NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9715
SPONSOR: Jackson TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to prohib-
iting the sale of foods and beverages containing chlormequat
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL::-
The purpose of this bill is to eliminate the sale of items with chlorme-
quat.
SUMMARY OF PROVISION:
Section 1: Amends the agriculture and markets law by adding a new
section that defines "chlormequat" and prohibits any per person, firm,
corporation, partnership, association, or any other business association
to sell, offer to sell, or display for sale products for human consump-
tion that contain chlormequat. It also includes the lack of knowledge
that the product contained the chemical as an affirmative defense.
Section 2: This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day
after it shall have become law.
JUSTIFICATION::
Environmental Working Group (EWG) scientists have classified chlormequat
as a highly toxic chemical due to its severe health risks. According to
a peer-review study published in the Journal of Exposure Science and
Environmental Epidemiology, EWG scientists found chlormequat in approxi-
mately 80% of tested individuals and nearly all conventional oat-based
products. Extensive animal studies show that chlormequat can cause
damage to the reproductive system and disrupt fetal growth. These find-
ings raise significant public health concerns, especially for vulnerable
populations such as children. This bill aims to ban the sale of chlorme-
quat-containing items to protect New Yorkers from the adverse health
effects associated with ingesting this element.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS::
TBD.
EFFECTIVE DATE::
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9715
IN ASSEMBLY
April 3, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JACKSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Agriculture
AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to prohib-
iting the sale of foods and beverages containing chlormequat
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new
2 section 214-p to read as follows:
3 § 214-p. Sale of foods and beverages containing chlormequat prohibit-
4 ed. 1. For the purposes of this article, the term "chlormequat" shall
5 mean 2-chloro-N,N,N-trimethylethan-1-aminium.
6 2. No person, firm, corporation, partnership, association or any other
7 business association shall sell, offer to sell, or display for sale at
8 retail any food or beverage for human consumption which contains
9 chlormequat.
10 3. It shall be an affirmative defense to a violation of this section
11 that the person did not know and could not reasonably have known that
12 the food or beverage contained chlormequat.
13 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
14 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
15 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
16 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
17 completed on or before such date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14860-01-4
