NY State Senate Bill 2023-S9889

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Aug 14, 2024	referred to rules

2023-S9889 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Add §349-h, Gen Bus L

2023-S9889 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits certain unlawfully deceptive acts or practices involving environmental marketing claims.

2023-S9889 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9889

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to unlawfully
deceptive acts or practices regarding environmental marketing claims


 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Prohibits greenwashing of marketing claims, where companies use untruth-
ful, deceptive, or misleading claims to sell environmentally- friendly
products and services.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Amends the general business law by adding a new section, 349-h.

Section one defines terms used in the bill.

Section two prohibits marketing environmental claims that are mislead-

ing, deceptive, or untruthful.

Section three establishes citizens do not need to have suffered any
ascertainable loss because of the use of the deceptive act or practice.

Section four establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

As the impact of climate disruption has become clearer, many companies
have emerged offering solutions. Sometimes they sell products that prom-
ise a lower carbon footprint or a more sustainable manufacturing proc-
ess. Sometimes they sell services that promise to remove carbon from the
atmosphere or otherwise allow the economy to operate on a zero-emissions
basis. Many of these products and services are legitimate efforts to
reduce our impact on the planet through reducing or eliminating emis-
sions. That is not always the case. We have seen too often that terms
like sustainable, low carbon, and zero emissions are used by many corpo-
rations, but as the terms are largely unregulated, they can be deployed
accurately - or misleadingly. In the latter case, this is sometimes
referred to informally as greenwashing.

Corporate actions are often inconsistent with their greenwashed claims.
Many of these products and services are deceptively marketed to appeal
to consumers who are conscious of the threat of climate change and who
are increasingly looking to purchase products and services they perceive
as sustainable. When consumers or institutions spend their money on a
product based on claims of sustainability, they should be certain that
those products work the way they are described, are manufactured with
sustainability in mind, and will help achieve the desired goal of a
cleaner, healthier, and greener planet.

This legislation is a step in the direction of holding dishonest corpo-
rations accountable. By creating a right of action for individuals to
hold manipulative and dishonest corporations accountable, we will give
every day New Yorkers a stronger sense that they can trust sustainabili-
ty claims are not merely greenwashing of harmful products and processes.
It is time that states like New York create laws that address greenwash-
ing to prevent corporations from lying in pursuit of profit and enable
consumers and communities to take deceptive businesses to court if they
do.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S9889 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9889
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              August 14, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the general business  law,  in  relation  to  unlawfully
   deceptive acts or practices regarding environmental marketing claims
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
 349-h to read as follows:
   § 349-H. UNLAWFULLY DECEPTIVE ACTS  OR  PRACTICES  INVOLVING  ENVIRON-
 MENTAL  MARKETING  CLAIMS.  1.  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF THIS SECTION, THE
 FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A) "ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING CLAIM" MEANS A REPRESENTATION  ABOUT  THE
 ENVIRONMENTAL  ATTRIBUTE,  INCLUDING  CLIMATE  IMPACT,  OF  A PRODUCT OR
 SERVICE IN CONNECTION WITH THE MARKETING, OFFERING FOR SALE, OR SALE  OF
 SUCH  PRODUCT  OR SERVICE TO THE PUBLIC. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS PARAGRAPH,
 THE TERM "MARKETING" INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO LABELING,  ADVERTIS-
 ING,  PROMOTIONAL  MATERIALS, AND ANY OTHER FORM OF APPEAL TO THE PUBLIC
 IN ANY MEDIUM, WHETHER ASSERTED  DIRECTLY  OR  BY  IMPLICATION,  THROUGH
 WORDS, SYMBOLS, LOGOS, DEPICTIONS, PRODUCT BRAND NAMES, OR OTHER MEANS.
   (B)  "NET  ZERO  CLAIM"  MEANS  A  REPRESENTATION  THAT  AN ENTITY HAS
 ACHIEVED AN OVERALL BALANCE BETWEEN GREENHOUSE  GAS  EMISSIONS  PRODUCED
 AND GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS REMOVED FROM THE ATMOSPHERE.
   (C)  "PALTERING"  MEANS THE USE OF A TRUTHFUL STATEMENT RELATING TO AN
 INDUSTRY, BUSINESS, PRODUCT, OR SERVICE THAT CREATES AN  OVERALL  FALSE,
 DECEPTIVE,  OR MISLEADING IMPRESSION OR IMPLICATION TO THE PUBLIC THAT A
 SPECIFIC BENEFIT IS SIGNIFICANT WHEN IT IS IN FACT NEGLIGIBLE AS TO SUCH
 INDUSTRY, BUSINESS, PRODUCT, OR SERVICE.
   (D) "REPUTATIONAL ADVERTISING" MEANS A REPRESENTATION  TO  THE  PUBLIC
 DESIGNED  TO  CREATE  A PERCEPTION OF AN INDUSTRY, BUSINESS, OR BRAND BY
 HIGHLIGHTING POSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITIES OF OR ACTION TAKEN BY SUCH
 INDUSTRY, BUSINESS, OR BRAND, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH  REPRESENTATION
 IS MADE IN CONNECTION WITH THE SALE OF A GOOD OR SERVICE.
   2.  THE  FOLLOWING  ARE UNLAWFULLY DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES FOR THE
 PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD16032-01-4
 S. 9889                             2
 
