Bill Proposes the Colorado Safe Personal Care Products Act

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Safety in personal care products is a common concern among clients. Learn about new proposed legislation in Colorado attempting to ban potentially harmful ingredients in personal care products.

UPDATE: As of March 1, 2010, the House Committee on Judiciary has voted to postpone this legislation indefinitely.

On Feb. 3, 2010, Rep. Diane Primavera (D-Broomfield) and Sen. Betty Boyd (D-Colorado) introduced a bill into the Colorado State Legislature that prohibits the sale of personal care products formulated with chemicals identified as causing cancer or reproductive toxicity.

House Bill 1248 would create the Colorado Safe Personal Care Products Act, where a manufacturer cannot sell or distribute a product containing potentially harmful ingredients in the state after Sept. 1, 2011.

Chemicals identified as causing cancer or reproductive toxicity can include: a substance listed in a National Toxicology Report on Carcinogens as known or reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen; a substance given an overall carcinogenicity evaluation of "group 1, group 2a or group 2b" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer or its successor  agency; a substance identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or its successor agency, as a "group a, group b1, or group b2" carcinogen or as a known or probable carcinogen; a substance identified in a report by an expert panel of the National Toxicology Program's Center for the Evaluation of Risks in Human Reproduction, or a successor entity, as having some or clear evidence of adverse developmental, male reproductive, or female reproductive toxicity effects; or a substance identified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or its successor entity, as a potential occupational carcinogen.

Violation of the act by a brand owner could result in a a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation per product for the first offense and up to $10,000 per violation per product for a second or subsequent offense.

The bill currently is in the House Judiciary. It may become effective on Aug. 11, 2010, if the General Assembly adjourns on May 12, 2010, as scheduled, and no referendum petition is filed.

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