S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3567
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 28, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. CLEARE, FERNANDEZ -- 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  enacting  the
   "consumer protection and automotive transparency act"

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "consumer protection and automotive transparency act".
   §  2.  Legislative  purpose  and intent. The purpose of this act is to
 mandate transparency in  automotive  labeling,  ensuring  consumers  are
 accurately informed about the materials used in the interiors of automo-
 biles. Consumers are often misled by the marketing of different types of
 materials  used  in  making  seating  surfaces, steering wheels and gear
 shifters in the  automotive  industry.  This  misleading  marketing  can
 result in consumers paying more for products that are not what they were
 expecting or buying a product that they assume is a certain material and
 it  is  not. It is important to protect consumers (monetarily, ethically
 and health-related) by requiring automotive  manufacturers  to  disclose
 the  materials used in their interior products. This legislation aims to
 protect consumers from deceptive marketing practices and promote  trans-
 parency across the automotive industry.
   (a)  The  purpose  of  this legislation is to protect consumers in the
 automotive industry by ensuring transparency and  accurate  labeling  of
 materials used in automobile interiors.
   (b)  This  legislation  aims to prevent misleading marketing practices
 and provide consumers with clear and  understandable  information  about
 the content of automobile interiors.
   (c)  This legislation mandates transparency in the labeling of automo-
 tive interiors to protect consumers from misleading marketing  practices
 related to leather, fabric and plastic materials.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05727-01-5
              

 S. 3567                             2
 
   (d)  This  legislation aims to ensure that consumers can make informed
 decisions about the materials used in automotive interiors.
   (e)  This  legislation  seeks  to  establish clear and simple labeling
 requirements, avoiding unnecessary complexity and ensuring accessibility
 for consumers of all educational backgrounds.
   § 3. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 198-d
 to read as follows:
   § 198-D. CONSUMER PROTECTION AND AUTOMOTIVE  TRANSPARENCY.  (A)  DEFI-
 NITIONS.  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL
 HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (1) "LEATHER" MEANS ANY HIDE OR SKIN  PRODUCTS  DERIVED  FROM  ANIMALS
 THAT  POSSESS  AN INTACT ORIGINAL FIBROUS STRUCTURE, OBTAINED FROM HIDES
 TANNED TO PREVENT DECAY, THAT  MAY  HAVE  BEEN  SPLIT  BEFORE  OR  AFTER
 TANNING INTO LAYERS OR SEGMENTS, AND THAT MAY HAVE A COATING APPLIED.
   (2)  "FABRIC" MEANS ANY CLOTH OR MATERIAL PRODUCED BY WEAVING OR KNIT-
 TING FIBERS.
   (3) "PLASTIC AND COATED MATERIALS" MEANS ROLLED GOODS,  OR  SHEETS  OF
 WOVEN,  KNIT,  OR NON-WOVEN TEXTILES TO WHICH A POLYMER OR RESIN MIXTURE
 IS APPLIED AS A SURFACE COATING OR LAYER AND MAKES UP  THE  MAJORITY  OF
 THE BASE MATERIAL.
   (4) "LABEL" MEANS ANY TAG, LABEL, OR OTHER WRITING THAT IS ATTACHED TO
 OR ACCOMPANIES AN AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCT.
   (5) "CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION" MEANS THE CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVI-
 SION ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SECTION NINETY-FOUR-A OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW.
   (B) LABELING REQUIREMENTS.  (1) AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURERS SHALL CLEARLY
 LABEL  THE  INTERIOR  MATERIALS  OF VEHICLES USING TERMS THAT ARE EASILY
 UNDERSTANDABLE TO THE AVERAGE CONSUMER AT A LEVEL EQUIVALENT TO A  SIXTH
 GRADE  READING  COMPREHENSION.    AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURERS SHALL PROVIDE
 TRANSPARENT AND ACCURATE LABELING ON AUTOMOBILE INTERIORS TO ENSURE THAT
 ALL CONSUMERS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR LEVEL OF  EDUCATION,  CAN  UNDERSTAND
 THE MATERIAL USED IN THE AUTOMOBILE INTERIOR.
   (2)  THE  INTERIOR  THRESHOLD  REQUIRED  FOR DEFINED LABELING SHALL BE
 BASED UPON THE PERCENT OF MATERIAL  USED  ON  THE  INTERACTIVE  INTERIOR
 SURFACES  OF  AN  AUTOMOBILE.  INTERACTIVE  INTERIOR SURFACES SHALL MEAN
 SEATING SURFACES IN ALL ROWS OF THE VEHICLE, HEADRESTS, STEERING  WHEEL,
 AND GEAR SHIFT.  INTERACTIVE INTERIOR SURFACES SHALL NOT INCLUDE SEATING
 SIDE AND BACK PANELS AND ALL OTHER NON-SEATING SURFACES IN THE VEHICLE.
   (I)  IF  THE  INTERACTIVE  INTERIOR  SURFACE  MATERIAL IS GREATER THAN
 SEVENTY PERCENT OF A DEFINED COMPOSITION, THEN THE ENTIRE LABEL  CAN  BE
 LABELED AS SUCH.
   (II)  IF  THE  INTERACTIVE  INTERIOR  SURFACE IS COMPOSED OF LESS THAN
 SEVENTY PERCENT OF ANY OF  THE  DEFINED  MATERIALS,  INCLUDING  LEATHER,
 FABRIC,  OR  PLASTIC  AND  COATED MATERIALS, THEN THERE SHALL BE A LABEL
 DEFINING THE MATERIAL USED BY PERCENTAGE.
   (3) THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL BE USED TO DESCRIBE THE  MATERIALS  USED
 IN  AUTOMOBILE INTERIORS: LEATHER, FABRIC, PLASTIC AND COATED MATERIALS,
 AND ANY OTHER MATERIAL THAT ACCURATELY  REPRESENTS  THE  NATURE  OF  THE
 INTERIOR.
   (4)  THE INTERACTIVE INTERIOR SURFACES LABELS SHALL BE CLEARLY VISIBLE
 TO THE CONSUMERS, SHALL BE PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED  ON  THE  PRODUCT,  AND
 SHALL BE EASY TO READ. THE MATERIAL OF THE UPHOLSTERY SHALL BE LISTED IN
 PLAIN AND EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND LANGUAGE.
   (C) PROHIBITION OF MARKETING NAMES. THE USE OF MARKETING NAMES CAUSING
 CONFUSION,  SUCH AS MBTEX, ACTIVEX, ALCANTERA, ARTICO, NULUXE, SANSATEC,
 SOFTEX, SOPHINA,  ULTRASUEDE,  V-TEX  OR  SIMILAR  MARKETING  NAMES,  IS
 PROHIBITED FOR LABELING AUTOMOBILE INTERIORS.
 S. 3567                             3
 
