[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4476 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4476
To require ingredient labeling of certain consumer cleaning products,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 10, 2014
Mr. Israel introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require ingredient labeling of certain consumer cleaning products,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Cleaning Product Right to Know Act
of 2014''.
SEC. 2. CLEANING PRODUCTS LABELING REQUIREMENT.
(a) Labeling Requirement.--Beginning 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, a cleaning product manufactured for sale,
offered for sale, distributed in commerce, or imported to the United
States after such date shall bear a label on the product's container or
packaging with a complete and accurate list of all the product's
ingredients, including the individual ingredients in dyes, fragrances,
and preservatives. Ingredients shall be listed in accordance with the
following:
(1) Each ingredient shall be listed by the name assigned to
it by the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients.
If there is no such name, by the name assigned to it by the
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. If there is
no such name, the ingredient may be listed by its common
chemical name.
(2) Ingredients shall be listed in descending order of
predominance in the product by weight, other than ingredients
that constitute less than 1 percent of the product, which may
be listed at the end in any order.
(b) Exemptions.--
(1) Exemption for undetectable ingredients.--The Commission
may exempt from the labeling requirement an ingredient that is
present in a cleaning product at such low levels that detection
of the ingredient in the product is not technologically
feasible.
(2) Exemption for ingredients constituting trade secrets.--
(A) In general.--An ingredient may be exempt from
the labeling requirements of this section if the
manufacturer demonstrates to the Commission that such
ingredient is a trade secret, as determined by the
Commission under subparagraph (D), based on a claim
submitted by the manufacturer under subparagraph (B).
An exemption for an ingredient under this paragraph
shall be for a period of 5 years, after which the
manufacturer may again submit a claim for an additional
5-year exemption.
(B) Claims of trade secrecy.--A manufacturer making
a claim that an ingredient is a trade secret shall file
such claim with the Commission. Such claim shall
contain--
(i) the identity of the person making the
claim;
(ii) a brief description of the information
for which trade secret protection is being
claimed;
(iii) the period of time for which trade
secret protection is claimed and a
justification for the period selected;
(iv) the extent to which the information is
known by employees or others involved with the
facility or business, and whether or not those
individuals with knowledge are bound by non-
disclosure agreements;
(v) the extent to which the information is
known outside of the facility or business of
the person, and whether or not individuals with
such knowledge are bound by non-disclosure
agreements;
(vi) the measures taken to restrict access
to and safeguard the information, and whether
or not the person plans to continue utilizing
such measures;
(vii) copies of, or references to, any
pertinent confidentiality determinations
previously made by any public agencies;
(viii) the estimated dollar value of the
claimed information to the person's facility or
business, and to that person's competitors;
(ix) the amount of effort or money expended
by the person's facility or business in
developing the information;
(x) the ease or difficulty with which the
information could be properly acquired,
duplicated or reverse-engineered by others;
(xi) a description of the nature and extent
of substantial harm that would be caused if the
information were made public, including an
explanation of the causal relationship between
disclosure and the harmful effects claimed;
(xii) the signature of the person's general
counsel or other executive with knowledge of
the preparation of the substantiating
information certifying under penalty of
perjury, based upon the knowledge and belief of
the signatory, that--
(I) the substantiating information
is true, accurate, and complete;
(II) the information for which
trade secret protection is claimed is
not otherwise publicly available; and
(III) there is a reasonable basis
to assert trade secret protection for
the information so claimed; and
(xiii) the name, mailing address, telephone
number and email address of the individual to
be contacted if any additional information is
needed by the Commission to make a
determination.
(C) Limitation.--No ingredient may be claimed as a
trade secret if such ingredient--
(i) is publicly known to be in the product;
(ii) can be discovered through a standard
process of reverse engineering;
(iii) is a hazardous substance within the
meaning of section 2(f) of the Federal
Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261(f));
or
(iv) is a substance--
(I) meeting the criteria for
category 1 or category 2 for any of the
toxicity endpoints established by the
Globally Harmonized System for the
Classification and Labeling of
Hazardous Substances that causes an
adverse effect that has been
demonstrated in humans or other exposed
organisms; or
(II) for which the weight of
evidence (such as demonstration of an
adverse effect, laboratory studies, or
data for a chemical from the same
chemical class that exhibits that
adverse effect) demonstrates the
potential for an adverse effect in
humans or other exposed organisms,
including actual or potential effects
of exposure to the chemical substance
or mixture on mortality, morbidity,
including carcinogenesis, reproduction,
growth and development, the immune
system, the endocrine system, the brain
or nervous system, other organ systems,
or any other biological functions in
humans or nonhuman organisms.
(D) CPSC determination.--As promptly as practicable
after receiving the information submitted by a
manufacturer, the Commission shall make a determination
on the basis of such information as to whether the
ingredient is a legitimate trade secret and shall
notify the manufacturer of its determination.
(c) Treatment Under the FHSA.--A cleaning product that is not in
conformity with the labeling requirements of subsection (a) and not
exempt from such requirements pursuant to subsection (b) shall be
treated as a substance defined in section 2(p) of the Federal Hazardous
Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261(p)) for purposes of such Act.
(d) No Effect on Existing Labeling Requirements.--Nothing in this
Act shall be interpreted as having any effect on any labeling
requirements in effect before the date of enactment of this Act as
described in section 2(p) of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15
U.S.C. 1261(p)).
(e) Rulemaking Authority.--The Commission may issue such
regulations it determines necessary to provide for the effective
enforcement of this Act, and shall consult with the Administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency as necessary.
SEC. 3. PUBLIC RIGHT TO KNOW PETITION.
(a) Petition.--Any person may submit a petition to the Commission
alleging that a cleaning product available in interstate commerce does
not satisfy the labeling requirements of this Act.
