BILL REQ. #:  S-1498.1 

Read first time 02/11/09.   Referred to Committee on Environment, Water & Energy.

     AN ACT Relating to testing the chemical content of products sold at retail; amending RCW 70.76.030; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that:
     (a) According to the state fire marshal's 2007 report there is one structure fire reported every one hour six minutes in the state of Washington, the financial loss reported as a result of fire is over six hundred thirteen thousand dollars per day, and structure fires accounted for twenty-nine percent of all fires reported;
     (b) Operating equipment remains the leading known heat source for fires, accounting for twenty-eight percent of the total fire incidents and twenty-six percent of the reported dollar loss. Operating equipment acts as a heat source for fires in a variety of ways: Sparks, embers, or flames; radiated or conducted heat; and electrical arcing and heat;
     (c) Over the past five years, seventy-three percent of the fire fatalities in Washington state occurred in residential properties such as one and two-family dwellings, multifamily dwellings, board and care facilities, hotels and motels, and college housing, barracks, and dormitories. While the number of fires at residential properties decreased seven percent compared to the previous year, the reported dollar loss decreased by eleven percent;
     (d) Fires caused by electrical appliances and electricity distribution, on a five-year average, are the second leading cause of fires, resulting in nearly fourteen percent of the total. Many electrical-related fires are caused by misuse or poor maintenance of electrical appliances, improperly installed wiring, circuits being overloaded, or the use of extension cords in place of permanent wiring; and
     (e) While it asked the state department of ecology and the department of health to review risk assessments, scientific studies, and other relevant findings regarding alternatives to the use of commercial deca-bde in residential upholstered furniture, televisions, and computers, there still exists among retailers uncertainty as to whether or not products that are deca-bde free that provide the same level of fire safety will be readily and commercially available and if testing methods exist to properly ensure compliance with the law.
     (2) It is the intent of the legislature to promote fire safety and environmental health, in a balanced manner backed with sound science.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The legislature directs the joint legislative audit and review committee to review commercially available testing methods for the detection of deca-bde in proposed banned products and a reasonable time frame for the full integration of such testing by retailers.

Sec. 3   RCW 70.76.030 and 2007 c 65 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in RCW 70.76.090, no person may manufacture, knowingly sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or distribute for use in this state mattresses containing commercial deca-bde after January 1, 2008.
     (2) Except as provided in RCW 70.76.090, no person may manufacture, knowingly sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or distribute for use in this state residential upholstered furniture that contains commercial deca-bde, or any television or computer that has an electronic enclosure that contains commercial deca-bde after the effective date established in subsection (3) of this section. This prohibition may not take effect until the department and the department of health identify that a safer and technically feasible alternative is available, and the fire safety committee, created in RCW 70.76.040, determines that the identified alternative meets applicable fire safety standards. The effective date of the prohibition must be established according to the following process:
     (a) The department and the department of health shall review risk assessments, scientific studies, and other relevant findings regarding alternatives to the use of commercial deca-bde in residential upholstered furniture, televisions, and computers.
     (b) If the department and the department of health jointly find that safer and technically feasible alternatives are available for any of these uses, the department shall convene the fire safety committee created in RCW 70.76.040 to determine whether the identified alternatives meet applicable fire safety standards.
     (c) By majority vote, the fire safety committee created in RCW 70.76.040 shall make a finding whether an alternative identified under (b) of this subsection meets applicable fire safety standards. The fire safety committee shall report their finding to the state fire marshal. After reviewing the finding of the fire safety committee, the state fire marshal shall determine whether an alternative identified under (b) of this subsection meets applicable fire safety standards. The determination of the fire marshal must be based upon the finding of the fire safety committee. The state fire marshal shall report the determination to the department.
     (d) The department shall seek public input on their findings, the findings of the fire safety committee, and the determination by the state fire marshal. The department shall publish these findings in the Washington State Register, and submit them in a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature. The department shall initially report these findings by December 31, 2008.
     (3) The effective date of the prohibition is as follows:
     (a) If the December 31, 2008, report required in subsection (2)(d) of this section finds that a safer and technically feasible alternative that meets applicable fire safety standards is available, the prohibition takes effect January 1, ((2011)) 2013;
     (b) If the December 31, 2008, report required in subsection (2)(d) of this section does not find that a safer and technically feasible alternative that meets applicable fire safety standards is available, the prohibition does not take effect January 1, ((2011)) 2013. Beginning in 2009, by December 31st of each year, the department shall review and report on alternatives as described in subsection (2) of this section. The prohibition in subsection (2) of this section takes effect two years after a report submitted to the legislature required under subsection (2)(d) of this section finds that a safer and technically feasible alternative that meets applicable fire safety standards is available.