   (D)  PROHIBITION  OF  DECEPTIVE  PRACTICES.  IT IS PROHIBITED TO SELL,
 MARKET, OR ADVERTISE AUTOMOBILE INTERIORS USING TERMS SUCH AS "LEATHER,"
 "SKIN," "TANNED SKIN," "COATED LEATHER," OR ANY OTHER TERMS  DEFINED  IN
 THIS  SECTION,  ITS DERIVATIVES, OR SYNONYMS, AS WELL AS THE OTHER TERMS
 AS  A  MEANS  OF NAMING ANY OTHER MATERIALS WHICH DO NOT COMPLY WITH THE
 CHARACTERISTICS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION (A) OF THIS SECTION, EITHER AS  A
 NOUN  OR  AS  AN  ADJECTIVE,  EVEN IF ENTERED AS PREFIXES OR SUFFIXES IN
 OTHER WORDS, REGARDLESS OF THE LANGUAGE USED.
   (E) ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES.  (1) THE CONSUMER  PROTECTION  DIVISION
 SHALL ENFORCE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.
   (2)  VIOLATIONS  OF  THIS  SECTION  MAY RESULT IN PENALTIES, FINES, OR
 OTHER APPROPRIATE ENFORCEMENT MEASURES AS  DETERMINED  BY  THE  CONSUMER
 PROTECTION DIVISION.
   (3)  THE  CONSUMER  PROTECTION  DIVISION  MAY  INVESTIGATE ANY ALLEGED
 VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION AND MAY ISSUE ORDERS TO CEASE AND DESIST OPER-
 ATIONS FROM ANY VIOLATION. THE CONSUMER  PROTECTION  DIVISION  MAY  ALSO
 IMPOSE CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS SECTION.
   §  4. Severability. If any provision of this act is held to be invalid
 or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability shall  not  affect
 the validity or enforceability of any other provision of this act.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.