PER- & POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES REPORT

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A JOINT MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT BOARD AND THE
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT PROVIDE A REPORT ON THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PER- AND POLY-FLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES
PROTECTION ACT AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE CONSUMER
PROTECTIONS FROM PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES.
WHEREAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a class
of thousands of synthetic chemicals added to consumer
products for both essential and nonessential purposes; and
WHEREAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances may cause
adverse health implications, bioaccumulation in people and
wildlife and exhibit high persistence in the environment; and
WHEREAS, consumer products containing per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances have been sold in New Mexico for
decades without required disclosures; and
WHEREAS, New Mexico is facing significant and increasing
costs to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
contamination from the purchase, use and disposal of consumer
products that adversely impact public health, public drinking
water supplies, public wastewater systems, private drinking
water supplies, private septic systems, municipal solid waste
management and disposal infrastructure and more at the
expense of taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, during the 2025 regular legislative session,
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the legislature passed House Bill 212, the Per- and Poly-
Fluoroalkyl Substances Protection Act, which Governor
Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law on April 8, 2025; and
WHEREAS, the Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances
Protection Act:
A. broadly establishes a phaseout and prohibition
of products with intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances and applies to the manufacturers of such products;
B. authorizes the environmental improvement board
to promulgate rules to implement the law and protect
consumers and the state from per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances contamination;
C. exempts certain products containing
intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from
the phaseout and prohibition based on limited scientific
literature regarding chemical degradation, environmental
mobility and persistence, potential human exposure pathways
and possible health impacts, but does not exempt such
products from other aspects of the environmental improvement
board's authority; and
D. requires manufacturers of products containing
intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to
label such products in English and Spanish, including
products exempted from the phaseout and prohibition; and
WHEREAS, additional health and environmental studies are
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needed to understand more fully the toxicological profiles,
exposure risks and public health implications of
fluoropolymers;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE
STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the environmental improvement board
be requested to develop a report on the implementation of the
Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances Protection Act,
including the efficacy of the rules promulgated by the
environmental improvement board pursuant to that act; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of
environment, in consultation with other state agencies, be
requested to develop a report on the public health,
environmental and economic risks of the exemptions codified
in the Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances Protection Act
and to provide recommendations to the legislature regarding
whether such exemptions, such as the exemption for
fluoropolymers, should be continued, modified or removed; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of
environment be requested to present preliminary findings to
the appropriate interim legislative committees on or before
December 1, 2026 and the final report to the governor and
legislature on or before August 1, 2027; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the secretary of environment, the chair of the
environmental improvement board and the office of the
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governor.