[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4586 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4586

  To amend the Consumer Product Safety Act and the Federal Hazardous 
Substances Act regarding repair, replacement, or refund actions, civil 
          penalties, and criminal penalties under those Acts.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 6, 2000

    Mr. Markey (for himself, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Luther, and Mr. Evans) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Consumer Product Safety Act and the Federal Hazardous 
Substances Act regarding repair, replacement, or refund actions, civil 
          penalties, and criminal penalties under those Acts.

    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 ``Consumer Product Safety Commission 
Enhanced Enforcement Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. REPAIR, REPLACEMENT, OR REFUND.

    (a) Section 15(d) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 
2064(d)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``If'' in the first sentence and inserting 
        ``Subject to the last 2 sentences of this subsection, if''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``If the Commission 
        determines (after affording opportunity for an informal 
        hearing) that the action that the manufacturer, distributor, or 
        retailer has elected to take under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) 
        is not in the public interest, the Commission shall order the 
        manufacturer, distributor, or retailer to take whichever other 
        action specified in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) that the 
        Commission determines to be in the public interest. If the 
        Commission determines that both of the remaining actions 
        specified in paragraph(1), (2), or (3) are in the public 
        interest, the Commission shall order the manufacturer, 
        distributor, or retailer to take whichever of those actions the 
        manufacturer, distributor, or retailer elects.''.
    (b) Section 15(b) of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 
U.S.C. 1274(b)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``If'' in the first sentence and inserting 
        ``Subject to the last 2 sentences of this subsection, if''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``If the Commission 
        determines (after affording opportunity for an informal 
        hearing) that the action that the manufacturer, distributor, or 
        dealer has elected to take under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) is 
        not in the public interest, the Commission shall order the 
        manufacturer, distributor, or dealer to take whichever other 
        action specified in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) that the 
        Commission determines to be in the public interest. If the 
        Commission determines that both of the remaining actions 
        specified in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) are in the public 
        interest, the Commission shall order the manufacturer, 
        distributor, or dealer to take whichever of those actions the 
        manufacturer, distributor, or dealer elects.''
    (c) Section 15(c)(2) of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 
U.S.C. 1274(c)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``If'' in the first sentence and inserting 
        ``Subject to the last 2 sentences of this subsection, if''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``If the Commission 
        determines (after affording opportunity for an informal 
        hearing) that the action that the manufacturer, distributor, or 
        dealer has elected to take under subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) 
        is not in the public interest, the Commission shall order the 
        manufacturer, distributor, or dealer to take whichever other 
        action specified in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) that the 
        Commission determines to be in the public interest. If the 
        Commission determines that both of the remaining actions 
        specified in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) are in the public 
        interest, the Commission shall order the manufacturer, 
        distributor, or dealer to take whichever of those actions the 
        manufacturer, distributor, or dealer elects.''.

SEC. 3. CIVIL PENALTIES.

    (a) Section 20(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 
2069(a)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Amount of Penalty.--
            ``(1) Any person who knowingly violates section 19 shall be 
        subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $7,000 for each such 
        violation. Subject to paragraph (2), a violation of paragraph 
        (1), (2), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), or (11) of 
        section 19(a) shall constitute a separate offense with respect 
        to each consumer product involved. A violation of section 
        19(a)(3) shall constitute a separate violation with respect to 
        each failure or refusal to allow or perform an act required 
        thereby, and, if such violation is a continuing one, each day 
        of such violation shall constitute a separate offense.
            ``(2) The second sentence of paragraph (1) shall not apply 
        to violations of paragraph (1) or (2) of section 19(a)--
                    ``(A) if the person who violated such paragraph is 
                not the manufacturer or private labeler or a 
                distributor of the product involved, and
                    ``(B) if such person did not have either--
                            ``(i) actual knowledge that such person's 
                        distribution or sale of the product violated 
                        such paragraph; or
                            ``(ii) notice from the Commission that such 
                        distribution or sale would be a violation of 
                        such paragraph.
            ``(3)(A) The penalty amount authorized in paragraph (1) 
        shall be adjusted for inflation by increasing the amount 
        referred to in paragraph (1) by the cost-of-living adjustment 
        for the preceding 5 years. Any increase determined under the 
        preceding sentence shall be rounded up to--
                    ``(i) in the case of a penalty amount less than or 
                equal to $10,000, the nearest multiple of $1,000;
                    ``(ii) in the case of a penalty amount greater than 
                $10,000, the nearest multiple of $5,000.
            ``(B) Not later than December 1, 2005, and December 1 of 
        each 5th calendar year thereafter, the Commission shall 
        prescribe and publish in the Federal Register the authorized 
        penalty amount that shall apply for violations that occur after 
        January 1 of the year immediately following such publication.
            ``(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A):
                    ``(i) The term `Consumer Price Index' means the 
                Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers published 
                by the Department of Labor.
                    ``(ii) The term `cost-of-living adjustment for the 
                preceding 5 years' means the percentage by which--
                            ``(I) the Consumer Price Index for the 
                        month of June of the calendar year preceding 
                        the adjustment exceeds
                            ``(II) the Consumer Price Index for the 
                        month of June preceding the date on which the 
                        maximum authorized penalty was last 
                        adjusted.''.
    (b) Section 5(c) of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 
1264(c)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Civil Penalties.--
            ``(1) Any person who knowingly violates section 4 shall be 
        subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $7,000 for each such 
        violation. Subject to paragraph (2), a violation of subsection 
        (a), (b), (c), (d), (f), (g), (i), (j), or (k) of section 4 
        shall constitute a separate offense with respect to each 
        substance involved. A violation of section 4(e) shall 
        constitute a separate violation with respect to each failure or 
        refusal to allow or perform an act required by section 4(e), 
        and if such violation is a continuing one, each day of such 
        violation shall constitute a separate offense.
            ``(2) The second sentence of paragraph (1) of this 
        subsection shall not apply to violations of subsection (a) or 
        (c) of section 4--
                    ``(A) if the person who violated such subsection is 
                not the manufacturer, importer, or private labeler or a 
                distributor of the substance involved; and
                    ``(B) if such person did not have either--
                            ``(i) actual knowledge that such person's 
                        distribution or sale of the substance violated 
                        such subsection, or
                            ``(ii) notice from the Commission that such 
                        distribution or sale would be a violation of 
                        such subsection.
            ``(3) In determining the amount of any penalty to be sought 
        upon commencing an action seeking to assess a penalty for a 
        violation of section 4, the Commission shall consider the 
        nature of the substance, the severity of the risk of injury, 
        the occurrence or absence of injury, the amount of the 
        substance distributed, and the appropriateness of such penalty 
        in relation to the size of the business of the person charged.
            ``(4) Any civil penalty under this subsection may be 
        compromised by the Commission. In determining the amount of 
        such compromised penalty or whether it should be remitted or 
        mitigated and in what amount, the Commission shall consider the 
        appropriateness of such penalty to the size of the business of 
        the persons charged, the nature of the substance involved, the 
        severity of the risk of injury, the occurrence or absence of 
        injury, and the amount of the substance distributed. The amount 
        of such penalty when finally determined, or the amount agreed 
        on compromise, may be deducted from any sums owing by the 
        United States to the person charged.
            ``(5) As used in the first sentence of paragraph (1), the 
        term `knowingly' means--
                    ``(A) having actual knowledge, or
                    ``(B) the presumed having of knowledge deemed to be 
                possessed by a reasonable person who acts in the 
                circumstances, including knowledge obtainable upon the 
                exercise of due care to ascertain the truth of 
                representations.
            ``(6)(A) The penalty amount authorized in paragraph (1) 
        shall be adjusted for inflation by increasing the amount 
        referred to in paragraph (1) by the cost-of-living adjustment 
        for the preceding 5 years. Any increase determined under the 
        preceding sentence shall be rounded up to--
                    ``(i) in the case of a penalty amount less than or 
                equal to $10,000, the nearest multiple of $1,000;
                    ``(ii) in the case of a penalty amount greater than 
                $10,000, the nearest multiple of $5,000.
            ``(B) Not later than December 1, 2005, and December 1 of 
        each 5th calendar year thereafter, the Commission shall 
prescribe and publish in the Federal Register the authorized penalty 
amount that shall apply for violations that occur after January 1 of 
the year immediately following such publication.
            ``(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A):
                    ``(i) The term `Consumer Price Index' means the 
                Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers published 
                by the Department of Labor.
                    ``(ii) The term `cost-of-living adjustment for the 
                preceding 5 years' means the percentage by which--
                            ``(I) the Consumer Price Index for the 
                        month of June of the calendar year preceding 
                        the adjustment exceeds
                            ``(II) the Consumer Price Index for the 
                        month of June preceding the date on which the 
                        maximum authorized penalty was last 
                        adjusted.''.

SEC. 4. CRIMINAL PENALTIES.

    (a) Section 21 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2070) 
is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Any person who knowingly violates section 19 shall be fined 
under title 18, United States Code, or be imprisoned not more than 1 
year, or both, if such person is an individual, or fined under title 
18, United States Code, if such person is an organization (as the term 
`organization' is defined in section 18 of title 18, United States 
Code). Any person who knowingly and willfully violates section 19 of 
this Act shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or be 
imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both, if such person is an 
individual, or fined under title 18, United States Code, if such person 
is an organization.
    ``(b) Any individual director, officer, or agent of a corporation 
who authorizes, orders, or performs any of the acts or practices 
constituting in whole or in part a violation of subsection (a) shall be 
subject to penalties under this section without regard to any penalties 
to which that corporation may be subject under subsection (a).''.
    (b) Section 5(a) of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 
1264(a)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Criminal Penalties.--Any person who violates any of the 
provisions of section 4 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall on 
conviction thereof be subject to a fine under title 18, United States 
Code, or to imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, if such 
person is an individual, or to a fine under title 18, United States 
Code, if such person is an organization (as the term `organization' is 
defined in section 18 of title 18, United States Code); but for 
offenses committed willfully, or for second and subsequent offenses, 
the penalty shall be imprisonment for not more than 3 years, or a fine 
under title 18, United States Code, or both, if such person is an 
individual, or a fine under title 18, United States Code, if such 
person is an organization.''.
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