Bill Text: CA SB39 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Senate Bill 39

Introduced

Bill Title: Cosmetic safety: Vaginal or vulvar products.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-12-04 - From printer. May be acted upon on or after January 3. [SB39 Detail]

Download: California-2025-SB39-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 39

Introduced by Senator Weber

December 03, 2024

An act to amend Section 108980 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to public health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 39, as introduced, Weber. Cosmetic safety: Vaginal or vulvar products.

Existing law prohibits a person or entity from manufacturing, selling, delivering, holding, or offering for sale in commerce any cosmetic product that contains any of several specified intentionally added ingredients except under specified circumstances.

This bill would exempt vaginal or vulvar products from the prohibitions described above if specified conditions are met, including that a product has passed definitive third-party placebo-controlled double-blind safety trials.

The bill would make related findings and declarations.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Boric acid is a naturally occurring, mild acid that has been used for decades to successfully address vaginal odor.

(b) Gelatin capsules of boric acid, referred to by doctors as Boric Acid Suppositories (BAS), are currently an easy to access, easy to use formulation.

(c) Prior to 2014, BAS were primarily only available through compounding pharmacies and were costly. Today, BAS are widely available at retail facilities and are an affordable, effective solution for feminine hygiene.

(d) Vaginal odor is one of the top two reasons women visit the doctor.

(e) The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends the use of BAS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the use of BAS in their published 2015 sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines.

SEC. 2.

Section 108980 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

108980.

(a) Commencing January 1, 2025, no person or entity shall manufacture, sell, deliver, hold, or offer for sale in commerce any cosmetic product that contains any of the following intentionally added ingredients:

(1) Dibutyl phthalate (CAS no. 84-74-2).

(2) Diethylhexyl phthalate (CAS no. 117-81-7).

(3) Formaldehyde (CAS no. 50-00-0).

(4) Paraformaldehyde (CAS no. 30525-89-4).

(5) Methylene glycol (CAS no. 463-57-0).

(6) Quaternium-15 (CAS no. 51229-78-8).

(7) Mercury (CAS no. 7439-97-6).

(8) Isobutylparaben (CAS no. 4247-02-3).

(9) Isopropylparaben (CAS no. 4191-73-5).

(10) m-Phenylenediamine and its salts (CAS no. 108-45-2).

(11) o-Phenylenediamine and its salts (CAS no. 95-54-5).

(12) The following per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their salts:

(A) Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS); heptadecafluorooctane-1-sulfonic acid (CAS no. 1763-23-1).

(B) Potassium perfluorooctanesulfonate; potassium heptadecafluorooctane-1-sulfonate (CAS no. 2795-39-3).

(D) Ammonium perfluorooctane sulfonate; ammonium heptadecafluorooctanesulfonate (CAS 29081-56-9).

(E) Lithium perfluorooctane sulfonate; lithium heptadecafluorooctanesulfonate (CAS 29457-72-5).

(F) Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)(CAS no. 335-67-1).

(G) Ammonium pentadecafluorooctanoate (CAS no. 3825-26-1).

(H) Nonadecafluorodecanoic acid (CAS no. 355-76-2).

(I) Ammonium nonadecafluorodecanoate (CAS no. 3108-42-7).

(J) Sodium nonadecafluorodecanoate (CAS no. 3830-45-3).

(K) Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)(CAS no. 375-95-1).

(L) Sodium heptadecafluorononanoate (CAS no. 21049-39-8).

(M) Ammonium perfluorononanoate (CAS no. 4149-60-4).

(b) Commencing January 1, 2027, no person or entity shall manufacture, sell, deliver, hold, or offer for sale in commerce any cosmetic product that contains any of the following intentionally added ingredients:

(1) Lily aldehyde (CAS no. 80-54-6).

(2) Acetaldehyde (CAS no. 75-07-0).

(3) Cyclohexylamine (CAS no. 108-91-8).

(4) Cyclotetrasiloxane (CAS no. 556-67-2).

