Senate committee narrows PFAS bill language, sets 2029 ban for firefighting PPE and orders 2028 report

The Senate Committee on Health & Welfare reviewed a near-final draft of H.238 on May 8 and took direction on multiple product bans, notice requirements and reporting deadlines tied to PFAS regulation.

Committee members emphasized changes to the bill’s definition of “intentionally added” PFAS, agreed to move stationwear into apparel provisions with manufacturer notice requirements through 2027, set a prohibition on the sale of PFAS-containing personal protective equipment (PPE) to take effect July 1, 2029, and directed the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), in consultation with the Department of Public Safety, to report by December 27, 2028, on the availability, safety and cost of PFAS-free PPE.

Committee staff introduced draft 2.2 of H.238 and walked members through a substantial rewrite of the intentionally added definition, replacing a prior test tied to whether a manufacturer “knew or reasonably could have ascertained” PFAS presence with a simpler formulation that treats PFAS intentionally added if the substance is added to a product or one of its components to provide a specific characteristic or function. The committee agreed that the earlier ‘‘known or reasonably ascertainable’’ language could be removed if the new definition is adopted.

Members debated whether children’s all-terrain vehicles should be excluded from the juvenile-products ban because ATVs are assembled from many components and manufacturers might not know PFAS content. The committee discussed excluding certain complex or multi-component items from the bill’s scope in line with exceptions for children’s electronic products.

Stationwear and PPE

Staff recommended moving stationwear (work uniforms and apparel used in fire stations) into the apparel portion of the bill so stationwear would be banned under the apparel schedule. Committee members agreed that stationwear would be subject to apparel prohibitions and that manufacturers or sellers should notify purchasers about PFAS content through 2027 rather than face immediate prohibition. The committee preserved a plan to prohibit sale of PFAS-containing PPE, including stationwear and PPE items, effective July 1, 2029, while postponing enforcement decisions until ANR’s 2028 report.

On respirators and other respirator-protective equipment, members debated whether to exclude them from the 2029 sale prohibition. Industry and firefighter representatives urged caution about respirators and other mechanical components that may not yet have PFAS-free alternatives. The committee held a straw vote and decided to include respirators in the 2029 sale prohibition so the 2028 ANR report would keep pressure on manufacturers but preserve the committee’s ability to reconsider if alternatives are not yet viable.

Reporting and outreach

The committee directed ANR to deliver a report no later than December 27, 2028, after consulting with the Department of Public Safety, the Division of Fire Safety, emergency-management stakeholders and other interested parties. The report must assess availability, safety and cost of PFAS-free PPE and will be distributed to the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) and relevant committees of jurisdiction. Committee members discussed that municipalities set budgets in the fall, and staff said the December report deadline is intended to inform municipal budgeting for 2029.

Cookware and other product dates

Committee members debated the effective date for cookware restrictions. The House had moved cookware to 2028; committee members discussed keeping the existing 2026 date, moving to 2027, or adopting the House’s 2028 date. After a straw poll that the chair summarized as 3–2, the committee directed staff to revert to the House’s 2028 date for cookware in the draft.

Other provisions and structure

Staff summarized structural changes: the bill consolidates many consumer-product prohibitions under one subchapter, adds dental floss and treated containers as regulated items, and expands textile definitions for regulated PFAS concentrations with staged ppm limits. The bill continues to exempt used products from the sale prohibition and keeps the attorney general’s existing certificate-of-compliance and enforcement authority (section renumbered in drafting). ANR will also prepare an interim summary of PFAS regulations and uses in other states that will include information about the use of PFAS-contaminated water in manufacturing where available.

What the committee decided

- Stationwear moved into apparel provisions; manufacturers/sellers to provide PFAS-notice to purchasers through 2027. - Straw vote: include respirators in the July 1, 2029, sale prohibition; ANR to report in December 2028 on availability, safety and cost, enabling the legislature to amend the prohibition if necessary. - Committee directed staff to reflect the revised intentionally added definition (effective July 1, 2027, in the draft) and to produce a clean copy of the bill for a forthcoming committee vote.

Meeting next steps

Staff said they will circulate a clean markup as soon as possible for committee consideration and a subsequent vote. ANR will prepare the December 27, 2028, report described above.