An Act To Harmonize Maine's Laws Governing Toxic Chemicals in Children's Products with Those of Other States
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0948
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources
Sponsors: GIDEON, BAKER, DEVIN, DUCHESNE, MAREAN, MORRISON, TEPLER, WHITE, DUTREMBLE, GRATWICK
Amends: 38 MRSA §1695, 38 MRSA §1695-A

Legislative Document 
No. 948 
H.P. 651 
House of Representatives, March 17, 2015 
An Act To Harmonize Maine's Laws Governing Toxic Chemicals in 
Children's Products with Those of Other States 
Reference to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources suggested and ordered 
printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative GIDEON of Freeport. 
Cosponsored by Senator BAKER of Sagadahoc and 
Representatives: DEVIN of Newcastle, DUCHESNE of Hudson, MAREAN of Hollis, 
MORRISON of South Portland, TEPLER of Topsham, WHITE of Washburn, Senators: 
DUTREMBLE of York, GRATWICK of Penobscot. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §1695, as amended by PL 2013, c. 232, §1, is further amended 
to read: 
§1695.  Disclosure of information on chemicals of high concern and priority 
chemicals 
1.  Reporting of chemical use.  A person who is a manufacturer or distributor of a 
children's product for sale in the State that contains a priority chemical, as identified 
pursuant to section 1694, chemical of high concern in an amount greater than a de 
minimis level shall notify the department in writing on an annual basis in accordance with 
rules adopted by the department, unless waived by the commissioner pursuant to this 
section or exempt from this chapter pursuant to section 1697. This written notice must be 
made within 180 days after a priority chemical is identified. If the sale of the children's 
product does not commence until after the 180-day reporting period ends, this written 
notice must be made within 30 days of sale of the children's product in the State. This 
written notice must identify the children's product, the number of units sold or distributed 
for sale in the State or nationally, the priority chemical or chemicals of high concern 
contained in the children's product, the amount of such chemicals in each unit of 
children's product and the intended purpose of the chemicals in the children's product. 
Not later than January 1, 2016, the department shall adopt rules to implement this 
subsection.  The rules adopted pursuant to this subsection: 
A.  May establish tiers for submitting the required notice that take into account the 
size of the manufacturer and the exposure potential of the product, as long as the 
rules require that the initial notices be submitted within 180 days and all notices be 
submitted within 5 years of the effective date of the rule; and 
B.  Must require notification for each category of products subject to reporting, unless 
the commissioner finds that a lower level of reporting is justified on the basis of 
credible scientific evidence and consistent with section 1692, including the goal of 
reducing exposure of vulnerable populations to chemicals of high concern. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
2.  Supplemental information.  The manufacturer or distributor of a children's 
product that contains a priority chemical shall provide the following additional 
information if requested by the department: 
A.  Information on the likelihood that the chemical will be released from the 
children's product to the environment during the children's product's life cycle and the 
extent to which users of the children's product are likely to be exposed to the 
chemical;  
B.  Information on the extent to which the chemical is present in the environment or 
human body; and 
C.  An assessment of the availability, cost, feasibility and performance, including 
potential for harm to human health and the environment, of alternatives to the priority 
chemical and the reason the priority chemical is used in the manufacture of the 
children's product in lieu of identified alternatives.  If an assessment acceptable to the 
department is not timely submitted, the department may assess a fee on the 
manufacturer or distributor to cover the costs to prepare an independent report on the 
availability of safer alternatives by a contractor of the department's choice. 
The manufacturer or distributor of a children's product that contains a priority chemical 
may provide additional information to the department regarding the potential for harm to 
human health and the environment from specific uses of the priority chemical. 
3.  Waiver of reporting; fee; extension of deadline.  The commissioner may waive 
all or part of the notification requirement under subsection 1  for one or more specified 
uses of a priority chemical if the commissioner determines that substantially equivalent 
information is already publicly available, that the information is not needed for the 
purposes of this chapter or that the specified use or uses are minor in volume.  The 
department may assess a fee payable by the manufacturer or distributor upon submission 
of the notification to cover the department's reasonable costs in managing the information 
collected.  The department may extend the deadline for submission of the information 
required under subsection 1 for one or more specified uses of a priority chemical in a 
children's product if it determines that more time is needed by the manufacturer or 
distributor to comply with the submission requirement or if the information is not needed 
at that time. 
4.  Rulemaking to determine fees.  If the department assesses a fee pursuant to 
subsection 2, paragraph C or subsection 3, the department shall determine the appropriate 
fee through major substantive rulemaking, as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 
2-A. 
Sec. 2.  38 MRSA §1695-A is enacted to read: 
§1695-A.  Identification of priority products 
1.  Criteria.  The commissioner may designate a consumer product as a priority 
product if the commissioner finds: 
A.  The consumer product is a children's product; and 
B.  The consumer product contains a chemical of high concern as identified pursuant 
to section 1693-A or a priority chemical as designated pursuant to section 1694. 
2.  Designation.  Not later than January 1, 2017, the commissioner shall designate 
consumer products within 3 categories of consumer products as priority products and 
shall identify the chemicals that are the basis for each designation.  A chemical of high 
concern identified as the basis for designation of a priority product must be considered a 
priority chemical as applied to that product category for the purposes of this chapter. 
3.  Assessment.  Not later than 180 days after designation of a priority product 
pursuant to this section, a manufacturer or distributor of a priority product shall submit to 
the department an assessment of the availability of safer alternatives to any priority 
chemical present in that product, including consideration of cost and performance, in 
accordance with the requirements of section 1695, subsection 2, paragraph C. 
4.  Rules.  The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of this 
section.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined 
in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 3.  Phthalates; rules.  Not later than January 1, 2016, the Department of 
Environmental Protection shall adopt a rule pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 
38, section 1694 designating intentionally added di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, dibutyl 
phthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate and diethyl phthalate as priority chemicals and requiring 
manufacturers and distributors of children's products containing those phthalates to report 
to the department on the use of those phthalates in children's products, including any 
children's product containing one of those phthalates to which a pregnant woman may be 
exposed. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the laws governing toxic chemicals in children's products in order to 
ensure consistency with similar laws enacted in other states. 
The bill requires annual reporting of the use of chemicals of high concern in 
children's products sold in Maine, phased in over a 5-year period, with implementing 
rules adopted by January 1, 2016. 
The bill requires the Commissioner of Environmental Protection to designate 3 
priority products that contain a chemical of high concern or a priority chemical by 
January 1, 2017.  Such a designation triggers an assessment of the availability of safer 
alternatives by the manufacturer or distributor of a priority product, as authorized by 
existing law. 
The bill requires the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt, not later than 
January 1, 2016, a rule designating 4 phthalates as priority chemicals and requiring 
manufacturers and distributors of children's products containing those phthalates to report 
to the department.