HF359 Summary

• Prohibits manufacturers and wholesalers from producing or selling children's products, upholstered residential furniture, residential textiles, and mattresses containing organohalogenated flame retardants or four specific chemicals (TDCPP, decabromodiphenyl ether, hexabromocyclododecane, TCEP) in amounts exceeding 1,000 parts per million, effective July 1, 2018 for manufacturers and July 1, 2019 for retailers.

• Exempts previously owned products, electronic components, products with federal flammability standards, mattress stitching thread/fiber, and non-foam components of adult mattresses from the flame-retardant prohibitions.

• Prohibits manufacturers from replacing banned chemicals with alternatives identified by state, federal, or international agencies as causing developmental toxicity, cancer, reproductive harm, endocrine disruption, or systemic toxicity.

• Requires reporting of class B firefighting foam discharges containing PFAS chemicals to the Minnesota Fire Incident Reporting System within 24 hours and prohibits such foam use in testing and training (effective July 1, 2020), with exceptions for emergency firefighting operations.

• Grants the Pollution Control Agency commissioner enforcement authority under existing statutes, with coordination required from commerce and health commissioners.