15 U.S.C. § 2056 — Consumer product safety standards

Page 1714 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 2056 amended Pub. L. 112–28, § 7, Aug. 12, 2011, 125 Stat. 281.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2011—Subsec. (c)(3)(A). Pub. L. 112–28, § 7(1), inserted ‘‘or paragraph (5)’’ after ‘‘paragraph (4)(A)’’. Subsec. (c)(4)(A). Pub. L. 112–28, § 7(2), substituted ‘‘receives notice that the information in such report or comment is materially inaccurate, the Commission shall stay the publication of the report on the database as required under paragraph (3) for a period of no more than 5 additional days. If the Commission determines that the information in such report or comment is ma- terially inaccurate, the Commission shall—’’ for ‘‘de- termines that the information in such report or com- ment is materially inaccurate, the Commission shall— ’’ in introductory provisions. Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 112–28, § 7(3), added par. (5). § 2056. Consumer product safety standards (a) Types of requirements The Commission may promulgate consumer product safety standards in accordance with the provisions of section 2058 of this title. A con- sumer product safety standard shall consist of one or more of any of the following types of re- quirements: (1) Requirements expressed in terms of per- formance requirements. (2) Requirements that a consumer product be marked with or accompanied by clear and adequate warnings or instructions, or require- ments respecting the form of warnings or in- structions. Any requirement of such a standard shall be rea- sonably necessary to prevent or reduce an un- reasonable risk of injury associated with such product. (b) Reliance of Commission upon voluntary standards (1) The Commission shall rely upon voluntary consumer product safety standards rather than promulgate a consumer product safety standard prescribing requirements described in subsection (a) whenever compliance with such voluntary standards would eliminate or adequately reduce the risk of injury addressed and it is likely that there will be substantial compliance with such voluntary standards. (2) The Commission shall devise procedures to monitor compliance with any voluntary stand- ards— (A) upon which the Commission has relied under paragraph (1); (B) which were developed with the participa- tion of the Commission; or (C) whose development the Commission has monitored. (c) Contribution of Commission to development cost If any person participates with the Commis- sion in the development of a consumer product safety standard, the Commission may agree to contribute to the person’s cost with respect to such participation, in any case in which the Commission determines that such contribution is likely to result in a more satisfactory stand- ard than would be developed without such con- tribution, and that the person is financially re- sponsible. Regulations of the Commission shall set forth the items of cost in which it may par- ticipate, and shall exclude any contribution to the acquisition of land or buildings. Payments under agreements entered into under this sub- section may be made without regard to section 3324(a) and (b) of title 31. (Pub. L. 92–573, § 7, Oct. 27, 1972, 86 Stat. 1212; Pub. L. 94–284, §§ 6, 7, 8(a), May 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 505, 506; Pub. L. 95–631, §§ 3, 4(a)–(c), 5, Nov. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 3742–3744; Pub. L. 97–35, title XII, § 1202, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 703; Pub. L. 101–608, title I, § 107(a), Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3111.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION In subsec. (c), ‘‘section 3324(a) and (b) of title 31’’ sub- stituted for ‘‘section 3648 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (31 U.S.C. 529)’’ on authority of Pub. L. 97–258, § 4(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1067, the first sec- tion of which enacted Title 31, Money and Finance. AMENDMENTS 1990—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–608 designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2). 1981—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–35 amended subsec. (a) generally, and in the requirements for consumer prod- uct safety standards, struck out reference to composi- tion, contents, design, construction, finish, or pack- aging of consumer products, and struck out provision that the requirements of the standards other than re- quirements relating to labeling, warnings, or instruc- tions, shall, whenever, feasible, be expressed in terms of performance requirements. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 97–35 amended subsec. (b) gen- erally, substituting provisions relating to the reliance by the Commission upon voluntary standards for provi- sions prescribing procedure for development of con- sumer product safety standards. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97–35 amended subsec. (c) gen- erally, substituting provisions relating to contribution by the Commission to the development cost of con- sumer safety standards for provisions relating to publi- cation of proposed safety rules developed from existing standards. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 97–35 struck out subsec. (d) which related to the acceptance of offers to develop proposed standards and the Commission’s contribution to devel- opment costs. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 97–35 struck out subsec. (e) which related to development of proposed safety rules by the Commission. Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 97–35 struck out subsec. (f) which provided for termination of rule-making proceedings and a statement relating to the reasons therefor. 1978—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 95–631, § 3, designated exist- ing provision as par. (1), and in par. (1) as so redesig- nated, redesignated pars. (1) to (4) as subpars. (A) and (D), in subpar. (D) as so redesignated, inserted provi- sion including as a means of commencing a proceeding, a publication in the Federal Register of a statement that the Commission intends to develop the proposed consumer product safety standard, added subpar. (E), struck out provision that the period specified within which the offeror of an accepted offer develops the pro- posed standard be a period ending 150 days after the date the offer was accepted unless the Commission for good cause found, and included such finding in the no- tice that a different period was appropriate, and added par. (2). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 95–631, § 5, amended subsec. (c) generally, inserting provisions relating to subsec. (b)(1)(D) and striking out provisions for publication of a proposed consumer product safety rule, in lieu of ac- ceptance of an offer under subsec. (d), where a standard Page 1715 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 2056 had been issued or adopted by any Federal agency or by any other qualified agency, organization, or institution and the standard if promulgated under the chapter would eliminate or reduce the unreasonable risk of in- jury associated with the product. Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 95–631, § 4(a)(1), inserted ‘‘sub- section (b)(2) and by’’ after ‘‘as provided by’’ and sub- stituted references to subsec. (b)(1)(D)(ii)(I) for (b)(4)(B) of this section and subsec. (b)(1)(E) for (b) of this sec- tion. Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 95–631, § 4(a)(2)(A)–(C), inserted in first sentence ‘‘or if any person participates with the Commission in the development of a consumer product safety standard under subsection (b)(2)(A) or subsection (e) of this section’’ after ‘‘under this subsection’’, ‘‘or the person’s cost with respect to such participation’’ after ‘‘safety standards’’ and ‘‘or person’’ after ‘‘offer- or’’. Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 95–631, § 4(a)(3), added par. (4). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 95–631, § (4)(b), amended provisions generally, and among other changes, substituted ref- erences to subsec. (b)(1)(D)(ii)(I) of this section for prior references to subsec. (b) of this section, and struck out par. (3) defining the development period, now covered in subsec. (b)(1)(E) of this section. Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 95–631, § 4(c), amended provisions generally, and among other changes, reduced the period within which to publish a proposed consumer product safety standard to forty-five days from 150 days and re- quired the publication in the Federal Register of the reasons for not publishing the proposed standard, in- cluding a statement indicative of the taking of other approaches such as a voluntary consumer safety stand- ard adopted by persons to be subject to the proposed standard. 1976—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–284, § 6, designated exist- ing provision as par. (1), redesignated as subpars. (A) and (B) existing pars. (1) and (2), and added par. (2). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94–284, § 7(a), substituted ‘‘date the offer is accepted’’ for ‘‘publication of notice’’ in provision following par. (4)(B). Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 94–284, § 8(a), inserted provision which permits the Commission to advance public mon- eys without the need of authorized appropriations as required by section 529 of title 31. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 94–284, § 7(b), permitted the Com- mission to develop and publish a proposed consumer safety product rule if the development period as speci- fied in par. (3) ends. Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 94–284, § 7(c), provided that if with- in 60 days after publication of notice for a proceeding for the development of a consumer product safety standard (or longer if the Commission so prescribe), no offer is submitted or none is acceptable, the Commis- sion terminate the proceeding or develop proposals of its own, which proposals be published as a rule within 150 days after the expiration of the 60 day period or the proceeding then terminated, and that if an offer is ac- cepted within the 60 day period, then within 210 days after acceptance, the Commission must publish the proposal as a rule or terminate the proceeding. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1981 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 97–35 applicable with respect to regulations under this chapter and chapters 25 and 30 of this title for which notices of proposed rulemaking are issued after Aug. 14, 1981, see section 1215 of Pub. L. 97–35, set out as a note under section 2052 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on the sixtieth day following Oct. 27, 1972, see section 34 of Pub. L. 92–573, set out as a note under section 2051 of this title. CHILDREN’S GASOLINE BURN PREVENTION Pub. L. 110–278, July 17, 2008, 122 Stat. 2602, as amend- ed by Pub. L. 116–260, div. FF, title IX, § 901(c)(1), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 3206, provided that: ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention Act’. ‘‘SEC. 2. CHILD-RESISTANT PORTABLE GASOLINE CONTAINERS. ‘‘(a) CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY RULE.