HB2485 Engrossed LRB096 11192 JDS 21584 b

1     AN ACT concerning safety.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Child-Safe Chemicals Act.
 
6     Section 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly
7 finds that:
8     (a) The incidence of some diseases and disorders that have
9 been linked to chemical exposures is on the rise.
10     (b) The metabolism, physiology, and exposure patterns of
11 developing fetuses, infants, and children to toxic chemicals
12 differ from those of adults, which makes children more
13 vulnerable than adults to the harmful effects of exposure to
14 some synthetic chemicals.
15     (c) Unlike pharmaceuticals and pesticides, manufacturers
16 of most chemical substances are not required under current law
17 to supply human or environmental toxicity information before
18 selling their products to the public. Consequently, the vast
19 majority of chemicals used in consumer products have never had
20 any federal or state government review to evaluate potential
21 toxicity to the environment, infants, children, developing
22 fetuses, or adults.
23     (d) To protect children's health, it is important to reduce

 

 

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1 or eliminate exposures to certain chemicals that are present in
2 children's products or that may be reasonably anticipated to
3 result in children's exposure or be placed in the mouths of
4 children.
 
5     Section 10. Definitions.
6     "Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection
7 Agency.
8     "Manufacturer" means a person who manufactured a final
9 product or whose brand name is affixed to a product. In the
10 case of a product that was imported into the United States,
11 "manufacturer" includes the importer or domestic distributor
12 of the product if the person who manufactured or assembled the
13 product or whose brand name is affixed to it does not have a
14 presence in the United States.
15     "Metal can" means a single-walled container that is (i)
16 manufactured from a metal substrate equal to or thinner than
17 0.0149 inches, (ii) designed to hold or pack any food or
18 beverage, and (iii) sealed by can ends manufactured from metal
19 substrate that is equal to or thinner than 0.0149 inches.
20     "Person" means any individual, partnership,
21 co-partnership, firm, company, limited liability company,
22 corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate,
23 political subdivision, state agency, or any other legal entity,
24 or his, her, or its legal representative, agent, or assigns.
 

 

 

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1     Section 15. Bisphenol A ban.
2     (a) Beginning July 1, 2010, no person shall sell, offer to
3 sell, distribute, or offer to distribute any of the following:
4         (1) Any children's food container, including any baby
5     bottle or sippy cup, that contains bisphenol A if that
6     container (i) is designed, intended, or marketed to be
7     filled with any food or beverage primarily for consumption
8     by children 3 years of age or younger and (ii) is sold or
9     distributed at retail without containing any liquid, food,
10     or beverage.
11         (2) Any sports water bottle that contains bisphenol A.
12     (b) This Section does not apply to the sale, offer to sell,
13 distribution, or offer to distribute metal cans.
 
14     Section 20. Interstate clearinghouse. The Illinois
15 Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois Department of
16 Public Health are authorized to participate in an interstate
17 clearinghouse to promote safer chemicals in consumer products
18 in cooperation with other states and governmental entities. The
19 Agency and Department may cooperate with the interstate
20 clearinghouse to organize and manage available data on
21 chemicals, including information on uses, hazards,
22 environmental concerns, safer alternatives, and model policies
23 and programs; to provide technical assistance to businesses,
24 consumers, and policy makers related to safer chemicals; and to
25 undertake other activities in support of State programs to

 

 

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1 promote safer chemicals.
 
2     Section 25. Implementation and exemption.
3     (a) A manufacturer of products restricted under this Act
4 must notify persons that sell the manufacturer's products in
5 this State about the provisions of this Act no less than 90
6 days before the effective date of the restrictions. A
7 manufacturer that sells or distributes a product prohibited
8 from sale or distribution under this Act shall recall the
9 product and reimburse the retailer or any other purchaser for
10 the product.
11     (b) A retailer who unknowingly sells a product that is
12 restricted from sale under this Act is not liable under this
13 Act.
 
