[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 584 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 584
To direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to promulgate a rule
that requires manufacturers of certain consumer products to establish
and maintain a system for providing notification of recalls of such
products to consumers who first purchase such a product.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 10, 2003
Ms. Landrieu introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to promulgate a rule
that requires manufacturers of certain consumer products to establish
and maintain a system for providing notification of recalls of such
products to consumers who first purchase such a product.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Product Safety Notification and
Recall Effectiveness Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Consumer Product Safety Commission conducts
approximately 300 recalls of hazardous, dangerous, and
defective consumer products each year.
(2) In developing comprehensive corrective action plans
with recalling companies, the Consumer Product Safety
Commission staff greatly relies upon the media and retailers to
alert consumers to the dangers of unsafe consumer products,
because the manufacturers do not generally possess contact
information regarding the purchasing consumers. Based upon
information received from companies maintaining customer
registration lists, such contact information is known for
generally less than 7 percent of the total consumer products
produced and distributed.
(3) The Consumer Product Safety Commission staff has found
that most consumers do not return purchaser identification
cards because of requests for marketing and personal
information on the cards, and the likelihood of receiving
unsolicited marketing materials.
(4) The Consumer Product Safety Commission staff has
conducted research demonstrating that direct consumer contact
is one of the most effective ways of motivating consumer
response to a consumer product recall.
(5) Companies that maintain consumer product purchase data,
such as product registration cards, warranty cards, and rebate
cards, are able to effectively notify consumers of a consumer
product recall.
(6) The Consumer Product Safety Commission staff has found
that a consumer product safety owner card, without marketing
questions or requests for personal information, that
accompanied products such as small household appliances and
juvenile products would increase consumer participation and
information necessary for direct notification in consumer
product recalls.
(7) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has,
since March 1993, required similar simplified, marketing-free
product registration cards on child safety seats used in motor
vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
has found this requirement has increased recall compliance
rates.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to reduce the number of
deaths and injuries from defective and hazardous consumer products
through improved recall effectiveness, by--
(1) requiring the Consumer Product Safety Commission to
promulgate a rule to require manufacturers of juvenile
products, small household appliances, and certain other
consumer products, to include a simplified product safety owner
card with those consumer products at the time of original
purchase by consumers, or develop effective electronic
registration of the first purchasers of such products, to
develop a customer database for the purpose of notifying
consumers about recalls of those products; and
(2) encouraging manufacturers, private labelers, retailers,
and others to use creativity and innovation to create and
maintain effective methods of notifying consumers in the event
of a consumer product recall.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) Terms defined in consumer product safety act.--The
definitions set forth in section 3 of the Consumer Product
Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052) shall apply to this Act.
(2) Covered consumer product.--The term ``covered consumer
product'' means--
(A) a juvenile product;
(B) a small household appliance; and
(C) such other consumer product as the Commission
considers appropriate for achieving the purpose of this
Act.
(3) Juvenile product.--The term ``juvenile product''--
(A) means a consumer product intended for use, or
that may be reasonably expected to be used, by children
under the age of 5 years; and
(B) includes, among other items--
(i) full-size cribs and nonfull-size cribs;
(ii) toddler beds;
(iii) high chairs, booster chairs, and
hook-on chairs;
(iv) bath seats;
(v) gates and other enclosures for
confining a child;
(vi) playpens;
(vii) stationary activity centers;
(viii) strollers;
(ix) walkers;
(x) swings;
(xi) child carriers;
(xii) bassinets and cradles; and
(xiii) children's toys.
(4) Product safety owner card.--The term ``product safety
owner card'' means a standardized product identification card
supplied with a consumer product by the manufacturer of the
product, at the time of original purchase by the first
purchaser of such product for purposes other than resale, that
only requests that the consumer of such product provide to the
manufacturer a minimal level of personal information needed to
enable the manufacturer to contact the consumer in the event of
a recall of the product.
(5) Small household appliance.--The term ``small household
appliance'' means a consumer product that is a toaster, toaster
oven, blender, food processor, coffee maker, or other similar
small appliance as provided for in the rule promulgated by the
Consumer Product Safety Commission.
SEC. 4. RULE REQUIRING SYSTEM TO PROVIDE NOTICE OF RECALLS OF CERTAIN
CONSUMER PRODUCTS.
(a) In General.--The Commission shall promulgate a rule under
section 16(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2065(b))
that requires that the manufacturer of a covered consumer product shall
establish and maintain a system for providing notification of recalls
of such product to consumers of such product.
(b) Requirement To Create Database.--
(1) In general.--The rule shall require that the system
include use of product safety owner cards, Internet
registration, or an alternative method, to create a database of
information regarding consumers of covered consumer products,
for the sole purpose of notifying such consumers of recalls of
such products.
(2) Use of technology.--Alternative methods specified in
the rule may include use of on-line product registration and
consumer notification, consumer information data bases,
electronic tagging and bar codes, embedded computer chips in
consumer products, or other electronic and design strategies to
notify consumers about product recalls, that the Commission
determines will increase the effectiveness of recalls of
covered consumer products.
(c) Use of Commission Staff Proposal.--In promulgating the rule,
the Commission shall consider the staff draft for an Advanced Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking entitled ``Purchaser Owner Card Program'', dated
June 19, 2001.
(d) Exclusion of Low-Price Items.--The Commission shall have the
authority to exclude certain low-cost items from the rule for good
cause.
(e) Deadlines.--
(1) In general.--The Commission--
(A) shall issue a proposed rule under this section
by not later than 90 days after the date of enactment
of this Act; and
(B) shall promulgate a final rule under this
section by not later than 270 days after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(2) Extension.--The Commission may extend the deadline
described in paragraph (1) if the Commission provides timely
notice to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate.
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