Details of the Senate Committee-Amended CPSC Bill on Product Safety (Part II - Highlights)
On October 30, 2007, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation amended and ordered to be favorably reported S. 2045, the CPSC Reform Act of 2007, to reform the Consumer Product Safety Commission to provide greater protection to children's products, and for other purposes.
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This is Part II of a multi-part series of summaries on the version of S. 2045 ordered to be favorably reported by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and provides highlights of the sponsor's October 31, 2007 press release. (See ITT's Online Archives or 11/06/07 news, 07110600, for Part I which discussed S. 2045's provision on revoking brokers' licenses for "aiding and abetting" in the multiple importations of violative consumer products.)
According to a press release issued by S. 2045's sponsor, the bill, as amended, would:
authorize funding levels for 7 years starting at $80 million in 2009 and increasing at a rate of 10% per year through 2015. For 2008 and 2009, an additional $40 million would be authorized to upgrade CPSC's laboratories and $1 million would be authorized to research the safety of nanotechnology in products;
increase civil fines up to $250,000 per violation with a cap at $100 million;
increase criminal penalties to 5 years in jail for those who knowingly and willingly violate product safety laws;
require third party safety certification on every children's product that enters the U.S.;
require manufacturers to label children's products with tracking information useful to facilitate a recall;
ban the direct use of lead in all children's products;
restore the CPSC to five members instead of three members to prevent future absences of quorum;
allow state Attorneys General to bring civil action on behalf of their residents to enforce product safety laws and obtain damages and restitution;
provide whistleblower protections for manufacturers' and importers' employees to shed light on any problems along the supply chain;
make it unlawful for retailers to sell a recalled product; and
streamline the product safety rulemaking process to be timely and proactive.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 10/22/07 news, 07102205, for BP summary of earlier version of S. 2045.
See ITT's Online Archives or 10/18/07 news, 07101815, for BP summary of H.R. 2474, a House-passed bill to increase maximum civil penalties that can be imposed by the CPSC.)
Copy of October 31, 2007 (11:13 a.m.) version of S. 2045 (both the original and the amendment in the nature of a substitute) as obtained from a trade lobbyist is available by email only by sending requests to documents@brokerpower.com
Senator Pryor's press release (dated 10/30/07) available at http://pryor.senate.gov/newsroom/details.cfm?id=286368&.