States Consider Over Thirty Proposals Restricting the Use and Sale of Chemicals in 2015

Awaiting reforms to the federal Toxic Substances Control Act, states have actively occupied the sphere of chemicals regulation. Approximately thirty-five state chemical bills are under consideration this year. If enacted as proposed, these bills would impose limitations on the manufacture and sale of certain chemicals and/or restrict their use in products. Almost half of the state proposals would regulate the use of chemicals in children's products. Additional areas of legislative activity include:

• The identification of priority chemicals in consumer products;
• The limitations of the use of flame retardants, mercury, and bisphenol A; and
• The regulation of chemicals in jewelry and personal products.

Details on the bills appear in the attached chart.

One relatively new area of legislation addresses the presence of copper in brake pads. Coming on the heels of copper-free brake laws in Washington and California, a bill has been introduced in New York that would restrict the sale of brake friction material containing copper and other constituents above specified levels. Momentum in this area has been building following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding known as the "Copper-Free Brake Initiative" by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Environmental Council of the States, and eight motor vehicle industry associations on January 21, 2015.