Congress Softens CPSIA

August 1, 2011  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Legal on August 2, 2011

The U.S. Congress on Monday softened the Consumer Product Safety Information Act, a law regulating lead content in children's products, including furniture.

The Enhancing CPSC Authority and Discretion Act of 2011 passed the House with bipartisan support by a vote of 421 to 2. The Senate also passed the bill on Monday. It now goes to the president to be signed. The key measure impacting children's furniture manufacturers is the elimination of retroactivity of the 100 parts per million lead limit scheduled to go into effect on August 14.

"This means children's products that complied with the earlier 300 parts per million when they were manufactured are not obsolete. They can be sold," said American Home Furnishings Alliance Vice President Bill Perdue.

The Act also removes lead limits for used children's products and provides an exemption so the Consumer Product Safety Commission can establish higher lead limits for products or component parts that cannot meet the applicable limit if the lead content serves a purpose or is deemed not practical to remove, and exposure to the product or component will not cause a measurable increase in blood-lead levels.

Additional provisions include:
* Third party testing: The requirement in the existing law is modified to include testing exceptions for small batch manufacturers. Also the CPSC is required to seek public comment on ways to reduce the burden and cost of testing.
* CPSC Consumer Database: When the CPSC receives a notice that a "report of harm" is materially inaccurate, it will have five additional days to investigate that claim before the report is published. The Commission also is directed to ask consumers for the model or serial number or a photograph of the consumer product involved in a report of harm if the consumer omitted this information in the original report. This information must be forwarded to the manufacturer. However, the Commission must still publish the report on the 15th business day after it receives the report of harm, even if there is no mention of the model or serial number.
* Tracking labels: The CPSC has authority to exclude specific products or classes of products from the tracking label requirement if the Commission determines that the requirement is not practical for those products.

A press release issued Monday by the House stated, "The bill approved by the House today makes great strides toward cleaning up the regulatory mess created by the CPSIA, giving the Consumer Product Safety Commission the flexibility it needs to regulate based on risk. The bill's changes aim to reduce the burden of the law while maintaining strong protections for children."