AB 2998: Consumer products: flame retardant materials.

Existing law, the Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation Act, a violation of which is a misdemeanor, provides for the regulation of persons engaged in businesses relating to upholstered furniture, bedding and filling materials, and insulation, and provides for the enforcement and administration of those provisions by a chief under the Director of Consumer Affairs. Existing law authorizes the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings, and Thermal Insulation to establish grades, specifications, and tolerances for materials used in upholstered furniture and bedding or filling materials and requires a manufacturer of upholstered furniture to indicate whether a product contains flame retardant chemicals.

This bill, on and after January 1, 2020, would prohibit a person, including a manufacturer, from selling or distributing in commerce in this state new, not previously owned juvenile products, mattresses, or upholstered furniture that contains, or a constituent component of which contains, covered flame retardant chemicals, as defined, at levels above 1,000 parts per million, except as specified, and would prohibit a custom upholsterer from, among other things, repairing upholstered furniture or reupholstered furniture using replacement components that contain covered flame retardant chemicals at levels above 1,000 parts per million, except as specified. The bill would authorize the director to adopt regulations and rules to implement and enforce the bills provisions. The bill would require the bureau to (1) enforce and ensure compliance with these requirements, (2) provide the Department of Toxic Substances Control with a selection of samples from products regulated by the bills provisions for testing, and (3) reimburse the department for certain testing costs. The bill would also authorize the bureau to assess fines against manufacturers for a violation of the bills provisions, as specified. The bill would require the bureau to receive complaints from consumers concerning these regulated products that are sold in this state. The bill would require the International Sleep Products Association to conduct surveys of mattress producers, including those registered with the bureau, and to submit a survey report with prescribed information to the bureau by January 31, 2020, and every 3 years thereafter. The bill would require registered producers of new mattresses to respond to the survey. The bill would require the association to submit to the bureau a list of any producers who fail to respond to the survey and to post the list of nonresponders on its Internet Web site. The bill would define various other terms for these purposes. The bill would also make various findings and declarations in this regard.

Because a violation of the bills provisions would be a misdemeanor, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.