NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2875
SPONSOR: Kavanagh (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in
relation to the reduction of mercury in mercury-added lamps
PURPOSE:
To address the serious health risks posed to New York State residents by
the amount of mercury in mercury-added lamps.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends section 27-2101 of the environmental
conservation law by adding new subdivisions thirty, thirty-one, thirty-
two, thirty-three, and thirty-four to define "mercury-added lamp,"
"producer of mercury-added lamps," "general purpose lights," "special
purpose lights," and "long lifetime."
Section 2 of the bill amends section 27-2107 of the environmental
conservation law by adding new subdivisions eleven and twelve. Subdivi-
sion eleven prohibits the sale or distribution of mercury-added lamps
that fail to meet mercury content standards adopted by the department
after January 1, 2018, and establishes maximum mercury content for
general purpose lights. Subdivision twelve exempts special purpose
lights from mercury content standards until December 31, 2018.
Section 3 of the bill amends subdivision one of section 71-2724 of the
environmental conservation law to exclude subdivision one of section
27-2105 and subdivision eleven of section 27-2107 of the environmental
conservation law from the penalties set forth therein.
Section 4 of the bill amends subdivision two of section 71-2724 of the
environmental conservation law establishing that first time violators
will be provided with educational materials describing the requirements
for mercury disposal. Second time violators shall be liable for a civil
penalty not to exceed fifty dollars, third time violators for seventy-
five dollars, and fourth time violators shall be liable for a civil
penalty not to exceed one hundred dollars for each violation.
Section 5 of the bill sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The amount of mercury contained within mercury-added lamps poses a
potential health risk. When a mercury-added lamp breaks, it releases
mercury, which is a hazardous material dangerous to human health and the
environment. Breakage can occur during normal use, transportation, and
end-of-life management. This legislation would ensure that mercury-added
lamps sold in New York State do not contain excessive levels of mercury.
The European Union, California, Maine, and Vermont have adopted laws
that set maximum mercury content limits for compact fluorescent lamps
(CFLs), tubular fluorescent lamps that are linear, circular or another
shape, high-pressure sodium lamps, and a variety of other mercury-added
lamps. The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has also
recommended mercury content limits for mercury-added lamps, and many of
its member organizations have voluntarily complied.
In 2005, New York banned the disposal of mercury-added consumer products
in solid waste management facilities. However, the law exempted mercu-
ry-containing lamps discarded by households. In the absence of a conven-
ient collection program for discarded mercury lamps, most of those used
for residential purposes are being disposed of in landfills and inciner-
ators. Restricting the sale of mercury-added consumer products is
consistent with the legislative recommendations of New York's Sustaina-
ble Materials Management Policy, which was adopted in December 2010.
FISCAL IMPACT ON THE STATE:
To be determined.
FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCALITIES:
To be determined.
IMPACT ON REGULATION OF BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS:
Prohibits the sale of certain light bulbs containing high levels of
mercury.
IMPACT ON FINES, IMPRISONMENT, FORFEITURE OF RIGHTS, OR OTHER PENAL
SANCTIONS:
First time violators will be provided with educational materials
describing the requirements for mercury disposal. Second time violators
shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed fifty dollars. Third
time violators shall be liable a civil penalty not to exceed seventy-
five dollars. Any person convicted of a fourth or subsequent violation
shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed one hundred dollars
for each violation.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2016: A05844A (Kavanagh) - Passed Assembly
2015: A05844 (Kavanagh) - Passed Assembly
2014: A02048A (Kavanagh) - Passed Assembly
2013: A02048A (Kavanagh) - Passed Assembly
2012: A05583B (Kavanagh) - Rules
2011: A05583 (Kavanagh) - Codes
2010: A10100C (Kavanagh) - Environmental Conservation
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately. Effective immediately, the
department of environmental conservation shall promulgate any regu-
lations necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2875
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 23, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KAVANAGH, COLTON, JAFFEE, ABINANTI, ROSENTHAL,
OTIS, ROZIC, ORTIZ, ENGLEBRIGHT, FAHY, STIRPE, DINOWITZ, SKOUFIS,
SANTABARBARA, MOSLEY, RODRIGUEZ, SEPULVEDA -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M.
of A. GALEF, GLICK, PAULIN, THIELE, WALKER -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
reduction of mercury in mercury-added lamps
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 27-2101 of the environmental conservation law is
2 amended by adding five new subdivisions 30, 31, 32, 33, and 34 to read
3 as follows:
4 30. "Mercury-added lamp" means an electric lamp to which mercury or
5 mercury compounds are intentionally added during the manufacturing proc-
6 ess, including, but not limited to, compact fluorescent lamps, fluores-
7 cent lamps and tubular fluorescent lamps with normal or long lifetime.
