15 U.S.C. § 2084 — Information reporting

Page 1769 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 2084 such test or testing program. The Commission may impose such requirement whether or not the Commission has established a testing pro- gram for cellulose insulation under section 2063(b) of this title. (2) The Commission, upon petition by a manu- facturer, may waive the requirements of para- graph (1) with respect to such manufacturer if the Commission determines that the use of an independent third party is not necessary in order for such manufacturer to comply with the certification requirements of section 2063 of this title. (3) The Commission may prescribe such rules as it considers necessary to carry out the provi- sions of this subsection. (g) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated, for each of the fiscal years 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1981, such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. (Pub. L. 92–573, § 35, as added Pub. L. 95–319, § 3(a), July 11, 1978, 92 Stat. 386; amended Pub. L. 103–437, § 5(c)(2), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4582; Pub. L. 110–314, title II, § 235(c)(3), (5), Aug. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 3074, 3075.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2008—Subsec. (c)(2)(D)(iii). Pub. L. 110–314, § 235(c)(3), substituted ‘‘the appropriate Congressional commit- tees’’ for ‘‘the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representa- tives’’. Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 110–314, § 235(c)(5), substituted ‘‘the appropriate Congressional committees’’ for ‘‘the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives’’. 1994—Subsecs. (c)(2)(D)(iii), (e)(1). Pub. L. 103–437 sub- stituted ‘‘Committee on Energy and Commerce’’ for ‘‘Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CONGRESSIONAL STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND PURPOSE Pub. L. 95–319, § 2, July 11, 1978, 92 Stat. 386, provided that: ‘‘(a) The Congress finds that— ‘‘(1) existing Federal, State, and local laws and reg- ulations are insufficient to protect the consumer from improperly manufactured cellulose insulation; ‘‘(2) an unreasonably large quantity of cellulose in- sulation is being distributed that does not meet min- imum safety standards; ‘‘(3) an urgent need exists for the expedited setting of interim mandatory Federal standards for the man- ufacture of cellulose insulation; and ‘‘(4) such standards are reasonably necessary to eliminate or reduce an unreasonable risk of injury to consumers from flammable or corrosive cellulose in- sulation. ‘‘(b) It is the purpose of the Congress in this Act [en- acting this section, amending section 2068 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 2051 and 2082 of this title] to provide an interim manda- tory safety standard for cellulose insulation manufac- tured for use as a consumer product.’’ § 2083. Congressional veto of consumer product safety rules (a) Transmission to Congress The Commission shall transmit to the Sec- retary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives a copy of any consumer prod- uct safety rule promulgated by the Commission under section 2058 of this title. (b) Disapproval by concurrent resolution Any rule specified in subsection (a) shall not take effect if— (1) within the 90 calendar days of continuous session of the Congress which occur after the date of the promulgation of such rule, both Houses of the Congress adopt a concurrent res- olution, the matter after the resolving clause of which is as follows (with the blank spaces appropriately filled): ‘‘That the Congress dis- approves the consumer product safety rule which was promulgated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission with respect to and which was transmitted to the Congress on and disapproves the rule for the following reasons: .’’; or (2) within the 60 calendar days of continuous session of the Congress which occur after the date of the promulgation of such rule, one House of the Congress adopts such concurrent resolution and transmits such resolution to the other House and such resolution is not dis- approved by such other House within the 30 calendar days of continuous session of the Congress which occur after the date of such transmittal. (c) Presumptions from Congressional action or inaction Congressional inaction on, or rejection of, a concurrent resolution of disapproval under this section shall not be construed as an expression of approval of the rule involved, and shall not be construed to create any presumption of validity with respect to such rule. (d) Continuous session of Congress For purposes of this section— (1) continuity of session is broken only by an adjournment of the Congress sine die; and (2) the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain are excluded in the computation of the periods of continuous session of the Congress specified in subsection (b). (Pub. L. 92–573, § 36, as added Pub. L. 97–35, title XII, § 1207(a), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 718.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section applicable with respect to consumer product safety rules under this chapter and regulations under chapters 25 and 30 of this title promulgated after Aug. 13, 1981, see section 1215 of Pub. L. 97–35, set out as an Effective Date of 1981 Amendment note under section 2052 of this title. § 2084. Information reporting (a) Notification of settlements or judgments If a particular model of a consumer product is the subject of at least 3 civil actions that have been filed in Federal or State court for death or grievous bodily injury which in each of the 24- month periods defined in subsection (b) result in either a final settlement involving the manufac- turer or a court judgment in favor of the plain- Page 1770 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 2085 1 So in original. Probably should be capitalized. 