[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 76 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 76

To establish a grant program under the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration for the purpose of promoting the use of bicycle helmets 
                  by individuals under the age of 16.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             January 21 (legislative day, January 5), 1993

Mr. Metzenbaum introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a grant program under the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration for the purpose of promoting the use of bicycle helmets 
                  by individuals under the age of 16.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Children's Bicycle Helmet Safety Act 
of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) 90 million Americans ride bicycles and 20 million ride 
        a bicycle more than once a week;
            (2) between 1984 and 1988, 2,985 bicyclists in the United 
        States died from head injuries and 905,752 suffered head 
        injuries that were treated in hospital emergency rooms;
            (3) 41 percent of bicycle-related head injury deaths and 76 
        percent of bicycle-related head injuries occurred among 
        American children under age 15;
            (4) deaths and injuries from bicycle accidents cost society 
        $7.6 billion annually; and a child suffering from a head 
        injury, on average, will cost society $4.5 million over the 
        child's lifetime;
            (5) universal use of bicycle helmets in the United States 
        would have prevented 2,600 deaths from head injuries and 
        757,000 injuries; and
            (6) only 5 percent of children in the Nation who ride 
        bicycles wear helmets.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

    The Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration may, in accordance with section 4, make grants to States 
and State political subdivisions for programs that require or encourage 
individuals under the age of 16 to wear approved bicycle helmets. In 
making those grants, the Administrator shall allow grantees to use wide 
discretion in designing programs that effectively promote increased 
bicycle helmet use.

SEC. 4. PURPOSES FOR GRANTS.

    A grant made under section 3 may be used by a grantee to--
            (1) enforce a law that requires individuals under the age 
        of 16 to wear approved bicycle helmets on their heads while 
        riding on bicycles;
            (2) assist individuals under the age of 16 to acquire 
        approved bicycle helmets;
            (3) develop and administer a program to educate individuals 
        under the age of 16 and their families on the importance of 
        wearing such helmets in order to improve bicycle safety; or
            (4) carry out any combination of the activities described 
        in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).

SEC. 5. STANDARDS.

    (a) In General.--Bicycle helmets manufactured 9 months or more 
after the date of the enactment of this Act shall conform to--
            (1) any interim standard described under subsection (b), 
        pending the establishment of a final standard pursuant to 
        subsection (c); and
            (2) the final standard, once it has been established under 
        subsection (c).
    (b) Interim Standards.--The interim standards are as follows:
            (1) The American National Standards Institute standard 
        designated as ``Z90.4-1984''.
            (2) The Snell Memorial Foundation standard designated as 
        ``B-90''.
            (3) Any other standard that the Consumer Product Safety 
        Commission determines is appropriate.
    (c) Final Standard.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall 
begin a proceeding under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, 
to--
            (1) review the requirements of the interim standards set 
        forth in subsection (a) and establish a final standard based on 
        such requirements;
            (2) include in the final standard a provision to protect 
        against the risk of helmets coming off the heads of bicycle 
        riders;
            (3) include in the final standard provisions that address 
        the risk of injury to children; and
            (4) include additional provisions as appropriate.
Sections 7 and 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2056 and 
2058) shall not apply to the proceeding under this subsection and 
section 11 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2060) shall not apply with respect to 
any standard issued under such proceeding. The final standard shall 
take effect 1 year from the date it is issued.
    (d) Failure To Meet Standards.--
            (1) Failure to meet interim standard.--Until the final 
        standard takes effect, a bicycle helmet that does not conform 
        to an interim standard as required under subsection (a)(1) 
        shall be considered in violation of a consumer product safety 
        standard promulgated under the Consumer Product Safety Act.
            (2) Status of final standard.--The final standard developed 
        under subsection (c) shall be considered a consumer product 
        safety standard promulgated under the Consumer Product Safety 
        Act.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    For the National Highway Safety Administration to carry out the 
grant program authorized by this Act, there are authorized to be 
appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, $3,000,000 for fiscal 
year 1995, and $4,000,000 for fiscal year 1996.

SEC. 7. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``approved bicycle helmet'' means a bicycle 
helmet that meets--
            (1) any interim standard described in section 5(b), pending 
        establishment of a final standard under section 5(c); and
            (2) the final standard, once it is established under 
        section 5(c).

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