96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
SB3750

 

Introduced 2/11/2010, by Sen. Dan Kotowski

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.756 new

    Creates the BPA-Free Kids Act. Beginning June 1, 2011, prohibits the sale or distribution of certain products containing bisphenol-A. Requires a label to be affixed to the exterior of certain food products. Beginning June 1, 2011, prohibits the sale of products that must be, but are not, labelled. Authorizes the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Department of Public Health to participate in an interstate chemical safety clearinghouse. Requires certain notifications and imposes penalties. Provides for enforcement by the Attorney General. Defines "Agency", "baby food", "Department", "infant formula", "manufacturer", "person", and "reusable food or beverage container".


LRB096 20860 JDS 36631 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3750 LRB096 20860 JDS 36631 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 BPA-Free Kids 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

 

 

SB3750 - 2 - LRB096 20860 JDS 36631 b

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     "Baby food" means a prepared solid food consisting of a
9 soft paste or an easily chewed food that is intended for
10 consumption by children 2 years of age or younger and is
11 commercially available.
12     "Department" means the Illinois Department of Public
13 Health.
14     "Infant formula" means a milk-based or soy-based powder,
15 concentrated liquid, or ready-to-feed substitute for human
16 breast milk, which is intended for infant consumption and is
17 commercially available.
18     "Manufacturer" means a person who manufactured a final
19 product or whose brand name is affixed to a product. In the
20 case of a product that was imported into the United States,
21 "manufacturer" includes the importer or domestic distributor
22 of the product if the person who manufactured or assembled the
23 product or whose brand name is affixed to it does not have a
24 presence in the United States.
25     "Person" means any individual, partnership,

 

 

SB3750 - 3 - LRB096 20860 JDS 36631 b

1 co-partnership, firm, company, limited liability company,
2 corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate,
3 political subdivision, state agency, or any other legal entity,
4 or his, her, or its legal representative, agent, or assigns.
5     "Reusable food or beverage container" means a receptacle
6 for storing food or beverages, including, but not limited to,
7 baby bottles, spill-proof cups, sports bottles, and thermoses,
8 and excluding food or beverage containers intended for disposal
9 after initial use.
 
10     Section 15. Bisphenol-A ban; labels.
11     (a) Beginning June 1, 2011, no person shall sell, offer to
12 sell, distribute, or offer to distribute any of the following:
13         (1) Any reusable food or beverage container containing
14     bisphenol-A.
15         (2) Any infant formula or baby food that is stored in a
16     can, jar, or plastic container that contains bisphenol-A.
17     (b) Beginning June 1, 2011, any food product, other than
18 infant formula or baby food, that is contained in a can, jar,
19 or plastic container shall bear a conspicuous label stating,
20 "This container is made with bisphenol-A (BPA)". On and after
21 that date, no person shall sell or offer for sale, in the
22 State, such a food product without a warning label affixed to
23 the can, jar, or plastic container.
 
24     Section 20. Interstate clearinghouse. The Agency and the

 

 

SB3750 - 4 - LRB096 20860 JDS 36631 b

1 Department are authorized to participate, along with other
2 states and governmental entities, in an interstate
3 clearinghouse to promote safer chemicals in consumer products.
4 The Agency and Department may cooperate with the interstate
5 clearinghouse to (i) organize and manage available data on
6 chemicals, including information on uses, hazards,
7 environmental concerns, safer alternatives, and model policies
8 and programs, (ii) provide technical assistance regarding
9 chemical safety to businesses, consumers, and policy makers,
10 and (iii) undertake other activities in support of State
11 programs to promote chemical safety.
 
12     Section 25. Implementation and exemption.
13     (a) A manufacturer of products restricted under this Act
14 must notify persons that sell the manufacturer's products in
15 this State about the provisions of this Act no less than 90
16 days before the effective date of the restrictions. A
17 manufacturer that sells or distributes a product prohibited
18 from sale or distribution under this Act shall recall the
19 product and reimburse the retailer or any other purchaser for
20 the product.
21     (b) A retailer who unknowingly sells a product that is
22 restricted from sale under this Act is not liable under this
23 Act.
 
