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Advisory council hears legislative roundup; AB 2998 would expand flame‑retardant limits, bill for bureau name change advances
Summary
Legislative staff briefed the advisory council on several bills affecting the bureau: AB 2998 would expand limits on flame retardant chemicals in juvenile products and mattresses if enacted; SB 840 granted the bureau spending authority for the household movers program; SB 1483 would set a sunset review and has prompted discussion of a bureau name change.
Staff gave the council a legislative update summarizing bills of interest to the bureau and the advisory council.
Fauna Lamar, legislative analyst for the Department of Consumer Affairs, reviewed the legislative calendar and highlighted several bills. AB 2110 (Right to Repair, Eggman) was reported as not moving (died in the first house policy committee). AB 2998 (Bloom) was described as a bill that, as amended, would prohibit the use of specified flame‑retardant chemicals above a concentration threshold (1,000 parts per million) in juvenile products, mattresses and reupholstered furniture and would require the bureau to expand testing required by SB 1019. Lamar said AB 2998 had been amended several times, added coauthors and clarified scope and exemptions; at the meeting the bill’s appropriations hearing scheduling appeared uncertain and Lamar said she would confirm the hearing status.
Lamar reported SB 840 (Mitchell), a budget trailer bill enacted as part of the 2018 budget act, had granted the bureau spending authority to administer the household movers program and provided an appropriation of $2,455,000; the bill took effect July 1. She also described SB 1483 (Sunset bill) as proposing the bureau’s sunset review date and outlining amendments to service contractor and custom upholsterer rules; Lamar said a name change to “Bureau of Household Goods and Services” was being discussed and had traction but had not yet been incorporated into bill language at the time of the meeting.
Council members asked about fiscal and enforcement implications if AB 2998 passed. Pascal Beniamini (industry) asked about implementation; Lamar and Chief Oliver said the bureau had discussed likely needs (investigator and staff positions) to implement post‑passage enforcement and recommended staffing requests; Chief Oliver said DCA had identified possible needs and that one special investigator plus additional administrative support were being requested in fiscal planning.
No votes were taken by the council; the briefing was informational and the bureau said it would update the council as bills moved and as agency fiscal analyses were finalized.
