CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY ACT (PUBLIC LAW 92-573; OCT. 27, 1972) SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Consumer Product 15 U.S.C. 2051 Safety Act". TABLE OF CONTENTS Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. Sec. 3. Definitions. Sec. 4. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Sec. 5. Product safety information and research. Sec. 6. Public disclosure of information. Sec. 7. Consumer product safety standards. Sec. 8. Banned hazardous products. Sec. 9. Administrative procedure applicable to promulgation of consumer product safety rules. Sec. 10. Commission responsibility-petition product safety rule. for consumer Sec. 11. Judicial review of consumer product safety rules. Sec. 12. Imminent hazards. Sec. 13. New products. Sec. 14. Product certification and labeling. Sec. 15. Notification and repair, replacement, or refund. Sec. 16. Inspection and recordkeeping. Sec. 17. Imported products. Sec. 18. Exports. Sec. 19. Prohibited acts. Sec. 20. Civil penalties. Sec. 21. Criminal penalties. Sec. 22. Injunctive enforcement and seizure. Sec. 23. Suits for damages by persons injured. Sec. 24. Private enforcement of product safety rules and of sec tion 15 orders. Sec. 25. Effect on private remedies. Sec. 26. Effect on State standards. Sec. 27. Additional functions of Commission. Sec. 28. Product Safety Advisory Council. Sec. 29. Cooperation with States and with other Federal agencies. Sec. 31. Limitation on jurisdiction. Sec. 32. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 33. Separability. Sec. 34. Effective date. note FINDINGS AND PURPOSES SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds that (1) an unacceptable number of consumer products which present unreasonable risks of injury are distributed in commerce; (2) complexities of consumer products and the diverse nature and abilities of consumers using them 15 U.S.C. 2051 15 U.S.C. 2052 frequently result in an inability of users to anticipate risks and to safeguard themselves adequately; (3) the public should be protected against unreasonable risks of injury associated with consumer products; (4) control by State and local governments of unreasonable risks of injury associated with consumer products is inadequate and may be burdensome to manufacturers; (5) existing Federal authority to protect consumers from exposure to consumer products presenting unreasonable risks of injury is inadequate; and (6) regulation of consumer products the distribution or use of which affects interstate or foreign. commerce is necessary to carry out this Act. (b) The purposes of this Act are (1) to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injury associated with consumer products; (2) to assist consumers in evaluating the comparative safety of consumer products; (3) to develop uniform safety standards for consumer products and to minimize conflicting State and local regulations; and (4) to promote research and investigation into the causes and prevention of product-related deaths, illnesses, and injuries. DEFINITIONS SEC. 3. (a) For purposes of this Act: (1) The term "consumer product" means any article, or component part thereof, produced or distributed (i) for sale to a consumer for use in or around a permanent or temporary household or residence, a school, in recreation, or otherwise, or (ii) for the personal use, consumption or enjoyment of a consumer in or around a permanent or temporary household or residence, a school, in recreation, or otherwise; but such term does not include (A) any article which is not customarily produced or distributed for sale to, or use or consumption by, or enjoyment of, a consumer, (B) tobacco and tobacco products, (C) motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment (as defined by sections 102 (3) and (4) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966), (D) economic poisons (as defined by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act), (E) any article which, if sold by the manufacturer, producer, or importer, would be sub ject to the tax imposed by section 4181 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (determined without regard to any exemptions from such tax provided by section 4182 or 4221, or any other provision of such Code), or any component of any such article, (F) aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, or appliances (as defined in section 101 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958), (G) boats which could be subjected to safety regulation under the Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971 (46 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.); vessels, and appurtenances to vessels (other than such boats), which could be subjected to safety regulation under title 52 of the Revised Statutes or other marine safety statutes administered by the department in which the Coast Guard is operating; and equipment (including associated equipment, as defined in section 3(8) of the Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971) to the extent that a risk of injury associated with the use of such equipment on boats or vessels could be eliminated or reduced by action taken under any statute referred to in this subparagraph, (H) drugs, devices, or cosmetics (as such terms are defined in sections 201 (g), (h), and (i) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act), or (I) food. The term "food", as used in this subparagraph means all "food", as defined in section 201 (f) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, including poultry and poultry products (as defined in sections 4 (e) and (f) of the Poultry Products Inspection Act), meat, meat food products (as defined in section 1(j) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act), and eggs and egg products (as defined in section 4 of the Egg Products Inspection Act). See sections 30 (d) and 31 of this Act, for limitations on Commission's authority to regulate certain consumer products. (2) The term "consumer product safety rule” means a consumer products safety standard described in section 7(a), or a rule under this Act declaring a consumer product a banned hazardous product. (3) The term "risk of injury" means a risk of death, personal injury, or serious or frequent illness. (4) The term "manufacturer" means any person who manufactures or imports a consumer product. (5) The term "distributor" means a person to whom a consumer product is delivered or sold for purposes of distribution in commerce, except that such term does not include a manufacturer or retailer of such product. (6) The term "retailer" means a person to whom a consumer product is delivered or sold for purposes of sale or distribution by such person to a consumer. (7) (A) The term "private labeler" means an owner of a brand or trademark on the label of a consumer product which bears a private label. (B) A consumer product bears a private label if (i) the product (or its container) is labeled with the brand or trademark of a person other than a manufacturer of the product, (ii) the person with whose brand or trademark the product (or container) is labeled has authorized or caused the product to be so labeled, and (iii) the brand or trademark of a manufacturer of such product does not appear on such label. (8) The term "manufactured" means to manufacture, produce, or assemble. (9) The term "Commission" means the Consumer Product Safety Commission, established by section 4. (10) The term "State" means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, Wake Island, Midway Island, Kingman Reef, Johnston Island, the Canal Zone, American Samoa, or the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. (11) The terms "to distribute in commerce" and "distribution in commerce" means to sell in commerce, to introduce or deliver for introduction into commerce, or to hold for sale or distribution after introduction into commerce. (12) The term "commerce" means trade, traffic, commerce, or transportation (A) between a place in a State and any place outside thereof, or (B) which affects trade, traffic, commerce, or transportation described in subparagraph (A). (13) The terms "import" and "importation" include reimporting a consumer product manufactured or processed, in whole or in part, in the United States. (14) The term "United States", when used in the geographic sense, means all of the States (as defined in paragraph (10)). (b) A common carrier, contract carrier, or freight forwarder shall not, for purposes of this Act, be deemed to be a manufactuer, distributor, or retailer of a consumer product solely by reason of receiving or transporting a consumer product in the ordinary course of its business as such a carrier or forwarder. |