2 So in original. 1 See References in Text note below. tiff, the manufacturer of such product shall, in accordance with subsection (c), report to the Commission each such civil action within 30 days after the final settlement or court judg- ment in the third of such civil actions, and, within 30 days after any subsequent settlement or judgment in that 24-month period, any other such action. (b) Calculation of 24-month periods The 24-month periods referred to in subsection (a) are the 24-month period commencing on Jan- uary 1, 1991, and subsequent 24-month periods beginning on January 1 of the calendar year that is two years following the beginning of the previous 24-month period. (c) Information required to be reported (1) The information required by subsection (a) to be reported to the Commission, with respect to each civil action described in subsection (a), shall include and in addition to any voluntary information provided under paragraph (2) shall be limited to the following: (A) The name and address of the manufac- turer. (B) The model and model number or designa- tion of the consumer product subject to the civil action. (C) A statement as to whether the civil ac- tion alleged death or grievous bodily injury, and in the case of an allegation of grievous bodily injury, a statement of the category of such injury. (D) A statement as to whether the civil ac- tion resulted in a final settlement or a judg- ment in favor of the plaintiff. (E) in 1 the case of a judgment in favor of the plaintiff, the name of the civil action, the number assigned the civil action, and the court in which the civil action was filed. (2) A manufacturer furnishing the report re- quired by paragraph (1) may include (A) a state- ment as to whether any judgment in favor of the plaintiff is under appeal or is expected to be ap- pealed or (B) any other information which the manufacturer chooses to provide. A manufac- turer reporting to the Commission under sub- section (a) need not admit or may specifically deny that the information it submits reasonably supports the conclusion that its consumer prod- uct caused a death or grievous bodily injury. (3) No statement of the amount paid by the manufacturer in a final settlement shall be re- quired as part of the report furnished under sub- section (a), nor shall such a statement of settle- ment amount be required under any other sec- tion of this chapter. (d) Report not deemed an admission of liability The reporting of a civil action described in subsection (a) by a manufacturer shall not con- stitute an admission of— (1) an unreasonable risk of injury, (2) a defect in the consumer product which was the subject of such action, (3) a substantial product hazard, (4) an imminent hazard, or (5) any other admission of liability under any statute or under any common law. (e) Definitions For purposes of this section: (1) A grievous bodily injury includes any of the following categories of injury: mutilation, amputation, dismemberment, disfigurement, loss of important bodily functions, debili- tating internal disorder, severe burn, severe electric shock, and injuries likely to require extended hospitalization. (2) For purposes of this section,2 a particular model of a consumer product is one that is dis- tinctive in functional design, construction, warnings or instructions related to safety, function, user population, or other character- istics which could affect the product’s safety related performance. (Pub. L. 92–573, § 37, as added Pub. L. 101–608, title I, § 112(b), Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3115.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CONGRESSIONAL REPORTS Pub. L. 101–608, title I, § 112(f), Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3117, provided that: ‘‘(1) The Consumer Product Safety Commission shall report to the Congress on the extent to which reports made to the Commission under section 37 of the Con- sumer Product Safety Act [15 U.S.C. 2084] have assisted the Commission in carrying out its responsibilities under such Act [15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.]. The report— ‘‘(A) shall provide aggregate data and not the de- tails and contents of individual reports filed with the Commission pursuant to such section 37, ‘‘(B) shall not disclose the brand names of products included in reports under such section 15(b) or 37 [15 U.S.C. 2064(b), 2084] or the number of reports under such sections for particular models or classes of prod- ucts, and ‘‘(C) shall include— ‘‘(i) a comparison of the number of reports re- ceived under such section 37 and the number of re- ports received under section 15(b) of such Act, ‘‘(ii) a comparison of the number of reports filed with the Commission before the date of the enact- ment of this Act [Nov. 16, 1990] and after such date, and ‘‘(iii) the total number of settlements and court judgments reported under such section 37 and the total number of rulemakings and enforcement ac- tions undertaken in response to such reports, ‘‘(iv) recommendations of the Commission for ad- ditional improvements in reporting under the Con- sumer Product Safety Act. ‘‘(2) The first report under paragraph (1) shall be due February 1, 1992, and the second such report shall be due April 1, 1993.’’ § 2085. Low-speed electric bicycles (a) Construction Notwithstanding any other provision of law, low-speed electric bicycles are consumer prod- ucts within the meaning of section 2052(a)(1) 1 of this title and shall be subject to the Commission regulations published at section 1500.18(a)(12) and part 1512 of title 16, Code of Federal Regula- tions. (b) Definition For the purpose of this section, the term ‘‘low- speed electric bicycle’’ means a two- or three- wheeled vehicle with fully operable pedals and