Article
15. PFAS DISCLOSURE
25258.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) The contamination of water, soil, and air in the state from perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, poses a significant and urgent threat to the environment of the state and to the health of its citizens.
(b) PFAS continue to be used across numerous industries for a variety of purposes and are ultimately contained in a number of products sold in the state.
(c) Without accurate and timely data on how and how much PFAS are entering the state in any form, state regulators and local public
agencies, including wastewater facility operators, are unable to expeditiously develop and implement best practices or set discharge limits that will protect human health and the environment.
(d) Without accurate and timely data on how and how much PFAS are entering the state in any form, the Legislature is hampered in understanding the full scope of PFAS sources and the product sectors on which to focus in order to support policy decisions regarding uses of PFAS or their entry into the environment and California public.
(e) Without accurate and timely data on how and how much PFAS are entering the state for industrial or commercial uses, businesses working to avoid PFAS exposure in their workers or in their products in order to meet environmental and health standards
struggle to swiftly identify sources within their facilities.
(f) To characterize the real and urgent threats of further PFAS environmental contamination and human exposure in the state, and to develop the best practices for addressing them in an expeditious manner, it is imperative to collect, and make available to the public, timely information regarding how PFAS enter the state, whether as PFAS themselves or in consumer and industrial products, as well as the amount of PFAS coming into the state.
(g) Requiring the prompt disclosure of the use of PFAS in products and product components is in the best interests of the state and requires the state’s urgent attention and action.
(h) The Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse (IC2) is
an association of state, local, and tribal governments that promotes a clean environment, healthy communities, and a vital economy through the development and use of safer chemicals and products. The IC2’s High Priority Chemicals Data System (HPCDS) is an existing, online platform that supports the reporting of information on the presence of chemicals of concern in products as required by the Oregon Toxic-Free Kids Act (Sections 431A.253 to 431A.280, inclusive, of Chapter 431A of Title 36 of Volume 12 of the Oregon Revised Statutes) and the State of Washington’s Children’s Safe Products Act (Chapter 70A.430 (commencing with Section 70A.430.010) of Title 70A of the Revised Code of Washington). California is a member of IC2.
25258.1.
For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) “Intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances” or “intentionally added PFAS” means PFAS that a manufacturer has intentionally added to a product, a product’s components, or a product’s ingredients and that have a functional or technical effect in the product, the product’s components, or the product’s ingredients. “Intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances” or “intentionally added PFAS” also includes the PFAS components of intentionally added chemicals and PFAS that are intentional breakdown products of an added chemical that also have a functional or technical effect in the product, the product’s components, or the product’s ingredients.
(b) (1) “Manufacturer” means any of the following:
(A) A person or entity who manufactures PFAS or imports PFAS into the state.
(B) A person or entity who manufactures a product or product component containing intentionally added PFAS or imports a product or product component containing intentionally added PFAS into the state, or whose name appears on the product label.
(C) A person or entity for whom the PFAS or product or product component containing intentionally added PFAS is manufactured or distributed, as identified by the product label pursuant to the federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1451 et seq.).
(2) In the case of a product or product component containing intentionally added PFAS that is imported into the United States, “manufacturer” includes the importer or first domestic distributor of the product in the state if the person or entity that manufactured or assembled the product or product component or whose brand name is affixed to the product or product component does not have a presence in the state.
(3) If two or more entities qualify as a “manufacturer” of the same PFAS-containing product or its components, only one entity
may be responsible for the reporting requirement under Section 25258.2. The entities may determine which entity will provide the required information for the product or its components. Incorrect information reported by the reporting entity does not satisfy the nonreporting entity’s obligation to report under Section 25258.2.
(4) “Manufacturer” does not include a state agency, as defined in Section 46025, or a local agency, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 66000 of the Government Code.
(c) “Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances” or “PFAS” means a class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom.
(d) “Product” means an item, including its product components, that is manufactured, assembled, packaged, or otherwise prepared for sale or distributed, including for personal, residential, commercial, or industrial use, or for use in making other products.
(e) “Product component” means a component of a product, including the product’s ingredients or a part of the product.
25258.2.
(a) (1) The department shall contract with an existing multistate chemical data collection entity that is used by other states and jurisdictions to implement, by January 1,
2026, a publicly accessible data collection interface that manufacturers shall use to report data as required by this section.(2) The department may enter into any necessary contracts to implement the purposes of this article.
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, the contracts entered into pursuant to this article are
exempt from Section 11546 of, and Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 14825) of Part 5.5 of Division 3 of Title 2 of, the Government Code, and Section 10295 of, Article 4 (commencing with Section 10335) of Chapter 2 of, and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 12100) of, Part 2 of Division 2 of, the Public Contract Code, and any policies, procedures, standards, oversight, guidelines, and regulations authorized by those laws.
(4) To the extent reasonable and feasible, the data collection interface shall streamline and facilitate data reporting required by this section with similar data reporting required by other states and jurisdictions.
(b) The department may adopt any regulations necessary to implement the requirements of this article.
(c) The department may provide technical assistance to manufacturers in complying with this article.
(d) The department may use regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (b) or technical assistance provided pursuant to subdivision (c) to clarify the reporting requirements or to ensure that the data collected are not duplicative among the reporting entities.
(e) On or before July 1,
2026, and on or before July 1 of each year thereafter, a manufacturer of PFAS or a product or product component containing intentionally added PFAS that, during the prior calendar year, is sold, offered for sale, distributed, or offered for promotional purposes in, or imported into, the state shall register the PFAS or the product or product component containing intentionally added PFAS on the publicly accessible data collection interface implemented pursuant to subdivision (a), along with all of the following information, as applicable:
(1) The name and type of product or product component containing intentionally added PFAS.
(2) The universal product code, or “UPC,” of the product or product component containing intentionally added
PFAS.
(3) The purpose or function for which the intentionally added PFAS are used in the product or product component.
(4) The identity and amount of all PFAS compounds in the product or product component containing intentionally added PFAS, reported as follows:
(A) The identity shall be reported as follows:
(i) The specific name and the Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number, also known as a “CAS Registry Number” or “CAS RN,” of each PFAS
compound, if both are known.
(ii) The specific name or the CAS RN if only one is known.
(iii) The brand name of the formulation that contains PFAS and the name of the formulation manufacturer, if neither the specific name nor CAS RN is known.
(B) The amount or weight of PFAS shall be reported as follows:
(i) The amount or weight of each intentionally added PFAS compound, if known.
(ii) The total organic fluorine in the product or product component containing intentionally added PFAS, if the amount or weight of each intentionally added PFAs compound is not known.
(5) The amount of the product or the product component or the numbers of products or product components sold, delivered, or imported into the state in the prior calendar year.
(6) The name and address of the manufacturer, and the name, address, and phone number of a contact person for the manufacturer.
25258.3.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a violation of this article is subject to all civil penalties and other enforcement provisions specified in Article 8 (commencing with Section 25180).(b) A violation of this article is not subject to any criminal penalty specified in Article 8 (commencing with Section 25180).
25258.4.
This article does not apply to any of the following:(a) A product regulated as a drug, medical device, or dietary supplement by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
(b) A medical equipment or product used in medical settings that is regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
(c) A product intended for animals that is regulated as animal drugs, biologics, parasiticides, medical devices, and diagnostics used to treat or are administered to animals under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.), the federal
Virus-Serum-Toxin Act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.), or the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq.).