15 U.S.C. § 2076b — Inspector General audits and reports

Page 1760 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 2076a seq.) to pay to Commission amounts to defray reason- able costs of particular services provided by Commis- sion to such entities, with Commission to complete study within one year of Nov. 16, 1990, and report re- sults of study to Congress. § 2076a. Report on civil penalties (1) Beginning 1 year after November 16, 1990, and every year thereafter, the Consumer Prod- uct Safety Commission shall submit to the Com- mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor- tation of the Senate and the Committee on En- ergy and Commerce of the House of Representa- tives the information specified in paragraph (2). Such information may be included in the annual report to the Congress submitted by the Com- mission. (2) The Commission shall submit information with respect to the imposition of civil penalties under the statutes which it administers. The in- formation shall include the number of civil pen- alties imposed, an identification of the viola- tions that led to the imposition of such pen- alties, and the amount of revenue recovered from the imposition of such penalties. (Pub. L. 101–608, title I, § 115(d), Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3121.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 1990, and not as part of the Consumer Product Safety Act which comprises this chapter. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME Committee on Energy and Commerce of House of Representatives treated as referring to Committee on Commerce of House of Representatives by section 1(a) of Pub. L. 104–14, set out as a note preceding section 21 of Title 2, The Congress. Committee on Commerce of House of Representatives changed to Committee on En- ergy and Commerce of House of Representatives, and jurisdiction over matters relating to securities and ex- changes and insurance generally transferred to Com- mittee on Financial Services of House of Representa- tives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Seventh Congress, Jan. 3, 2001. § 2076b. Inspector General audits and reports (a) Improvements by the Commission The Inspector General of the Commission shall conduct reviews and audits to assess— (1) the Commission’s capital improvement efforts, including improvements and upgrades of the Commission’s information technology architecture and systems and the development of the database of publicly available informa- tion on incidents involving injury or death re- quired under section 2055a of this title, as added by section 212 of this Act; and (2) the adequacy of procedures for accred- iting conformity assessment bodies as author- ized by section 2063(a)(3) of this title, as amended by this Act, and overseeing the third party testing required by such section. (b) Employee complaints Within 1 year after August 14, 2008, the Inspec- tor General shall conduct a review of— (1) complaints received by the Inspector General from employees of the Commission about failures of other employees to enforce the rules or regulations of the Consumer Prod- uct Safety Act [15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.] or any other Act enforced by the Commission or oth- erwise carry out their responsibilities under such Acts if such alleged failures raise issues of conflicts of interest, ethical violations, or the absence of good faith; and (2) actions taken by the Commission to ad- dress such failures and complaints, including an assessment of the timeliness and effective- ness of such actions. (c) Public Internet website links Not later than 30 days after August 14, 2008, the Commission shall establish and maintain— (1) a direct link on the homepage of its Internet website to the Internet webpage of the Commission’s Office of Inspector General; and (2) a mechanism on the webpage of the Com- mission’s Office of Inspector General by which individuals may anonymously report cases of waste, fraud, or abuse with respect to the Commission. (d) Reports (1) Activities and needs of Inspector General Not later than 60 days after August 14, 2008, the Inspector General of the Commission shall transmit a report to the appropriate Congres- sional committees on the activities of the In- spector General, any structural barriers which prevent the Inspector General from providing robust oversight of the activities of the Com- mission, and any additional authority or re- sources that would facilitate more effective oversight. (2) Reviews of improvements and employee complaints Beginning for fiscal year 2010, the Inspector General of the Commission shall include in an annual report to the appropriate Congres- sional committees the Inspector General’s findings, conclusions, and recommendations from the reviews and audits under subsections (a) and (b). (Pub. L. 110–314, title II, § 205, Aug. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 3043.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 110–314, Aug. