Assembly Misses Opportunities to Protect New Yorkers’ Health and Environment in 2026 Session
Senate Passed both the Beauty Justice Act and Ban on PFAS in Consumer Products But Assembly Failed to Match
For immediate release: June 5, 2026
For more information: Bobbi Wildling bobbi@cleanhealthyny.org, 518-708-3875
(Albany, NY) - JustGreen Partnership - a broad and diverse environmental health and justice coalition - is sorry to see another year go by without New York’s leadership on key policies that would protect New Yorkers’ health and help transform the national marketplace to bring safer products to people across the US. While both houses moved bills addressing some “downstream” impacts of PFAS “forever chemicals,” the Assembly bowed to industry pressure and did not bring bills to “turn off the tap” on significant product sectors to the floor for a vote:
The Ban on PFAS in Consumer Products Bill 9073A (Harckham - Passed on February 10) / A.7738A (Glick) bans toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” from products like children’s and pet products, cookware, paint, dental floss, ski wax, cleaning products, and rugs.
The Beauty Justice Act S.2057B (Webb - Passed on April 21) / A.2054B (Glick) bans companies from using toxic chemicals like: lead, mercury, formaldehyde, PFAS, parabens, phthalates, and more from personal care products. These chemicals cause irreversible damage like infertility, asthma, and cancer.
The Ban on PFAS in Consumer Products and the Beauty Justice Act is a necessary step that New York must take to protect public health, worker safety, and the environment from toxic chemicals.
“Our priority bills had broad bipartisan support among members, and what’s more, they respond to the overwhelming demand of people all ages, demographics, and political perspectives: 84% of Americans want the government to do more to identify and regulate toxic chemicals, per a recent Pew survey,” said Bobbi Wilding, Executive Director and coleader of the JustGreen Partnership. “It’s sad to see unsubstantiated arguments over affordability made by industry shills persuade the Assembly to address the real cost we all face when toxics are allowed to remain in our products, contaminating our drinking water and our bodies: health care costs for testicular cancer, missed days of work when our young children can’t fight off fevers, local taxes to pay for drinking water filtration.”
"By not following the Senate’s lead in passing the Ban on PFAS in Consumer Products or the Beauty Justice Act, Speaker Carl Heastie and the Assembly failed to protect New Yorkers - and especially communities of color and low-income, who are disproportionately impacted by exposure to toxic chemicals - from the serious health risks linked to PFAS, including hormonal disruption that affects reproductive health, increased risk of cancer, immune system suppression, and birth defects and pregnancy complications," said Briana Carbajal, State Legislative Manager at WE ACT for Environmental Justice and coleader of the JustGreen Partnership. "New Yorkers deserve leadership that puts people first."
Research continues to show that PFAS “forever chemicals” are harmful to our health and environment. These forever chemicals have been known to cause serious health issues like reproductive harm, endocrine disruption, cancer, and more.
“New Yorkers are at continued risk of exposure to dangerous chemicals in their homes because the PFAS in consumer products bill did not pass the Assembly. The bill had the votes and should have moved forward alongside other key environmental legislation," said Kate Donovan, Northeast Director, Environmental Health, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). "Despite clear evidence that PFAS pose public health concerns, Assembly leadership sided with the cookware industry’s disingenuous arguments about affordability. New Yorkers deserve better."
Similar legislation is becoming more common across the county. As of now, 17 states like Maine, Minnesota, Colorado, and Vermont have stepped up to protect their consumers by banning more chemicals in products than the federal government. This further shows the growing demand of governmental protection against toxics.
Companies intentionally use toxic ingredients in their personal care products that can cause or contribute to cancers, reproductive harm, respiratory illness, and more in the products consumers use on our bodies and in our homes everyday. When these toxic products get washed down the drain, they end up in our environment, polluting our groundwater and farming lands.
“Pediatricians are disappointed that the legislature was unable to pass these important public health bills again this year.” said Charles Moon, MD, co-chair of the Public Policy & Advocacy Committee for the New York State American Academy of Pediatrics. “We believe it is important to remember that unrealized fears about product affordability are outweighed by the known long-term costs of allowing toxic chemicals to remain in consumer products: namely, exposure to these chemicals can lead to chronic disease, and rising rates of chronic disease are a major part of while healthcare costs continue to skyrocket. The real healthcare affordability crisis will be solved in part through structural solutions like these, and we will continue to advocate on behalf of families who would prefer consumer products that do not make them sick.”
“Our businesses and economy depend on a healthy citizenry, which is threatened by toxic chemicals, including PFAS. We are deeply disappointed that the Assembly has failed to pass these bills after Senate passage with bipartisan support. This is a missed opportunity to protect public health and meet the urgent need to shift markets toward safer consumer products,” Bob Rossi, Executive Director of the New York Sustainable Business Council (NYSBC)
“At the end of the legislative session, the Assembly had a menu of bills to choose from that would have addressed the scourge of toxic chemicals that kill thousands of New Yorkers annually. Instead, Speaker Heastie let all of those bills die,” said Caitlin Ferrante, Conservation Program Manager with the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter. “We are grateful that the Assembly passed legislation requiring better disclosure of the PFAS chemicals entering our wastestream and waterways?, as well as establishing safer PFAS thresholds for drinking water. But addressing ‘downstream’ pollution without trying to turn off the ‘upstream’ PFAS spigot will do little to save lives or moderate the tens of billions of dollars in projected clean-up costs. The callousness of the Assembly's inaction is staggering. New Yorkers will continue to get sick, water will continue to get contaminated, and our poisoned communities will continue to suffer financially. The Sierra Club applauds the Senate’s leadership for passing a comprehensive package of PFAS solutions, but the Assembly continues to be paralyzed by the chemical industry’s money and misinformation campaigns.“
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For nearly 20 years, the JustGreen Partnership has been New York’s leading collaboration of environmental justice, environmental health, environmental health affected, children’s, and business organizations working for environmental health and justice for New York’s people and communities. Learn more here.
Recent polling referenced by Bobbi Wilding is available here: https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/26/health/toxic-chemicals-pew-survey-wellness
