNIT-
 TING FIBERS.
   (3)  "PLASTIC  AND  COATED MATERIALS" MEANS ROLLED GOODS, OR SHEETS OF
 WOVEN, KNIT, OR NON-WOVEN TEXTILES TO WHICH A POLYMER OR  RESIN  MIXTURE
 IS  APPLIED  AS  A SURFACE COATING OR LAYER AND MAKES UP THE MAJORITY OF
 THE BASE MATERIAL.
   (4) "LABEL" MEANS ANY TAG, LABEL, OR OTHER WRITING THAT IS ATTACHED TO
 OR ACCOMPANIES AN AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCT.
   (5) "CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION" MEANS THE CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVI-
 SION ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SECTION NINETY-FOUR-A OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW.
   (B) LABELING REQUIREMENTS.  (1) AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURERS SHALL CLEARLY
 LABEL THE INTERIOR MATERIALS OF VEHICLES USING  TERMS  THAT  ARE  EASILY
 UNDERSTANDABLE  TO THE AVERAGE CONSUMER AT A LEVEL EQUIVALENT TO A SIXTH
 GRADE READING COMPREHENSION.   AUTOMOTIVE  MANUFACTURERS  SHALL  PROVIDE
 TRANSPARENT AND ACCURATE LABELING ON AUTOMOBILE INTERIORS TO ENSURE THAT
 ALL  CONSUMERS,  REGARDLESS  OF THEIR LEVEL OF EDUCATION, CAN UNDERSTAND
 THE MATERIAL USED IN THE AUTOMOBILE INTERIOR.
   (2) THE INTERIOR THRESHOLD REQUIRED  FOR  DEFINED  LABELING  SHALL  BE
 BASED  UPON  THE  PERCENT  OF  MATERIAL USED ON THE INTERACTIVE INTERIOR
 SURFACES OF AN AUTOMOBILE.  INTERACTIVE  INTERIOR  SURFACES  SHALL  MEAN
 SEATING  SURFACES IN ALL ROWS OF THE VEHICLE, HEADRESTS, STEERING WHEEL,
 AND GEAR SHIFT.  INTERACTIVE INTERIOR SURFACES SHALL NOT INCLUDE SEATING
 SIDE AND BACK PANELS AND ALL OTHER NON-SEATING SURFACES IN THE VEHICLE.
   (I) IF THE INTERACTIVE  INTERIOR  SURFACE  MATERIAL  IS  GREATER  THAN
 SEVENTY  PERCENT  OF A DEFINED COMPOSITION, THEN THE ENTIRE LABEL CAN BE
 LABELED AS SUCH.
   (II) IF THE INTERACTIVE INTERIOR SURFACE  IS  COMPOSED  OF  LESS  THAN
 SEVENTY  PERCENT  OF  ANY  OF  THE DEFINED MATERIALS, INCLUDING LEATHER,
 FABRIC, OR PLASTIC AND COATED MATERIALS, THEN THERE  SHALL  BE  A  LABEL
 DEFINING THE MATERIAL USED BY PERCENTAGE.
   (3)  THE  FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL BE USED TO DESCRIBE THE MATERIALS USED
 IN AUTOMOBILE INTERIORS: LEATHER, FABRIC, PLASTIC AND COATED  MATERIALS,
 AND  ANY  OTHER  MATERIAL  THAT  ACCURATELY REPRESENTS THE NATURE OF THE
 INTERIOR.
   (4) THE INTERACTIVE INTERIOR SURFACES LABELS SHALL BE CLEARLY  VISIBLE
 TO  THE  CONSUMERS,  SHALL  BE PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED ON THE PRODUCT, AND
 SHALL BE EASY TO READ. THE MATERIAL OF THE UPHOLSTERY SHALL BE LISTED IN
 PLAIN AND EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND LANGUAGE.
   (C) PROHIBITION OF MARKETING NAMES. THE USE OF MARKETING NAMES CAUSING
 CONFUSION, SUCH AS MBTEX, ACTIVEX, ALCANTERA, ARTICO, NULUXE,  SANSATEC,
 SOFTEX,  SOPHINA,  ULTRASUEDE,  V-TEX  OR  SIMILAR  MARKETING  NAMES, IS
 PROHIBITED FOR LABELING AUTOMOBILE INTERIORS.
   (D) PROHIBITION OF DECEPTIVE PRACTICES.  IT  IS  PROHIBITED  TO  SELL,
 MARKET, OR ADVERTISE AUTOMOBILE INTERIORS USING TERMS SUCH AS "LEATHER,"
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 "SKIN,"  "TANNED  SKIN," "COATED LEATHER," OR ANY OTHER TERMS DEFINED IN
 THIS SECTION, ITS DERIVATIVES, OR SYNONYMS, AS WELL AS THE  OTHER  TERMS
 AS  A  MEANS  OF NAMING ANY OTHER MATERIALS WHICH DO NOT COMPLY WITH THE
 CHARACTERISTICS  DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION (A) OF THIS SECTION, EITHER AS A
 NOUN OR AS AN ADJECTIVE, EVEN IF ENTERED  AS  PREFIXES  OR  SUFFIXES  IN
 OTHER WORDS, REGARDLESS OF THE LANGUAGE USED.
   (E)  ENFORCEMENT  AND PENALTIES.  (1) THE CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION
 SHALL ENFORCE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.
   (2) VIOLATIONS OF THIS SECTION MAY  RESULT  IN  PENALTIES,  FINES,  OR
 OTHER  APPROPRIATE  ENFORCEMENT  MEASURES  AS DETERMINED BY THE CONSUMER
 PROTECTION DIVISION.
   (3) THE CONSUMER  PROTECTION  DIVISION  MAY  INVESTIGATE  ANY  ALLEGED
 VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION AND MAY ISSUE ORDERS TO CEASE AND DESIST OPER-
 ATIONS  FROM  ANY  VIOLATION.  THE CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION MAY ALSO
 IMPOSE CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS SECTION.
   § 4. Severability. If any provision of this act is held to be  invalid
 or  unenforceable,  such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect
 the validity or enforceability of any other provision of this act.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.