—The provi- sion of subsection (b) shall be considered to be a con- sumer product safety rule issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission under section 9 of the Con- sumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058). ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—Effective 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act [July 17, 2008], each port- able gasoline container manufactured on or after that date for sale in the United States shall conform to the child-resistance requirements for closures on portable gasoline containers specified in the standard ASTM F2517-05, issued by ASTM International. ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—As used in this Act, the term ‘port- able gasoline container’ means any portable gasoline container intended for use by consumers and any recep- tacle for gasoline, kerosene, or diesel fuel, including any spout, cap, and other closure mechanism and com- ponent of such receptacle or any retrofit or aftermarket spout or component intended or reason- ably anticipated to be for use with such receptacle, pro- duced or distributed for sale to or use by consumers for transport of, or refueling of internal combustion en- gines with, gasoline, kerosene, or diesel fuel. ‘‘(d) REVISION OF RULE.—If, after the enactment of this Act, ASTM International proposes to revise the child resistance requirements of ASTM F2517-05, ASTM International shall notify the Consumer Product Safe- ty Commission of the proposed revision and the pro- posed revision shall be incorporated in the consumer product safety rule under subsection (a) unless, within 60 days of such notice, the Commission notifies ASTM International that the Commission has determined that such revision does not carry out the purposes of subsection (b). ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.—Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, shall apply with respect to the issuance of any regulations by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to implement the requirements of this section, and sections 7 and 9 of the Consumer Prod- uct Safety Act [15 U.S.C. 2056, 2058] shall not apply to such issuance. ‘‘(f) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act [July 17, 2008], the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall transmit to the Com- mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep- resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on— ‘‘(1) the degree of industry compliance with the standard promulgated under subsection (a); ‘‘(2) any enforcement actions brought by the Com- mission to enforce such standard; and ‘‘(3) incidents involving children interacting with portable gasoline containers (including both those that are and are not in compliance with the standard promulgated under subsection (a)).’’ [Amendment by Pub. L. 116–260 effective 6 months after Dec. 27, 2020, see section 2056d(c)(2) of this title.] AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR OPENERS Pub. L. 101–608, title II, § 203, Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3123, provided that: ‘‘(a) CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY RULE.—The provi- sions of subsection (b) shall be considered to be a con- sumer product safety rule issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission under section 9 of the Con- sumer Product Safety Act [15 U.S.C. 2058]. ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.— ‘‘(1) Effective on and after January 1, 1991, each automatic residential garage door opener manufac- tured on or after that date for sale in the United States shall conform to the entrapment protection requirements of the American National Standards In- stitute Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. Standards for Safety—UL 325, third edition, as revised May 4, 1988. Page 1716 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 2056a ‘‘(2)(A) Effective on and after January 1, 1993, all residential automatic garage door openers manufac- tured on and after such date for sale in the United States shall conform to any additional entrapment protection requirements of the American National Standards Institute Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. Standards for Safety—UL 325, third edition, which were issued after the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 16, 1990] to become effective on or before January 1, 1993. ‘‘(B) If, by June 1, 1992, the Underwriters Labora- tories, Inc., has not issued a revision to the May 4, 1988, Standards for Safety—UL 325, third edition, to require an entrapment protection feature or device in addition to that required by the May 4, 1988, Stand- ard, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall begin a rulemaking proceeding, to be completed no later than October 31, 1992, to require an additional such feature or device on all automatic residential garage door openers manufactured on or after Janu- ary 1, 1993, for sale in the United States. If such a re- vision is issued by the Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. after the rulemaking has commenced, the rule- making shall be terminated and the revision shall be incorporated in the consumer product safety rule under subsection (a) unless the Commission has de- termined under subsection (c) that such revision does not carry out the purposes of subsection (b). ‘‘(c) REVISION OF RULE.