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 3016, known as the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 2008 Amendment note set out under section 2051 of this title and Tables. The Consumer Product Safety Act, referred to in sub- sec. (b)(1), is Pub. L. 92–573, Oct. 27, 1972, 86 Stat. 1207, which is classified generally to this chapter. For com- plete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2051 of this title and Tables. CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, and not as part of the Consumer Product Safety Act which comprises this chapter. Page 1761 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 2078 Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries DEFINITIONS For definitions of ‘‘Commission’’ and ‘‘appropriate Congressional committees’’ used in this section, see section 2(a) of Pub. L. 110–314, set out as a note under section 2051 of this title. § 2077. Chronic Hazard Advisory Panels (a) Appointment; purposes The Commission shall appoint Chronic Hazard Advisory Panels (hereinafter referred to as the Panel or Panels) to advise the Commission in accordance with the provisions of section 2080(b) of this title respecting the chronic hazards of cancer, birth defects, and gene mutations associ- ated with consumer products. (b) Composition; membership Each Panel shall consist of 7 members ap- pointed by the Commission from a list of nomi- nees who shall be nominated by the President of the National Academy of Sciences from sci- entists— (1) who are not officers or employees of the United States (other than employees of the National Institutes of Health, the National Toxicology Program, or the National Center for Toxicological Research), and who do not receive compensation from or have any sub- stantial financial interest in any manufac- turer, distributor, or retailer of a consumer product; and (2) who have demonstrated the ability to critically assess chronic hazards and risks to human health presented by the exposure of hu- mans to toxic substances or as demonstrated by the exposure of animals to such substances. The President of the National Academy of Sciences shall nominate for each Panel a num- ber of individuals equal to three times the num- ber of members to be appointed to the Panel. (c) Chairman and Vice Chairman; election; term The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Panel shall be elected from among the members and shall serve for the duration of the Panel. (d) Majority vote Decisions of the Panel shall be made by a ma- jority of the Panel. (e) Administrative support services The Commission shall provide each Panel with such administrative support services as it may require to carry out its duties under section 2080 of this title. (f) Compensation A member of a Panel appointed under sub- section (a) shall be paid at a rate not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for grade GS–18 of the General Schedule for each day (including traveltime) during which the member is engaged in the ac- tual performance of the duties of the Panel. (g) Requests for and disclosures of information Each Panel shall request information and dis- close information to the public, as provided in subsection (h), only through the Commission. (h) Information from other Federal departments and agencies (1) Notwithstanding any statutory restriction on the authority of agencies and departments of the Federal Government to share information, such agencies and departments shall provide the Panel with such information and data as each Panel, through the Commission, may request to carry out its duties under section 2080 of this title. Each Panel may request information, through the Commission, from States, industry and other private sources as it may require to carry out its responsibilities. (2) Section 2055 of this title shall apply to the disclosure of information by the Panel but shall not apply to the disclosure of information to the Panel. (Pub. L. 92–573, § 28, as added Pub. L. 97–35, title XII, § 1206(a), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 716; amended Pub. L. 101–608, title I, § 116, Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3121; Pub. L. 110–314, title II, § 235(c)(6), Aug. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 3075.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 2077, Pub. L. 92–573, § 28, Oct. 27, 1972, 86 Stat. 1230, provided for establishment and member- ship of Product Safety Advisory Council, prior to re- peal by Pub. L. 97–35, title XII, § 1205(a)(1), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 716. AMENDMENTS 2008—Pub. L. 110–314, which directed amendment of this section by substituting ‘‘the appropriate Congres- sional committees’’ for ‘‘the Congress’’ in subsecs. (j)(10)(F) and (k)(1), (2), could not be executed because this section does not contain a subsec. (j) or (k). 1990—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 101–608 inserted ‘‘(other than employees of the National Institutes of Health, the National Toxicology Program, or the National Cen- ter for Toxicological Research)’’ after ‘‘States’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section 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 an Effective Date of 1981 Amendment note under sec- tion 2052 of this title. REFERENCES IN OTHER LAWS TO GS–16, 17, OR 18 PAY RATES References in laws to the rates of pay for GS–16, 17, or 18, or to maximum rates of pay under the General Schedule, to be considered references to rates payable under specified sections of Title 5, Government Organi- zation and Employees, see section 529 [title I, § 101(c)(1)] of Pub. L. 101–509, set out in a note under section 5376 of Title 5. § 2078. Cooperation with States and other Fed- eral agencies (a) Programs to promote Federal-State coopera- tion The Commission shall establish a program to promote Federal-State cooperation for the pur- poses of carrying out this chapter. In imple- menting such program the Commission may— (1) accept from any State or local authori- ties engaged in activities relating to health, safety, or consumer protection assistance in such functions as injury data collection, inves- tigation, and educational programs, as well as other assistance in the administration and en-