(5) Phytonadione (CAS no. 84-80-0).

(6) Sodium perborate (CAS no. 15120-21-5).

(7) Styrene (CAS no. 100-42-5).

(8) Trichloroacetic acid (CAS no. 76-03-9).

(9) Tricresyl phosphate (CAS no. 1330-78-5).

(10) Vinyl acetate (CAS no. 108-05-4).

(11) 2-Chloracetamide (CAS no. 79-07-2).

(12) Allyl isothiocyanate (CAS no. 57-06-7).

(13) Anthraquinone (CAS no. 84-65-1).

(14) Malachite green (CAS no. 569-64-2).

(15) Oil from the seeds of Laurus nobilis L. (CAS no. 84603-73-6).

(16) Pyrogallol (CAS no. 87-66-1).

(17) C.I. disperse blue 1 (CAS no. 2475-45-8).

(18) Trisodium nitrilotriacetate (CAS no. 5064-31-3).

(19) The following boron substances:

(A) Perboric acids:

(i) Sodium salt (CAS no. 11138-47-9).

(ii) Sodium salt, monohydrate (CAS no. 12040-72-1).

(iii) Sodium perborate monohydrate (CAS no. 10332-33-9).

(B) Boric acid (CAS nos. 10043-35-3 and 11113-50-1).

(i) Disodium octaborate anhydrous (CAS no. 12008-41-2).

(ii) Disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (CAS no. 12280-03-4).

(iii) 2-Aminoethanol, monoester with boric acid (CAS no. 10377-81-8).

(iv) 2-Hydroxypropyl ammonium dihydrogen orthoborate (CAS no. 68003-13-4).

(v) Potassium borate, boric acid potassium salt (CAS no. 12712-38-8).

(vi) Trioctyldodecyl borate.

(vii) Zinc borate (CAS no. 1332-07-6).

(viii) Sodium borate, disodium tetraborate anhydrous; boric acid, sodium salt (CAS no. 1330-43-4).

(ix) Tetraboron disodium heptaoxide, hydrate (CAS no. 12267-73-1).

(x) Orthoboric acid, sodium salt (CAS no. 13840-56-7).

(xi) Disodium tetraborate decahydrate; borax decahydrate (CAS no. 1303-96-4).

(xii) Disodium tetraborate pentahydrate; borax pentahydrate (CAS no. 12179-04-3).

(20) C.I. disperse blue 3 (CAS no. 2475-46-9).

(21) Basic green 1 (CAS no. 633-03-4).

(22) Basic blue 7 (CAS no. 2390-60-5).

(23) 3(or5)-((4-(benzylmethylamino)phenyl)azo)-1,2 -(or1,4)-dimethyl-1H-1,2,4-triazolium and its salts (CAS nos. 89959-98-8 and 12221-69-1).

(24) Basic violet 4 (CAS no. 2390-59-2).

(25) Basic blue 3 (CAS no. 33203-82-6).

(26) Basic blue 9 (CAS no. 61-73-4).

(c) If a cosmetic product made through manufacturing processes intended to comply with this chapter contains a technically unavoidable trace quantity of an ingredient listed in subdivision (a) or (b) and that trace quantity stems from impurities of natural or synthetic ingredients, the manufacturing process, storage, or migration from packaging, that trace quantity shall not cause the cosmetic product to be in violation of this section.

(d) For purposes of this section, “ingredient” has the same meaning as defined in Section 111791.5.

(e) The prohibition in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (19) of subdivision (b) shall not apply to a vaginal or vulvar product if any of the following are true:
(1) The product is undergoing clinical trials for regulation by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
(2) The product has a pending new drug application under Section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355).
(3) The product becomes regulated as a drug by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
(4) The product has passed definitive third-party placebo-controlled double-blind safety trials. If third-party placebo-controlled double-blind clinical data demonstrates that the product is not safe, the prohibition in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (19) of subdivision (b) shall apply.