—If, after June 1, 1992, or the date of a revision described in subsection (b)(2)(B) if later, the Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. proposes to further revise the entrapment protection requirements of the American National Standards Institute Under- writers Laboratories, Inc. Standards for Safety—UL 325, third edition, the Laboratories shall notify the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the proposed revision and the proposed revision shall be incor- porated in the consumer product safety rule under sub- section (a) unless, within 30 days of such notice, the Commission notifies the Laboratories that the Com- mission has determined that such revision does not carry out the purposes of subsection (b). ‘‘(d) LABELING.—On and after January 1, 1991, a manu- facturer selling or offering for sale in the United States an automatic residential garage door opener manufac- tured on or after January 1, 1991, shall clearly identify on any container of the system and on the system the month or week and year the system was manufactured and its conformance with the requirements of sub- section (b). The display of the UL logo or listing mark, and compliance with the date marking requirements of UL 325, on both the container and the system, shall sat- isfy the requirements of this subsection. ‘‘(e) NOTIFICATION.—Effective on and after July 1, 1991, all manufacturers of automatic residential garage door openers shall, in consultation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, notify the public of the potential for entrapment by garage doors equipped with automatic garage door openers and advise the public to test their openers for the entrapment protection fea- ture or device required by subsection (b). ‘‘(f) PREEMPTION.—In applying section 26(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2075) [15 U.S.C. 2075(a)] with respect to the consumer product safety rule of the Consumer Product Safety Commission under subsection (a), only those provisions of laws of States or political subdivisions which relate to the labeling of automatic residential garage door openers and those provisions which do not provide at least the equivalent degree of protection from the risk of injury associated with automatic residential garage door openers as the consumer product safety rule provides shall be subject to such section. ‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, shall apply with respect to the issuance of any regulations by the Consumer Product Safety Com- mission to implement the requirements of this section and sections 7 and 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act [15 U.S.C. 2056, 2058] do not apply to such issuance. Any additional or revised requirement issued by the Commission shall provide an adequate degree of protec- tion to the public. ‘‘(h) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall af- fect or modify in any way the obligations or liabilities of any person under the common law or any Federal or State law.’’ § 2056a. Standards and consumer registration of durable nursery products (a) Short title This section may be cited as the ‘‘Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act’’. (b) Safety standards (1) In general The Commission shall— (A) in consultation with representatives of consumer groups, juvenile product manufac- turers, and independent child product engi- neers and experts, examine and assess the ef- fectiveness of any voluntary consumer prod- uct safety standards for durable infant or toddler products; and (B) in accordance with section 553 of title 5, promulgate consumer product safety standards that— (i) are substantially the same as such voluntary standards; or (ii) are more stringent than such vol- untary standards, if the Commission deter- mines that more stringent standards would further reduce the risk of injury as- sociated with such products. (2) Timetable for rulemaking Not later than 1 year after August 14, 2008, the Commission shall commence the rule- making required under paragraph (1) and shall promulgate standards for no fewer than 2 cat- egories of durable infant or toddler products every 6 months thereafter, beginning with the product categories that the Commission deter- mines to be of highest priority, until the Com- mission has promulgated standards for all such product categories. Thereafter, the Com- mission shall periodically review and revise the standards set forth under this subsection to ensure that such standards provide the highest level of safety for such products that is feasible. (3) Judicial review Any person adversely affected by such stand- ards may file a petition for review under the procedures set forth in section 2060(g) of this title, as added by section 236 of this Act. (4) Process for considering subsequent revi- sions to voluntary standard (A) Notice of adoption of voluntary standard When the Commission promulgates a con- sumer product safety standard under this subsection that is based, in whole or in part, on a voluntary standard, the Commission shall notify the organization that issued the voluntary standard of the Commission’s ac- tion and shall provide a copy of the con- sumer product safety standard to the organi- zation. (B) Commission action on revised voluntary standard If an organization revises a standard that has been adopted, in whole or in part, as a