   (A) MAKING  AN  UNTRUTHFUL,  DECEPTIVE,  OR  MISLEADING  ENVIRONMENTAL
 MARKETING CLAIM, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
   (I)  ENGAGING  IN  PALTERING THAT MISLEADS OR DECEIVES CONSUMERS AS TO
 THE OVERALL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF AN INDUSTRY, BUSINESS,  PRODUCT,  OR
 SERVICE; OR
   (II)  ENGAGING  IN  REPUTATIONAL ADVERTISING THAT MISLEADS OR DECEIVES
 CONSUMERS AS TO THE OVERALL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF AN  INDUSTRY,  BUSI-
 NESS, PRODUCT, OR SERVICE; AND
   (B)  MAKING  AN  UNTRUTHFUL,  DECEPTIVE, OR MISLEADING NET ZERO CLAIM,
 INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, A CLAIM THAT:
   (I) DOES NOT CLEARLY IDENTIFY THE COVERED PORTION OF AN ENTITY'S EMIS-
 SION PORTFOLIO AND VALUE CHAIN, INCLUDING ALL GREENHOUSE GAS  EMISSIONS,
 ALL  EMISSION SCOPES, AND ALL JOINT VENTURES, SUBSIDIARIES, AND SPECIFIC
 PRODUCT CATEGORIES;
   (II) DOES NOT DISTINGUISH BETWEEN A  BUSINESS'S  EMISSION  REDUCTIONS,
 POST-EMISSION  COMPENSATION,  BOTH  OFFSETS  AND  REMOVALS, AND EMISSION
 DIVESTMENTS, OR OTHERWISE RELIES ON VAST AMOUNTS OF OFFSETS; OR
   (III) IS NOT SUBSTANTIATED BY A COMPANY PLAN OR ACTION.
   3. IF AN ACTION IS BROUGHT UNDER THIS SECTION ALLEGING  AN  UNLAWFULLY
 DECEPTIVE  ACT  OR  PRACTICE  DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION, IT SHALL NOT BE
 REQUIRED THAT THE PERSON WHO BROUGHT SUCH ACTION SUFFERED ANY ASCERTAIN-
 ABLE LOSS AS A RESULT OF THE USE OR EMPLOYMENT OF SUCH UNLAWFULLY DECEP-
 TIVE ACT OR PRACTICE.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S9889

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

2023-S9889 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S9889 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S9889 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S9889 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S9889

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Sponsored By

Rachel May

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

2023-S9889 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S9889 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S9889 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S9889 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments