Detailed Summary

CPSC Reform Act - (Sec. 3) Amends the Consumer Product Safety Act to authorize appropriations: (1) to carry out the Act and any other provision of law the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is authorized or directed to carry out; (2) for the office of Inspector General; (3) to make capital improvements to the research, development, and testing facility of the CPSC; and (4) for research into safety issues related to the use of nanotechnology in consumer products.

(Sec. 4) Requires the CPSC, subject to the availability of appropriations, to increase by at least 500 the number of its full-time employees and by at least 50 the number of its port-of-entry and overseas production facility inspectors. Requires the CPSC to develop and implement a professional career development program. Requires the CPSC to develop standards for training product safety inspectors and technical staff employed by the CPSC.

(Sec. 5) Urges the President to nominate members to fill any vacancy in CPSC membership as expeditiously as practicable. Removes a provision limiting the funding for the number of CPSC Commissioners to no more than three.

(Sec. 6) Adds CPSC annual, semiannual, and other regular periodic reports to the list of reports required to be submitted indefinitely under the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995.

(Sec. 7) Modifies provisions concerning the public disclosure of information regarding a consumer product where disclosure will permit the public to ascertain readily the identity of the manufacturer or private labeler, including decreasing some waiting periods before the CPSC may disclose information and providing for expedited court actions.

Requires the CPSC to maintain on its website a publicly available, searchable database that includes any reports received by the CPSC of injuries, illness, death, or risk of such injury, illness, or death related to the use of consumer products received by the CPSC from consumers, government agencies, and nongovernmental sources other than information provided to the CPSC by manufacturers, private labelers, or retailers. Allows inclusion in the database of comments by manufacturers, labelers, or retailers.

(Sec. 8) Modifies procedures for promulgating consumer product safety rules under the Consumer Product Safety Act or the Flammable Fabrics Act or regulations under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. Allows, under the Consumer Product Safety Act, submission of an existing standard or portion of a standard as a proposed consumer product safety standard.

Removes provisions providing that an action for judicial review of a flammability standard or regulation survives any change in the persons occupying the office of CPSC commissioner or any vacancy in such office.

(Sec. 9) Expands the authority of the CPSC to prohibit the stockpiling of a product (for the purpose of circumventing a consumer product safety rule) to which a consumer product safety rule applies.

(Sec. 10) Requires third party laboratory testing (and related certification) of certain products for use by, or care of, a child seven or younger that are subject to a consumer product safety standard or a rule.

Requires, if an advertisement, label, or package contains a reference to a consumer product safety standard, that there be a statement regarding whether the product meets all requirements of that standard.

Requires the CPSC, with regard to consumer products in general and children's products in particular, to: (1) establish protocols and standards regarding certification or continuing guarantees of compliance; and (2) provide for accreditation of the third party laboratories. Prohibits importation of children's products lacking certification.

Authorizes the CPSC, by rule, to extend to other consumer products (or to classes or categories of consumer products) a requirement that a product's manufacturer subject to a consumer product safety standard certify that the product conforms to the standard or is not a banned hazardous product.

Allows the CPSC, in establishing standards for such third party laboratories, to consider standards and protocols by independent standard-setting organizations. Requires that the final standard for certification incorporate the most current scientific and technological standards and techniques.

(Sec. 11) Amends the Federal Hazardous Substances Act to require, when a product's packaging or retail display must include a choking warning (as with balloons, small balls, or marbles), that associated advertising that provides a direct means of purchase (including on Internet sites or in catalogs or other distributed materials) also bear the warning. Treats that requirement as a consumer product safety standard.

Requires the manufacturer of a children's product or other consumer product to place distinguishing marks on the product or its packaging that will enable the ultimate purchaser to ascertain the manufacturer, production time period, and cohort of production.

(Sec. 12) Requires each manufacturer of a consumer product or other product or substance over which the CPSC has jurisdiction under any Act (except for motor vehicle equipment) to notify the CPSC of certain substantial product hazards. (Current law requires such notification only regarding a consumer product, but makes no reference to other products or substances over which the CPSC has jurisdiction.)

(Sec. 13) Modifies requirements regarding action plans of manufacturers, distributors, or retailers to deal with products that present a substantial hazard.

(Sec. 14) Requires manufacturers and their subcontractors, importers, retailers, or distributors of a product or substance to identify each other upon CPSC request.

(Sec. 15) Makes it unlawful to sell, offer for sale, manufacture, distribute, or import any product or substance regulated under any Act enforced by the CPSC that is not in conformity with an applicable consumer product safety standard, is subject to voluntary corrective action, is subject to an order issued under provisions relating to imminent hazards or substantial product standards, or has been designated a banned hazardous substance under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.

Authorizes the CPSC, notwithstanding any other provision of law, to prohibit the export of a product or substance that is: (1) not in conformity with applicable CPSC requirements and does not violate applicable safety standards established by the importing country; (2) subject to an order issued under provisions relating to imminent hazards or substantial product standards, or has been designated a banned hazardous substance under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act; or (3) subject to voluntary corrective action taken by the manufacturer, subject to exception.

Prohibits selling, offering for sale, distributing, or importing any consumer product bearing a registered safety certification mark owned by an accredited conformity assessment body if use of the mark is (or should have been) known to be unauthorized.

Prohibits exercising or attempting to exercise undue influence on a third party laboratory.

(Sec. 16) Increases the maximum civil penalties under the Consumer Product Safety Act, the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, and the Flammable Fabrics Act. Requires a finding of aggravated circumstances in order to impose a civil penalty over $10 million. Modifies criminal penalties under those Acts. Adds mitigation of undue adverse economic impacts on small businesses to the factors to be considered in determining the amount of civil penalties.

(Sec. 17) Prohibits changing, by rule or regulation (or by reference in any preamble, statement of policy, executive branch statements, or other matter associated with the publication of any such rule or regulation), provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Act, the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, the Flammable Fabrics Act, and the Poison Packaging Prevention Act of 1970 that establish the extent to which those Acts preempt or otherwise affect any other federal, state, or local law, any rule or regulation, or any state cause of action.

(Sec. 18) Authorizes the CPSC to make certain information obtained by the CPSC available to any federal, state, local, or foreign government agency, provided there is an agreement that the information will be maintained in confidence and used only for law enforcement or consumer protection.

(Sec. 19) Authorizes the CPSC, by rule, to require the posting of an escrow, proof of insurance, or security by manufacturers, distributors, or persons who have committed multiple significant violations of any CPSC-enforced Act in an amount sufficient to cover recall or holding and destruction costs.

(Sec. 20) Allows states to bring actions to enforce any Act enforced by the CPSC, except during the pendency of an action brought by the CPSC. Regulates the use of information by private counsel retained to assist a state.

(Sec. 21) Creates protections for public and private sector whistle-blowers. Allows a court to grant all relief necessary to make the employee whole, including injunctive relief, compensatory damages, reinstatement, back pay (with interest), compensation for any special damages, litigation costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney fees.

(Sec. 22) Treats any children's product designed or intended for use by, or care of, a child seven or younger that contains lead over a specified level as a banned hazardous substance under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. Excludes components that are not accessible to a child and will not become physically exposed through normal and reasonably foreseeable product use and abuse. Prohibits considering paint, coatings, or electroplating to be a barrier that would render lead in the substrate inaccessible to a child. Allows the CPSC to exclude lead crystal.

Requires the CPSC, if it determines it is not feasible for electronic devices, including batteries, to comply with that requirement, to issue standards and establish a schedule for full compliance. Allows the CPSC to establish more stringent levels than those specified in this Act.

Lowers the lead threshold at which paint becomes a banned hazardous product.

(Sec. 23) Requires the CPSC to study the feasibility of establishing a measurement standard based on a units-of-mass-per-area standard that is statistically comparable to the parts-per-million measurement standard now used in laboratory analysis.

(Sec. 24) Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study disparities in the risks and incidence of preventable injuries and deaths among minority children related to products intended for use by children. Requires a report to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. Authorizes appropriations.

