Two Illinois laws go into effect on January 1, 2012: State of Illinois Criminal Offense  (720 ILCS 5/12‑37)
Sec. 12‑37. Possession and sale of caustic and noxious substances & (720 ILCS 5/12‑38)
Sec. 12‑38. Restrictions on purchase or acquisition of corrosive or caustic acid.

From the Illinois Retail Merchants Association:

H.B. 2193 (Sen. Bill Haine, D- Alton/Rep. Susana Mendoza, D- Chicago) was passed to the Governor yesterday by the Assembly. H.B. 2193 seeks to regulate caustic and corrosive acids. The legislation was initiated after two attacks last year on Chicago women who were left badly scarred after having acid poured on them.

The proposed law will do two things. First, it places limits on who can possess products that contain a federally delineated amount of caustic or corrosive acids and it creates a registry at the retail level for purchasers of these products.  The law states that no person can possess a product that is regulated by Title 16 CFR Section 1500.129 of the Federal Caustic Poison Act unless they fall into a number of exemptions listed in the Bill.  Persons engaged in the sale, possession, transportation, or use of such products for their intended commercial purpose, are exempt from the restriction on possession of the product. Second, retailers who sell such products will be required to register customers prior to their sale.  Customers must provide government-issued identification with their picture, as well as fill out a form listing the date and time of the transaction, brand and product names and net weight of the items.  Batteries are exempt from the registry requirements.

The new also law states that it is unlawful for any person knowingly to have in his or her possession or to carry about any of the substances which are regulated by Title 16 CFR Section 1500.129 of the Federal Caustic Poison Act and are required to contain the words “causes severe burns” as the affirmative statement of principal hazard on its label.

Full text of the (720 ILCS 5/12‑37)  Sec. 12‑37. Possession and sale of caustic and noxious substances can be found here, and full text of (720 ILCS 5/12‑38) Sec. 12‑38. Restrictions on purchase or acquisition of corrosive or caustic acid can be found here.

Click the links above for more information, we will keep you informed of any future changes.

From The Daily Herald:

But Illinois’ new regulations should make those guidelines less important. Low VOC paints are now mandated, with a few exceptions, and all of the large paint companies (Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore and Pittsburgh Paints) have opted to also offer paints totally free of VOCs…

“California set the standard and nine states in the Northeast went for the new regulations three years ago. Now Illinois, Indiana and Michigan have signed on and others are planning on doing it, too,” Hester said.

The new regulations mandate that VOC emissions in paint be kept under the 150 mark, but paints totally free of VOCs are taking it even a step further.

Click on the above link for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: OSHA MSDS Authoring, CPSC Consumer Label Reviews, Nexreg.

Britt Bailey, Director of Environmental Commons, discusses potential state-level laws for the labeling of GMOs:

Now, four states are carrying bills making the agricultural biotechnology industry liable in the event another contamination occurs. Three states are hearing bills calling for a moratorium on food crops genetically engineered to produce pharmaceuticals. Illinois and Tennessee are calling for labeling of foods derived from genetically engineered crops. Five states, California, Hawaii, Minnesota, New York, and South Dakota, are calling for notification systems in which genetically modified foods become a part of the public record.

For the full piece see: States Introduce Numerous Bills to Regulate Genetically Modified Foods.