Bill Text: NY S02901 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits a manufacturer from labeling or advertising a nonwoven disposable product for sale as flushable without prior approval from the department of environmental conservation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION [S02901 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S02901-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          2901
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 18, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  DILAN  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
        AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to  prohibiting  a
          manufacturer  from labeling or advertising a nonwoven disposable prod-
          uct for sale as a flushable without prior approval
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
     2  391-u to read as follows:
     3    §  391-u.  Nonwoven  disposable  products.  1.  For  purposes  of this
     4  section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
     5    (a) "Advertised" means representation made by statement, word, design,
     6  device, sound or any combination thereof in print or broadcast media.
     7    (b) "Flushable", "septic safe", and "sewer safe" means with regard  to
     8  a  nonwoven  disposable  product,  a  product that is: (i) able to clear
     9  toilets and properly maintained drainage  pipe  systems  under  expected
    10  product  usage  conditions;  (ii) compatible with wastewater conveyance,
    11  treatment, reuse, and disposal systems without causing  blockage,  clog-
    12  ging,  or  other  operational  problems;  and  (iii)  unrecognizable  in
    13  effluent leaving on-site and municipal wastewater treatment systems  and
    14  in  digested sludge from wastewater treatment plants that are applied to
    15  soil.
    16    (c) "Label" means those representations made through statement,  word,
    17  picture,  design or emblem on a packaging of a nonwoven disposable prod-
    18  uct.
    19    (d) "Nonwoven disposable product" means any product  constructed  from
    20  nonwoven sheets that is designed for, marketed for, or commonly used for
    21  personal hygiene purposes.
    22    2.  No  nonwoven  disposable  product  for  sale  in any municipality,
    23  including a city with a population of a million or more, shall be adver-
    24  tised, packaged or labeled as flushable, sewer safe, or septic  safe  if
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01365-01-7
        S. 2901                             2
     1  such  product  has not first been approved as flushable by a third party
     2  according to  rules  promulgated  by  the  department  of  environmental
     3  conservation.
     4    3.  Any  person  who violates this section shall be subject to a civil
     5  penalty of not more than five thousand dollars for each violation.  Such
     6  penalties  may  be recovered in proceedings before a department of envi-
     7  ronmental conservation enforcement hearing, through prosecution  by  the
     8  bureau  of consumer frauds and protection, or in any action in any court
     9  of appropriate jurisdiction.
    10    4. Nothing in this section shall apply to:
    11    (a) A television or radio broadcasting station, or to any publisher of
    12  a newspaper, magazine or other form of printed advertising, that  broad-
    13  casts,  publishes  or  prints  an advertisement that features a nonwoven
    14  disposable product packaged or labeled  as  flushable,  sewer  safe,  or
    15  septic safe; or
    16    (b)  a  wholesaler  or retailer that distributes or sells but does not
    17  package or label a nonwoven disposable product that is advertised, pack-
    18  aged, or labeled as flushable, sewer safe or septic safe.
    19    § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    20  have  become  a law. Effective immediately, the commissioner of environ-
    21  mental conservation shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary  or
    22  appropriate to carry out the provisions of this act.