Today's Law As Amended


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SB-1256 Product safety: rare earth magnets.(2019-2020)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Small powerful rare earth magnets are often marketed as toys and sold to children.
(b) Due to their size and magnetic strength, these magnets present a hidden danger to infants, children, and teens if accidentally ingested.
(c) When two or more of these high-powered magnets are ingested, the force allows the two magnets to find each other across or between different segments of the digestive system.
(d) A collision of two or more high-powered magnets across segments of the digestive system can lead to serious injury or death.
(e) The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent federal regulatory agency, issued a final safety standard in 2014 limiting the size and strength of high-powered magnets in a toy set, resulting in significant decreases in accidental magnet ingestion by children.
(f) In 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated the 2014 federal safety standards with a ruling that the agency failed to meet standards for the rulemaking process.
(g) Since the decision, there has been a surge in accidental magnet ingestions in the United States.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 10.5 (commencing with Section 108930) is added to Part 3 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

CHAPTER  10.5. Rare Earth Magnets
108930.
 For purposes of this chapter, a “rare earth magnet” means a magnet that meets all of the following criteria:
(a) Made from alloys of rare earth elements.
(b) Contains an individual magnet with a flux index of greater than 50 kg2mm2.
(c) Contains any individual magnet that fits completely within the small parts cylinder described in Section 1501.4 of Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
108931.
 A person or entity shall not manufacture, sell, or distribute in commerce a rare earth magnet.