14     Section 30. Enforcement and penalties.
15     (a) The Attorney General is responsible for administering
16 and ensuring compliance with this Act, including the
17 development and adoption of any rules, if necessary, for the
18 implementation and enforcement of this Act.
19     (b) The Attorney General shall develop and implement a
20 process for receiving and handling complaints from individuals
21 regarding possible violations of this Act.
22     (c) The Attorney General may conduct any investigation
23 deemed necessary regarding possible violations of this Act
24 including, without limitation, the issuance of subpoenas to:

 

 

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1 (i) require the filing of a statement or report or answer
2 interrogatories in writing as to all information relevant to
3 the alleged violations; (ii) examine under oath any person who
4 possesses knowledge or information directly related to the
5 alleged violations; and (iii) examine any record, book,
6 document, account, or paper necessary to investigate the
7 alleged violation.
8     (d) Service by the Attorney General of any notice requiring
9 a person to file a statement or report, or of a subpoena upon
10 any person, shall be made:
11         (1) personally by delivery of a duly executed copy
12     thereof to the person to be served or, if a person is not a
13     natural person, in the manner provided in the Code of Civil
14     Procedure when a complaint is filed; or
15         (2) by mailing by certified mail a duly executed copy
16     thereof to the person to be served at his or her last known
17     abode or principal place of business within this State.
18     (e) In lieu of a civil action, the individual or entity
19 alleged to have engaged in a pattern or practice deemed
20 violative of this Act may enter into an Assurance of Voluntary
21 Compliance with respect to the alleged pattern or practice
22 violation.
23     (f) If the Attorney General determines that there is a
24 reason to believe that a violation of the Act has occurred, the
25 Attorney General may bring an action in the name of the People
26 of the State to obtain temporary, preliminary, or permanent

 

 

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1 injunctive relief for any act, policy, or practice that
2 violates this Act.
3     (g) If any person fails or refuses to file any statement or
4 report, or obey any subpoena, issued pursuant to subsection (c)
5 of this Section, the Attorney General may proceed to initiate a
6 civil action pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section, or
7 file a complaint in the circuit court for the granting of
8 injunctive relief, including restraining the conduct that is
9 alleged to violate this Act until the person files the
10 statement or report, or obeys the subpoena.
11     (h) Relief that may be granted.
12         (1) In any civil action brought pursuant to subsection
13     (f) of this Section, the Attorney General may obtain as a
14     remedy, equitable relief (including any permanent or
15     preliminary injunction, temporary restraining order, or
16     other order, including an order enjoining the defendant
17     from engaging in a violation or ordering any action as may
18     be appropriate). In addition, the Attorney General may
19     request and the Court may impose a civil penalty in an
20     amount not to exceed $50,000 for each violation. For
21     purposes of this subsection, each item and each standard
22     constitutes a separate violation.
23         (2) A civil penalty imposed or a settlement or other
24     payment made pursuant to this Act shall be made payable to
25     the Attorney General's State Projects and Court Ordered
26     Distribution Fund, which is created as a special fund in

 

 

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1     the State Treasury. Moneys in the Fund shall be used,
2     subject to appropriation, for the performance of any
3     function pertaining to the exercise of the duties of the
4     Attorney General including but not limited to enforcement
5     of any law of this State, product testing, and conducting
6     public education programs.
7         (3) Any funds collected under this Section in an action
8     in which the State's Attorney has prevailed shall be
9     retained by the county in which he or she serves.
10     (i) The penalties and injunctions provided in this Act are
11 in addition to any penalties, injunctions, or other relief
12 provided under any other law. Nothing in this Act shall bar a
13 cause of action by the State for any other penalty, injunction,
14 or relief provided by any other law.
 
15     Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
16 Section 5.719 as follows:
 
17     (30 ILCS 105/5.719 new)
18     Sec. 5.719. The Attorney General's State Projects and Court
19 Ordered Distribution Fund.