8 31. "Producer of mercury-added lamps" means any person who:
9 (a) manufactures and sells mercury-added lamps under its own brand;
10 (b) resells under its own brand equipment produced by other suppliers,
11 a reseller not being regarded as the producer of mercury-added lamps if
12 the brand of the producer of mercury-added lamps appears on the equip-
13 ment, as provided for in paragraph (a) of this subdivision; or
14 (c) serves as the importer or domestic distributor of a mercury-added
15 lamp if the brand name owner is located outside of the United States.
16 32. "General purpose lights" means lamps, bulbs, tubes, or other elec-
17 tric devices that provide functional illumination for indoor residen-
18 tial, indoor commercial, and outdoor use. General purpose lights shall
19 not include special purpose lights.
20 33. "Special purpose lights" means the following specialty lighting:
21 appliance, black light, germicidal, bug, colored, infrared, left-hand
22 thread, marine, marine's signal service, mine service, plant light,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00674-02-7
A. 2875 2
1 reflector, reprographic, rough service, shatter-resistant, cold temper-
2 ature, sign service, silver bowl, showcase, three-way, traffic signal,
3 and vibration service.
4 34. "Long lifetime" means more than twenty-four thousand hours when
5 tested on a T8 instant start ballast, a T12 rapid start ballast, or a T5
6 programmed start ballast, and turned on and off every three hours
7 ("three hour starts").
8 § 2. Section 27-2107 of the environmental conservation law is amended
9 by adding two new subdivisions 11 and 12 to read as follows:
10 11. On and after January first, two thousand eighteen, no producer of
11 mercury-added lamps shall sell, offer for sale, or distribute such lamps
12 that fail to meet mercury content standards adopted by the department,
13 and for the following general purpose lights, mercury content shall be
14 no higher than:
15 (a) 2.5 milligrams for compact fluorescent lamps less than thirty
16 watts;
17 (b) 3.5 milligrams for straight fluorescent T8 lamps with a normal
18 lifetime (excluding 8-foot models) and 3.0 milligrams for straight
19 fluorescent T5 lamps with a normal lifetime;
20 (c) 5.0 milligrams for straight fluorescent T8 and T5 lamps with a
21 long lifetime;
22 (d) 15.0 milligrams for non-linear fluorescent T8, T5, and T12 lamps
23 and 8-foot linear fluorescent lamps (excluding very high output models);
24 12. On or before December thirty-first, two thousand eighteen, mercury
25 content standards established in accordance with this section shall not
26 apply to special purpose lights.
27 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 71-2724 of the environmental conserva-
28 tion law, as added by chapter 145 of the laws of 2004, is amended to
29 read as follows:
30 1. Any person who knowingly or intentionally violates any provision of
31 or fails to perform any duty pursuant to title twenty-one of article
32 twenty-seven of this chapter, except subdivision one of section 27-2105
33 and subdivision eleven of section 27-2107 of this chapter, shall upon
34 the first finding of such a violation be liable for a civil penalty not
35 to exceed one hundred dollars. Any person convicted of a second or
36 subsequent violation shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed
37 five hundred dollars for each violation.
38 § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 71-2724 of the environmental conserva-
39 tion law, as added by chapter 145 of the laws of 2004, is amended to
40 read as follows:
41 2. Any person who knowingly or intentionally violates or fails to
42 perform any duty imposed by subdivision one of section 27-2105 or subdi-
43 vision eleven of section 27-2107 of this chapter shall upon the first
44 finding of such a violation be provided with educational materials
45 describing the requirements for mercury disposal and the effects of
46 improper mercury disposal, and be warned that future violations shall
47 result in the imposition of a fine. Any person convicted of a second
48 violation shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed fifty
49 dollars. Any person convicted of a third violation shall be liable for a
50 civil penalty not to exceed seventy-five dollars. Any person convicted
51 of a fourth or subsequent violation shall be liable for a civil penalty
52 not to exceed one hundred dollars for each violation.
53 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately. Effective immediately,
54 the department of environmental conservation shall promulgate any regu-
55 lations necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