(Sec. 25) Amends the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 to prohibit construing provisions relating to household substance special packaging to protect children to require a cost-benefit analysis in connection with the establishment of a standard.

(Sec. 26) Requires the CPSC's Inspector General to conduct reviews and audits of implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Act by the CPSC and report annually to the CPSC, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Requires the Inspector General to review CPSC employee complaints about failures of other employees to properly enforce rules or regulations of any Act enforced by the CPSC and the process by which corrective action plans are negotiated with such employees and report to the CPSC and such committees.

Requires the Inspector General to review whether, and to what extent, there have been unauthorized and unlawful disclosures of information by CPSC Members, officers, or employees to CPSC-regulated persons that are not authorized to receive such information and report to the CPSC and such committees.

(Sec. 27) Requires the CPSC to establish and maintain: (1) on its home page a direct link to the CPSC's Office of Inspector General; and (2) on the home page of its Inspector General website a mechanism by which individuals may anonymously report cases of waste, fraud, or abuse regarding the CPSC.

(Sec. 28) Establishes, as a consumer product safety rule, a requirement that each portable gasoline container conform to the child-resistance requirements in a specified standard issued by ASTM International.

(Sec. 29) Considers a specified ASTM-International standard on toy safety to be a consumer product safety rule.

(Sec. 30) Requires the CPSC, notwithstanding any other provision of law, to establish as a mandatory consumer product safety standard a specified American National Standard for four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles developed by the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America. Makes it unlawful for any manufacturer or distributor to import or distribute any new all-terrain vehicle unless: (1) the vehicle complies with the standard, is subject to an all-terrain vehicle action plan, and bears a label certifying such compliance and certain other information; and (2) the manufacturer or distributor is in compliance with the action plan.

Prohibits the importation of new three-wheeled all-terrain vehicles until a mandatory consumer product safety rule applicable to three-wheeled all-terrain vehicles is in effect.

Requires the Comptroller General to study the utility, recreational, and other benefits of certain all-terrain vehicles and the costs associated with accidents and injuries involving all-terrain vehicles.

(Sec. 31) Requires, notwithstanding specified provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 1990 or any amendment by the American National Standards Institute and Underwriters Laboratories of specified standards, that all automatic residential garage door operators that directly drive the door in the closing direction include an external secondary entrapment protection device that does not require contact with a person or object for the garage door to reverse. Provides for an exception, requires the CPSC to review and if necessary revise its standard, and eliminates the exception if the revised standard adopts the requirement of the first sentence of this paragraph.

(Sec. 32) Sets a deadline for the CPSC to issue a final rule in a specified proceeding relating to portable generators.

Requires the CPSC to report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation regarding charcoal briquettes.

(Sec. 33) Sets a deadline for the CPSC to issue a final rule mandating general safety standards for cigarette lighters in specified proceedings.

(Sec. 34) Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act - Requires the CPSC to assess the effectiveness of any voluntary consumer product safety standards for durable products for children under five years of age and promulgate consumer product safety rules that are the same or more stringent than the voluntary standards. Makes it unlawful for any commercial user (including, but not limited to hotels, motels, or similar transient lodging facilities and day care centers) to manufacture, sell, lease, or otherwise place in the stream of commerce any new or used crib, including a portable crib and a crib-pen, that is not in compliance with the mandatory rule.

Requires the CPSC to promulgate final consumer product safety rules that require manufacturers of durable products for children under five years to: (1) provide consumers with postage-paid consumer registration forms with each such product and maintain the submitted information in order to improve recall effectiveness; and (2) permanently label the product with information about the manufacturer and product.

Requires the CPSC to study, and report to Congress on, the effectiveness of such rules in facilitating product recalls.

Allows a manufacturer of such durable products to use a recall notification technology in lieu of such registration forms if the CPSC finds that the technology is at least as effective as the forms. Requires the CPSC to review recall notification technology and report to Congress.

