AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 4, 2024
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 1, 2024
california legislature—2023–24 regular session
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 2515
Introduced by Assembly Member Papan
February 13, 2024
An act to add Article 15 (commencing with Section 25258) to Chapter
6.5 of Di vision 20 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to public health.
legislative counsel’s digest
AB 2515, as amended, Papan. Menstrual products: perfluoroalk yl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
The Hazardous Waste Control Law regulates the use and disposal of hazardous materials. Existing la w permits the Department of Toxic Substances Control or any local officer or agency authorized to enforce the Hazardous Waste Control Law to require specified parties to furnish and transmit certain information relating to hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, and hazardous materials. A violation of the Hazardous Waste Control Law is a crime.
Existing law, beginning January 1, 2025, prohibits a person or entity from manufacturing, selling, delivering, holding, or offering for sale in commerce an y cosmetic product that contains intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), as defined.
This bill w ould similarly prohibit an y person from manuf acturing, distributing, selling, or of fering for sale in the state an y menstrual products that contain re gulated PF AS, as defined. The bill w ould authorize the Department of Toxic Substances Control to adopt guidance
97 or re gulations, as specified, for the purposes of implementing and enforcing these pro visions. The bill w ould exempt the guidance and regulations from the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill w ould require the department to issue guidance related to testing for regulated PFAS in menstrual products. products and would exempt that guidance from the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill w ould authorize the department to issue a cease and desist order to a manuf acturer of a menstrual product under specified circumstances. The bill would make a violation of these provisions punishable by civil penalties, as specified, and would authorize the Attorney General by request of the department, a city attorney, a county counsel, or a city prosecutor to bring an action to enforce these pro visions. The bill would create, and w ould require all moneys collected from penalties to be deposited in, the T.A.M.P.O.N.
Act Fund. The bill would also authorize any person to bring an action in superior court for any injury suffered as a result of a product sold in violation of this prohibition.
By e xpanding the scope of a crime, this bill w ould impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimb urse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state.
Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
line 1 SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the line 2 Take All Menstrual Product-PFAS Out Now (T.A.M.P.O.N.) Act. line 3 SEC. 2. Article 15 (commencing with Section 25258) is added line 4 to Chapter 6.5 of Di vision 20 of the Health and Safety Code , to line 5 read:
line 6
line 7 Article 15. Menstrual Products
line 8
line 9 25258. For the purposes of this article, the following definitions line 10 apply:
line 11 (a) “Department” means the Department of Toxic Substances line 12 Control.
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line 1 (b) “Menstrual product” means a product used to collect line 2 menstruation and vaginal discharge, including, but not limited to, line 3 tampons, pads, sponges, menstruation underwear , disks, and line 4 menstrual cups, whether disposable or reusable.
line 5 (c) “Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances” or “PFAS” line 6 means a class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least line 7 one fully fluorinated carbon atom.
line 8 (d) “Regulated perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalk yl substances line 9 or PFAS” means either of the following:
line 10 (1) Commencing January 1, 2025, PF AS that a manuf acturer line 11 has intentionally added to a product and that have a functional or line 12 technical effect in the product, including the PF AS components line 13 of intentionally added chemicals and PF AS that are intentional line 14 breakdown products of an added chemical that also ha ve a line 15 functional or technical effect in the product.
line 16 (2) Commencing January 1, 2027, the presence of PF AS in a line 17 product or product component at or above 10 parts per million, as line 18 measured in total organic fluorine.
line 19 25258.1. (a) The department may adopt regulations or guidance line 20 as necessary for the purpose of implementing, administering, and line 21 enforcing this article.
line 22 (b) Notwithstanding an y other la w, re gulations or guidance line 23 adopted to implement this article are not subject to the requirements line 24 of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing line 25 with Section 11340) of P art 1 of Di vision 3 of Title 2 of the line 26 Government Code).
line 27 25258.2. (a) The department shall issue guidance as it relates line 28 to testing for the presence of regulated PFAS in menstrual products. line 29 (b) Notwithstanding any other law , guidance adopted to line 30 implement this section is not subject to the r equirements of the line 31 Administrative Pr ocedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with line 32 Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government line 33 Code).
line 34 25258.3. A person shall not manuf acture, distribute, sell, or line 35 offer for sale in the state a menstrual product that contains regulated line 36 perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS. line 37 25258.4. If the department finds that a menstrual product line 38 contains regulated PFAS, and reasonably suspects that imminent line 39 harm w ould result from the continued sale of the product, the 97 AB 2515 — 3 —
line 1 department may issue a cease and desist order to the manufacturer line 2 of the menstrual product.
line 3 25258.5. (a) Any person may bring a civil action in a court of line 4 competent jurisdiction for an y injury suf fered as a result of a line 5 product sold in violation of this article.
line 6 (b) Exemplary damages, as provided for in Section 3294 of the line 7 Civil Code, may also be a warded in any action brought pursuant line 8 to this section.
line 9 25258.6. (a) A violation of this article is punishable by a civil line 10 penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) per day. line 11 (b) A second and subsequent violation of this article is line 12 punishable by a ci vil penalty not to e xceed ten thousand dollars line 13 ($10,000) per day.
line 14 (c) The court may grant injunctive relief in any action brought line 15 pursuant to this section.
line 16 (d) Actions may be brought pursuant to this section by the line 17 Attorney General in the name of the people of the state by the line 18 request of the department, by a city attorney, by a county counsel, line 19 or by a city prosecutor in a city or city and county ha ving a line 20 full-time city prosecutor.
line 21 (e) A prevailing plaintiff bringing an action pursuant to this line 22 article shall be awarded attorney’s fees and costs by the court. line 23 (f) Moneys from penalties collected pursuant to this section line 24 shall be deposited in the T.A.M.P.O.N. Act Fund, which is hereby line 25 created in the State Treasury. The moneys deposited in the fund line 26 shall be a vailable, upon appropriation by the Le gislature, for line 27 expenditure by the department e xclusively for the support of the line 28 department in carrying out the duties and responsibilities under line 29 this article.
line 30 SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to line 31 Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because line 32 the only costs that may be incurred by a local agenc y or school line 33 district will be incurred because this act creates a ne w crime or line 34 infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty line 35 for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of line 36 the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within line 37 the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California line 38 Constitution.
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