In this edition of
the Legal Eagle, we’ll discuss the California Air Resources Board (CARB), its
Mandatory Consumer Products Survey, the types of products that must be
reported, who must complete the survey, and how to request an extension. The
quick links follow below for your convenience:
CARB’s Mandatory
Consumer Products Survey: Responsible Parties Must Respond by March 1st or Face
$10,000 Per Day in Penalties
In past years, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has required
manufacturers and distributors of certain specified products to respond to
surveys, in which responding companies were expected to identify the chemical
formulations for their products. But CARB is now radically expanding the scope
of these mandatory surveys—meaning many small businesses are now required to
respond, or else face possible penalties of $10,000 per day. Because the March 1st deadline is
imminently approaching, it is imperative to determine whether your business is
subject to CARB’s reporting requirements and to take appropriate actions to
either respond, or request an extension.
CARB’s 2013 Consumer
Products Survey
CARB is requiring “responsible parties” to respond to its 2013 Consumer Product
Survey by March 1st. The stated goal is to collect the required information for
research purposes. Data collected through these consumer product surveys will
likely guide CARB’s decisions as to how to regulate manufacturers going
forward. Based on what the agency is saying—and other developments in the law—we
expect that CARB will eventually promulgate regulations requiring manufacturers
to meet exacting environmental standards for a whole host of products.
What Type of Products
Must be Reported?
CARB is requiring businesses to report information on a wide-array of consumer
products sold in California during 2013. This includes any chemically
formulated product used for household or industrial purposes, unless exempted.
For example, reporting is required for detergents, cleaning compounds, polishes,
floor furnishes, cosmetics, personal care products, home, lawn, and garden
products, disinfectants, sanitizers, aerosol paints, and automotive products.
Note that
the reporting requirement applies without regard to whether any specific
chemical or process was used in the manufacturing of the product.
A full list of covered products can be found here. If you have
questions as to whether your company must respond to the survey, you may
contact CARB at 916-323-4887, or visit CARB online for more information.
Who Must Complete the
Survey?
CARB’s regulations provide that the “Responsible Party” is not necessarily the
manufacturer. What matters is whether your company is “listed on the label” of
covered products sold in California. As such, manufacturers will be required to
respond—if their company name is listed on the label. But, in other cases the
“Responsible Party” will be a distributor, who might buy and market the product
in its own name.
For example, the
Mom-and-Pop Company would be responsible for responding to the survey if their
organic soap products were sold with their Mom-and-Pop brand-name in California
stores. But if the Mom-and-Pop Company sold its products to Wal-Mart, and they
were sold as the Wal-Mart brand, then Wal-Mart would be responsible for
responding to
the survey.
Importantly, CARB’s regulations require “Responsible Parties” to respond to
this survey, regardless of where the product is made. So the Mom-and-Pop
Company would have to report for products sold in California, regardless of
whether the products were manufactured in Chico, California or Bloomington,
Indiana. For that matter, if your company distributes products made
out-of-state, you are still a “Responsible Party” if the products are labeled
with your company’s name. If you have questions as to whether your company must
respond to the survey, you may contact CARB at 916-323-4887, or visit CARB
online for more information.
Completing the Survey
Responsible Parties are required to complete the 2013 Consumer Product Survey
by March 1st. The survey asks the responding companies to report:
(a) Information about
the company, including the number of employees;
(b) The name(s) of its products and basic information;
(c) The amount of product sold in California during the reporting year; and
(d) Information about the chemical composition and or ingredients in the
product.
The survey must be
completed through CARB’s online reporting system. For questions, you may contact
CARB at 916-323-4887, or visit CARB online for more information.
Request an Extension
if Necessary
CARB recognizes that many businesses—especially smaller firms—may be unfamiliar
with these reporting requirements. If you are just now learning of your
requirement to respond, you may contact CARB to request an extension. We have
been informed that requests for extension will be granted liberally.
Additional Resources
For additional information on employment issues, NFIB members qualify to
purchase California Employment Law: The Complete Survival Guide to Doing
Business in California at the discount price of $99 at www.EmploymentLawPublishers.com. NFIB members
interested in purchasing this book at the $99 discount price should go to the
website and enter discount code “NFIB” at checkout for $50 off the $149 cover
price.
For more information,
please visit NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center at www.nfib.com/legal-center.