24     Section 30. Enforcement and penalties.

 

 

SB3750 - 5 - LRB096 20860 JDS 36631 b

1     (a) The Attorney General is responsible for administering
2 and ensuring compliance with this Act, including the
3 development and adoption of any rules, if necessary, for the
4 implementation and enforcement of this Act.
5     (b) The Attorney General shall develop and implement a
6 process for receiving and handling complaints from individuals
7 regarding possible violations of this Act.
8     (c) The Attorney General may conduct any investigation
9 deemed necessary regarding possible violations of this Act
10 including, without limitation, the issuance of subpoenas to:
11 (i) require the filing of a statement or report or answer
12 interrogatories in writing as to all information relevant to
13 the alleged violations; (ii) examine under oath any person who
14 possesses knowledge or information directly related to the
15 alleged violations; and (iii) examine any record, book,
16 document, account, or paper necessary to investigate the
17 alleged violation.
18     (d) Service by the Attorney General of any notice requiring
19 a person to file a statement or report, or of a subpoena upon
20 any person, shall be made:
21         (1) personally by delivery of a duly executed copy
22     thereof to the person to be served or, if a person is not a
23     natural person, in the manner provided in the Code of Civil
24     Procedure when a complaint is filed; or
25         (2) by mailing by certified mail a duly executed copy
26     thereof to the person to be served at his or her last known

 

 

SB3750 - 6 - LRB096 20860 JDS 36631 b

1     abode or principal place of business within this State.
2     (e) In lieu of a civil action, the individual or entity
3 alleged to have engaged in a pattern or practice deemed
4 violative of this Act may enter into an Assurance of Voluntary
5 Compliance with respect to the alleged pattern or practice
6 violation.
7     (f) If the Attorney General determines that there is a
8 reason to believe that a violation of the Act has occurred, the
9 Attorney General may bring an action in the name of the People
10 of the State to obtain temporary, preliminary, or permanent
11 injunctive relief for any act, policy, or practice that
12 violates this Act.
13     (g) If any person fails or refuses to file any statement or
14 report, or obey any subpoena, issued pursuant to subsection (c)
15 of this Section, the Attorney General may proceed to initiate a
16 civil action pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section, or
17 file a complaint in the circuit court for the granting of
18 injunctive relief, including restraining the conduct that is
19 alleged to violate this Act until the person files the
20 statement or report, or obeys the subpoena.
21     (h) Relief that may be granted.
22         (1) In any civil action brought pursuant to subsection
23     (f) of this Section, the Attorney General may obtain as a
24     remedy, equitable relief (including any permanent or
25     preliminary injunction, temporary restraining order, or
26     other order, including an order enjoining the defendant

 

 

SB3750 - 7 - LRB096 20860 JDS 36631 b

1     from engaging in a violation or ordering any action as may
2     be appropriate). In addition, the Attorney General may
3     request and the Court may impose a civil penalty in an
4     amount not to exceed $50,000 for each violation. For
5     purposes of this subsection, each item and each standard
6     constitutes a separate violation.
7         (2) A civil penalty imposed or a settlement or other
8     payment made pursuant to this Act shall be made payable to
9     the Attorney General's State Projects and Court Ordered
10     Distribution Fund, which is created as a special fund in
11     the State Treasury. Moneys in the Fund shall be used,
12     subject to appropriation, for the performance of any
13     function pertaining to the exercise of the duties of the
14     Attorney General including but not limited to enforcement
15     of any law of this State, product testing, and conducting
16     public education programs.
17         (3) Any funds collected under this Section in an action
18     in which the State's Attorney has prevailed shall be
19     retained by the county in which he or she serves.
20     (i) The penalties and injunctions provided in this Act are
21 in addition to any penalties, injunctions, or other relief
22 provided under any other law. Nothing in this Act shall bar a
23 cause of action by the State for any other penalty, injunction,
24 or relief provided by any other law.
 
25     Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding

 

 

SB3750 - 8 - LRB096 20860 JDS 36631 b

1 Section 5.756 as follows:
 
2     (30 ILCS 105/5.756 new)
3     Sec. 5.756. The Attorney General's State Projects and Court
4 Ordered Distribution Fund.