BILL NUMBER: S7136

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to the recall of
class B firefighting foam that contains intentionally added PFAS

 
PURPOSE:

To amend the law requiring manufacturers recall class B firefighting
foam to clarify the scope of products required to be recalled

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 4b of the general business law to clarify that
the required recall of class B firefighting foam under that section
applies to manufactures that currently sell or previously sold such
foam, and that the products recalled include those distributed prior to
and after March twenty-second, two thousand twenty-two, and that such a
recall must occur within two years of the implementation date of the
restrictions in that section.
              

Section 2 establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Chapter 702 of 2019 banned the inclusion of certain perfluoroalkyl and
polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals in fire-fighting foam in New York
state, reflecting the dangers these man-made chemicals pose to public
health and the environment and in line with federal and international
efforts to curb the use of such chemicals.

Though that law made clear that the sale and manufacture of firefighting
products with PFAS was banned going forward, questions have arisen as to
whether the prohibition applies retroactively, and as to whether it
requires the recall of products sold or manufactured before the law's
effective date.

This bill clarifies that the law, in addition to requiring current
manufacturers to recall the products they produce, sell, or distribute,
also requires manufacturers that at any time produced, sold, or distrib-
uted class B firefighting foam with PFAS to recall all of that product,
whether it was sold or distributed before or after the effective date of
the law. The bill further adds the requirement that such a recall must
occur within two years after the implementation date of the restrictions
of the law.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.