(b) Action by the Commission.--The Commission shall notify a
petitioner of the receipt of a petition within 30 days after receipt of
such petition. The Commission shall investigate the claims made by the
petition and make a determination as to the validity of such claims
within 180 days after acknowledging the receipt of such petition. If
the Commission sustains the claim or claims made by the petition, the
Commission shall initiate the proper enforcement actions required by
law.
(c) Regulations.--The Commission may issue such regulations as it
determines necessary to require that petitions include a reasonable
evidentiary basis for the claims made therein.
SEC. 4. REQUIRED INTERNET DISCLOSURE.
(a) Manufacturer Disclosure.--Each manufacturer of a cleaning
product shall make available in a clear and conspicuous location on the
website of such manufacturer, if the manufacturer maintains a website,
a complete list of each of the manufacturer's cleaning products'
ingredients not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this
Act.
(b) Content and Requirements of Disclosure.--The disclosure
required by subsection (a) shall--
(1) name and list the product's ingredients in the manner
prescribed in section 3;
(2) be reviewed every 120 days and revised as necessary to
reflect changes to cleaning products;
(3) include the appropriate Chemical Abstract Services
number for each ingredient;
(4) identify any potential adverse health effect of each
ingredient in the cleaning product and use the appropriate
signal word or hazard descriptor as prescribed in section 2(p)
of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261(p));
and
(5) be sortable by product, ingredient, adverse health
effect, and other categories as determined by the Commission.
(c) Commission Disclosure.--Promptly after the date set forth in
subsection (a), the Commission shall provide on the website of the
Commission a web page that aggregates the information made available by
manufacturers under such subsection and that allows users to compare
products made by different manufacturers. Such web page shall be
reviewed every 6 months and revised as necessary to reflect changes to
cleaning products.
(d) Language Accessibility.--The disclosures required to be made on
a website or web page subject to this section shall be available in
English, Spanish, and any other language the Commission determines
necessary to ensure that users of a cleaning product in the United
States are informed as to the complete list of the product's
ingredients and potential adverse health effects.
SEC. 5. ENHANCED PENALTIES.
Section 5(c)(1) of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C.
1264(c)(1)) is amended by striking ``$15,000,000'' and inserting
``$30,000,000''.
SEC. 6. REPORTING.
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act and
every 2 years thereafter, the Commission shall prepare a report on
compliance with the labeling requirement of this Act and the
enforcement activities of the Commission, and shall transmit such
report to Congress and make it publicly available on the Internet.
SEC. 7. PREEMPTION.
Nothing in this Act affects the right of a State or political
subdivision of a State to adopt or enforce any regulation, requirement,
or standard of performance that is different from, or in addition to, a
regulation, requirement, liability, or standard of performance
established pursuant to this Act unless compliance with both this Act
and the State or political subdivision of a State regulation,
requirement, or standard of performance is impossible, in which case
the applicable provision of this Act shall control.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Adverse health effect.--The term ``adverse health
effect'' means a chemical or biochemical change, anatomic
change, or functional impairment, or a known precursor to such
a change or impairment, that--
(A) has the potential to impair the performance of
an anatomic structure of a vital system of an organism
or progeny of an organism;
(B) causes irreversible change in the homeostasis
of an organism;
(C) increases the susceptibility of an organism or
progeny of an organism to other chemical or biological
stressors or reduces the ability of an organism or
progeny of an organism to respond to additional health
or environmental challenges; or
(D) affects, alters, or harms the environment such
that the health of humans or other organisms is
directly or indirectly threatened.
(2) Air care product.--The term ``air care product'' means
a chemically formulated consumer product designed to clean and
freshen air or to deodorize and neutralize unwanted odors in
the indoor air, including solid gels, air freshener spray, an
outlet or battery operated air freshener, a hanging car air
freshener, and a potpourri product.
(3) Automotive product.--The term ``automotive product''
means a chemically formulated consumer product designed to
maintain the appearance of a motor vehicle, but does not
include automotive paint or a paint repair product.
(4) Cleaning product.--The term ``cleaning product'' means
any product used primarily for commercial, domestic, or
institutional cleaning purposes, including an air care product,
automotive product, disinfectant (except as provided in
subparagraph (B)), and polish or floor maintenance product.
Such term shall not include--
(A) any drug or cosmetics, including personal care
items such as toothpaste, shampoo, and hand soap; or
(B) a product labeled, advertised, marketed, and
distributed for use only as a pesticide, as defined by
section 2(u) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and
Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136(u)), including a
disinfectant intended for use solely on critical or
semi-critical devices as described by such section.
(5) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Consumer
Product Safety Commission.
(6) Ingredient.--The term ``ingredient'' means a chemical
in a cleaning product, including--
(A) a chemical that provides a technical or
functional effect;
(B) a chemical that has no technical or functional
effect but is present by reason of having been
incorporated into the cleaning product as an ingredient
of another chemical;
(C) a processing aid that is present by reason of
having been added to a cleaning product during the
processing of such cleaning product;
(D) any substance that is present by reason of
having been added to a cleaning product during
processing for its technical or functional effect;
(E) any contaminant that may leach from container
materials or form via reactions over the shelf life of
a cleaning product and that may be present at levels
where detection is technologically feasible;
(F) with respect to a fragrance or preservative,
each individual component part of the fragrance or
preservative by its individual name; and
(G) any individual component of a petroleum-
derived, animal-derived, or other ingredient that the
Commission determines be considered an ingredient.
(7) Polish or floor maintenance product.--The term ``polish
or floor maintenance product'' means a chemically formulated
consumer product designed to polish, protect, or maintain
furniture, floors, metal, leather, or other surfaces, including
polish, wax, and restorer.
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