I
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1815
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 31, 2009
Mr. Barton of Texas (for himself, Mr. Radanovich, Mr. Rogers of Michigan, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Whitfield, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Gingrey of Georgia, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Putnam, Mr. Terry, Mr. Stearns, Mr. Pitts, and Mr. Thornberry) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To clarify the applicability of certain provisions in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Consumer Product Safety Solutions Act of
2009
.
Prospective application of lead limits and third party testing requirements
Lead content
Section 101 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 1278a) is amended—
by redesignating subsection (b) through (g) as subsections (c) through (h), respectively;
by inserting after subsection (a) the following new subsection:
Application
600 parts per million
Subsection (a)(2)(A) shall apply beginning February 10, 2009, only to any children’s product that is manufactured after such date, and after February 9, 2010, to any children’s product regardless of the date of manufacture.
300 parts per million
Subsection (a)(2)(B) shall apply beginning 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act only to any children’s product that is manufactured after such date, and beginning 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, to any children’s product regardless of the date of manufacture.
;
in subsection
(e)(2), by striking subsection (b)
and inserting
subsection (c)
; and
in subsection (g), by striking or
(b)
and inserting or (c)
.
Effective date
The amendments made by subsections (a) shall be treated as having taken effect on August 15, 2008.
Prospective application of phthalates prohibition
Application of phthalates prohibition
Section 108 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 1257c) is amended—
by redesignated subsections (c) through (e) as subsection (d) through (f), respectively; and
by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
Application
Subsections (a) and (b)(1) and any rule promulgated under subsection (b)(3) shall apply beginning February 10, 2009, only to any children’s product that is manufactured after such date, and after February 9, 2010, to any children’s product regardless of the date of manufacture.
.
Effective date
The amendments made by subsections (a) shall be treated as having taken effect on August 15, 2008.
Clarification of testing methodologies
Rulemaking
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall promulgate a rule setting forth the testing methodology or methodologies which the Commission determines shall be used for purposes of determining compliance with sections 101(a) and 108 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 1278a(a); 2057c).
Effective date for conformity certification
Section 14(a)(1) of the Consumer Product
Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2063(a)(1)) is amended by striking Except as
provided
and inserting Beginning 90 days after the issuance of a
rule required by section 4(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Solutions Act of
2009 except as provided
.
Temporary rule of compliance
Beginning February 10, 2009, and continuing until a rule is promulgated under subsection (a), any children’s product that is tested for conformity with the requirements of section 101(a) and section 108 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 1278a(a); 2057c) and certified pursuant to section 14(a)(1) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2063(a)(1)) shall be considered to be in compliance with such section if such children’s product was tested in good faith and in accordance with a reasonable testing methodology and the product was certified based on the results of such testing.
Exclusion of certain materials from lead content limit
Section 101(c)(1) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 1278a(c)(1)) (as redesignated by section 1) is amended—
in the matter
preceding subparagraph (A), by striking material will neither—
and inserting material—
in subparagraph (A)—
by striking
result in the absorption of any lead into the human body
and
inserting will not result in the absorption of lead into the human body
in excess of the amounts set forth under subsection (a)(2)
;
by inserting
of the age for which the product is intended
after
child
; and
by striking
nor
and inserting or
; and
in subparagraph
(B), by striking have any other
and inserting will not
have any
.
Waiver of third party testing requirement for certain component parts
Section 14(g) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2063(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Special rule for lead content and phthalate content testing and certification
Subsection (a) shall not require the manufacturer or private labeler of a children’s product to test such product for, or certify it with respect to, lead content or phthalate content, as applicable, if—
each component of the product that is required to be tested for compliance with sections 101(a) and 108 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 1278a(a); 2057c) has been tested for lead content or phthalate content, as applicable, by the manufacturer or private labeler of the component; and
the manufacturer or private labeler of each such component certifies that the component does not contain more lead than the limit established by subsection (a)(2) and (f) of section 101 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 1278a(a)(2) and (f)) or the applicable phthalate limit in effect under section 108 of such Act, as applicable.
.
Exemptions from tracking label requirements
Section 14(a)(5) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2063(a)(5)) is amended—
by striking
Effective
and inserting (A)
In
general—Effective
;
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
Commission exemptive authority
The Commission may, by rule, exempt or modify any of the requirements of this section for any product or product category, if the Commission determines such requirement to be unduly burdensome or cost prohibitive in relationship to the potential risk presented by such product or product category, or not practical due to the intended use of such product or product category.
.
General application and exemptive authority
Section 3 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 2051 note) is amended—
by striking
The
and inserting (a)
In
general.—The
; and
by adding at the end the following:
Authority To extend or delay effective dates
The Commission may extend the application of the effective date of any provision of this Act or the amendments made by this Act with respect to any particular manufacturer, distributer, or retailer or class of manufacturers, distributors, or retailers if the Commission determines that a delay would better promote public safety and that a later effective date is in the public interest and publishes the reason for such a determination.
Exemptive authority
The Commission may exempt a particular manufacturer, distributor, or retailer or class of manufacturers, distributors, or retailers from any provision of this Act or the amendments made by this Act if the Commission determines that a delay would better promote public safety and that such exemption is in the public interest and publishes the reason for such determination.
.
Compliance guidance for small businesses
In General
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall develop and make available on the Commission’s Internet website a compliance guide to assist small businesses in complying with the requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.) and other Acts enforced by the Commission.
Contents
The guide—
shall be designed to assist small businesses to determine—
whether the Consumer Product Safety Act (or any other Act enforced by the Commission) applies to their business activities;
whether they are considered distributors, manufacturers, private labelers, or retailers under such Act or Acts; and
which rules, standards, regulations, or statutory requirements apply to their business activities;
shall provide guidance on how to comply with any such applicable rule, standard, regulation, or requirement, including—
what actions they should take to ensure that they meet the requirements; and
how to determine whether they have met the requirements; and
may contain such additional information as the Commission considers appropriate, including telephone, e-mail, and Internet contacts for compliance support and information.