State PFAS Legislation: Here’s the Score at Halftime
- By: Paul Jackson
- Tags: PFAS, State PFAS Legislation
Earlier this year, I did an analysis of the PFAS-related bills proposed at the state level in 2025. I wanted to see if the legislative focus had changed, e.g., less attention paid to drinking water and more to other matrices such as biosolids. That post was written early enough into the new year that most bills had been proposed, but none had successfully made it through the process yet. In this post, we’ll provide a snapshot of which bills have made it through their respective state legislatures to be enacted into law.
When reviewing the numbers, keep in mind that as of June 30, most state legislatures have adjourned for the year. Only eight will continue into the second half of 2025: California, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Of course, these are heavily industrialized states, so we may see more PFAS-related bills passed before their sessions end. In addition, although already adjourned, some states may have passed legislation that is simply waiting for a signature. As I write this post, this is the case with Delaware S.B. 72 and Illinois H.B. 2516 in the table below, but there may be others I did not catch.
PFAS Bills Passed in First Half of 2025
Let’s start with the PFAS legislation passed by states during the first half of the year. I’ve left off appropriations bills in the list below as they are often focused on funding already-enacted legislation.
State | Bill # | Categories | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Delaware | S.B. 72 (Sent to Governor) | Drinking Water | Requires state drinking water systems to report and make public PFAS levels above the levels established by the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation rules in April of 2024. This law stops short of requiring remediation. |
Illinois | L.D. 1326 | Cookware, Cosmetics, Dental Floss, Juvenile Products, Menstrual Products, Intimate Apparel, and Food Packaging or Food Contact Products | Bans intentionally added PFAS in a variety of products as of January 1, 2026. |
Maine | L.D. 1604 | Landfill Leachate | Requires solid waste landfills that collect and manage leachate to test the leachate for PFAS annually and submit the results. These results will be made public. |
Oregon | S.B. 91 | Firefighting Foam | Prohibits fire departments from using firefighting foam containing PFAS by July 1, 2026. |
Rhode Island | S.B.241 | Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) | Bans intentionally added PFAS in PPE used for firefighting as of January 1, 2027. |
Rhode Island | S.B.650 | Biosolids |
Requires quarterly testing of biosolids for PFAS contaminants before land application. Results must be submitted to the Department of Land Management along with the application for approval. |
Vermont | H.238 | Artificial Turf, Children’s Products, Cleaning Products, Firefighting Foam, Packaging, Personal Care Products, and Textiles | Bans intentionally added PFAS in a wide range of commercial and industrial products AND the presence of PFAS in a product or product component as measured in total organic fluorine. |
Virginia | H.B.2050 | Wastewater Discharge | Requires certain facilities that discharge wastewater into the Occoquan Reservoir to monitor and reduce PFAS levels. As of July 1, 2027, PFAS in wastewater effluent may not exceed the limits promulgated for PFAS in drinking water on or before January 1, 2025. (Refers to federal limits as Virginia has not established state-specific limits on PFAS in drinking water.) |
Washington | S.B. 5033 | Biosolids | Requires the Department of Ecology to establish a sampling and testing program for PFAS in biosolids by July 1, 2027. Sampling must begin by January 1, 2027, and end by June 30, 2028, with all sampling results submitted no later than September 30, 2028. |
Here’s the Halftime Score
Of the 200 bills introduced in 2025, only 18 have been enacted so far. This count includes appropriations bills, studies, reporting requirements, and other non-limit setting legislation. I’ve also added the Delaware bill in the chart above that has been sent to the governor for signature. Although there is always the possibility of a veto, my gut tells me it’s unlikely.
The seven state legislatures that are still in session have 39 PFAS-related bills outstanding. There is probably some overlap between the 39 outstanding bills, so this will naturally be narrowed down through consolidation. However, in 2024, states enacted 20 PFAS-related bills, so we could easily see more PFAS-related legislation enacted at the state level this year than last year. Whether it will match the PFAS legislation high-water mark set in 2022 remains to be seen.
Finally, as we consider the numbers, it’s also important to keep in mind that not all PFAS rulemaking is done in the state legislature. Many states enact legislation giving state agencies the authority (and sometimes a mandate) to enact rulemaking as the agency sees fit. For example, Washington State granted its Department of the Ecology broad power to determine which categories of consumer products would be included in the state ban on intentionally added PFAS under its Safer Products rule.
How Can We Help?
At Pace®, our purpose is not to promote specific pieces of legislation. Rather, it is to help our clients remain in compliance by providing testing services for environmental contaminants across a wide array of regulated matrices, such as drinking water, wastewater, ground and surface water, biosolids, landfill leachate, biota, etc. We’re also happy to answer questions about the science of PFAS testing, removal, and remediation as you create and assess your compliance strategy. Request a quote or reach out to us at any time!
As always, I want to thank Safer States for the work they do tracking legislation at the state level. While we keep an independent eye on what’s happening in key states, being able to tap into their database and filter results has saved us countless hours of effort researching and consolidating information from state legislative sites, some of which are better than others.