(Sec. 35) Repeals provisions allowing the CPSC to regulate a product under the Consumer Product Safety Act (if the product has a risk of injury which could be reduced to a sufficient extent by action under the under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970, or the Flammable Fabrics Act) only if the CPSC by rule finds that it is in the public interest to do so.

(Sec. 36) Requires the CPSC to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Secretary of Homeland Security for the assignment by the Commission of at least one full-time equivalent personnel to work at the National Targeting Center of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to identify products intended for importation that pose a high risk to consumer safety. Allows the CPSC to waive that requirement if it determines that the assignment would not improve effectiveness in identifying such products before importation.

(Sec. 37) Requires the CPSC to develop a risk assessment methodology for identification of shipments of consumer products that are intended for import and would be refused admission under specified provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Act, including, as far as practicable, using the International Trade Data System (ITDS) to evaluate and assess information before shipments enter U.S. customs territory. Authorizes appropriations.

(Sec. 38) Requires the CPSC to publish a list of product defects that constitute a substantial product hazard.

Replaces provisions requiring the exportation (or, on application, destruction) of imports refused admission with provisions requiring the Secretary of Homeland Security to destroy any product refused admission unless the product is exported within a specified period after refusal.

Requires (currently, allows) the CPSC, by rule, to condition importation of a consumer product on the manufacturer's compliance with certain inspection and record keeping requirements.

Requires (currently, allows) the CPSC to provide information to other federal agencies with which it is cooperating under an existing permanent surveillance program to prevent the entry of unsafe consumer products.

Prohibits construing this section to prevent the Secretary of Homeland Security from prohibiting entry or directing the destruction or export of a consumer product under any other provision of law.

Replaces all references to the Secretary of the Treasury in provisions relating to imported products with references to the Secretary of Homeland Security.

(Sec. 39) Requires the CPSC to: (1) establish and maintain a database with information about violations of consumer product safety rules, including related statements by manufacturers or suppliers; and (2) make the database available on a real-time basis to the Commissioner responsible for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security to be used to determine whether a container being imported contains consumer products that are in violation of a consumer product safety standard and whether action should be taken under imported products provisions. Prohibits other disclosure of the information, except for law enforcement or national security. Prohibits the CPSC and the Commissioner responsible for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security from imposing a civil or criminal penalty solely on the basis of information from the database. Authorizes appropriations.

(Sec. 40) Treats any children's toy or child care article that contains any combination of specified phthalates as a banned hazardous substance under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. Prohibits certain alternatives to those phthalates. Allows certain related state or local laws.

(Sec. 41) Requires the CPSC to establish a standard for equestrian helmets.

(Sec. 42) Authorizes the CPSC, if it finds that a product presents a substantial hazard, and that certain actions under existing provisions are in the public interest, to order a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer to distribute notice of the actions to the public. Specifies the required contents of the notice. Allows the CPSC to require that a notice be distributed in a language other than English if the CPSC determines that doing so is necessary to adequately protect the public.

Requires the CPSC to make certain information available to the public as the information becomes available to the CPSC, including progress reports and incident updates, statistics regarding injuries and deaths, and certain communications from consumers to the CPSC.

(Sec. 43) Requires the Comptroller General to: (1) assess the effectiveness of the authorities and provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Act in preventing unsafe consumer products from entering U.S. customs territory; (2) develop a plan to improve effectiveness; and (3) report to Congress regarding inspection of foreign manufacturing plants by the CPSC and requiring foreign manufacturers to consent to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts regarding CPSC enforcement actions.

(Sec. 44) Bans importation of toys manufactured by companies that have shown a persistent pattern substantial product hazards or that present a risk of injury to the public of such a magnitude that the CPSC has determined that a permanent ban on all toys manufactured by such company is equitably justified. Requires a related annual report to Congress.

(Sec. 45) Requires the CPSC to conduct a study on the use of formaldehyde in the manufacture of textile and apparel articles, or in any component of such articles, to identify any risks to consumers.

Status of the Legislation

Latest Major Action: 6/25/2008: Conference committee actions. Status: Conference held.

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