Public safety: lighters: standards: prohibition.

Senator Archuleta frames a measure aimed at curb­ing counterfeit and unsafe lighters by adding a dedicated new Part to California’s Health and Safety Code that governs the sale and distribution of these devices within the state. The core change would prohibit selling, offering for sale, or distributing a counterfeit lighter or an unsafe lighter, with limited exceptions for certain cross‑border and storage contexts.

Under the proposed provisions, a counterfeit lighter is defined as one that infringes on an intellectual property right of a United States citizen or of a holder protected by IP law, while a lighter is described as an electrical or mechanical device that uses any fuel to ignite items such as cigars, cigarettes, fireplaces, grills, pipes, or utilities. An unsafe lighter encompasses devices that do not meet the applicable safety standards for their intended use: lighters for cigars, cigarettes, or pipes would be judged unsafe if they fail to comply with one safety standard, and lighters for fireplaces, grills, or utilities, as well as lighting rods or gas matches, would be unsafe if they fail to comply with another safety standard. The bill ties the designation of unsafe to compliance with these ASTM‑based standards, though it does not specify the standards by name in the enacted text.

The bill provides two exemptions: the interstate transportation of counterfeit or unsafe lighters, and the storage of such lighters in a California warehouse or distribution center that is not open to the public for retail sale or distribution. The current regulatory framework referenced in existing law includes a requirement for the State Fire Marshal to specify design standards with an acceptance criterion related to child safety, but the text does not indicate any adjustment to that criterion. The proposal does not delineate penalties, enforcement mechanisms, responsible agencies, funding, or an explicit effective date, nor does it quantify implementation costs.

Stakeholders such as retailers, distributors, manufacturers and importers, warehousing and logistics operators, and IP rights holders would be affected to the extent they must verify compliance with the defined IP and ASTM standards or adjust sourcing and handling practices. The exemptions create a channel distinction for products in transit or held in non‑public California facilities, while products sold or distributed within California would fall under the prohibitions unless an exemption applies. The measure situates itself within a broader policy context that addresses IP enforcement in consumer goods and aligns with preexisting safety‑standard considerations, though the text leaves open questions about enforcement structure and transition timing.