[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2317 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2317

  To provide for fire safety standards for cigarettes, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 25, 2002

  Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Kerry) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for fire safety standards for cigarettes, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``Joseph Moakley Memorial Fire Safe 
Cigarette Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Cigarette ignited fires are the leading cause of fire 
        deaths in the United States.
            (2) In 1998 there were 903 deaths from cigarette ignited 
        fires, 2,453 civilian injuries from such fires, and 
        $411,700,000 in property damage caused by such fires.
            (3) Nearly 100 children are killed each year from cigarette 
        related fires.
            (4) The results accomplished under the Cigarette Safety Act 
        of 1984 and the Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990 complete the 
        necessary technical work for a cigarette fire safety standard.
            (5) It is appropriate for Congress to require by law the 
        establishment of a cigarette fire safety standard for the 
        manufacture and importation of cigarettes.
            (6) A recent study by the Consumer Product Safety 
        Commission found that the cost of the loss of human life and 
        personal property from not having a cigarette fire safety 
        standard is $4,600,000,000 a year.
            (7) It is appropriate that the regulatory expertise of the 
        Consumer Product Safety Commission be used to implement a 
        cigarette fire safety standard.

SEC. 3. CIGARETTE FIRE SAFETY STANDARD.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Requirement for standard.--Not later than 18 months 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 
        shall, by rule, prescribe one or more fire safety standards for 
        cigarettes to reduce the risk of ignition presented by 
        cigarettes.
            (2) General test requirements.--
                    (A) Testing methodology.--Except as provided in 
                paragraph (3), in establishing standards under 
                paragraph (1), the Commission shall use the testing 
                methodology for determining the ignition propensity of 
                cigarettes referred to in ``Relative Ignition 
                Propensity of Test Market Cigarettes--National 
                Institute of Standards and Technology--NIST Technical 
                Note 1436, January, 2001--Appendix D: Cigarette 
                Extinction Method'', together with any requirements 
                specified in this paragraph.
                    (B) Additional requirement.--Testing shall be 
                conducted on 10 layers of filter paper, as described in 
                the testing methodology referred to in subparagraph 
                (A).
                    (C) Complete test trial.--Forty replicate tests 
                shall be required to comprise a complete test trial for 
                each cigarette tested. Test results and the application 
                of an acceptance criterion shall be derived only for 
                complete test trials comprised of 40 replicate tests.
                    (D) Test failure.--A test failure shall consist of 
                more than 25 percent of the cigarettes tested in a test 
                trial failing to self-extinguish before burning the 
                full length of the tobacco column.
            (3) Cigarettes with unique characteristics.--In 
        establishing standards under paragraph (1) with respect to a 
        cigarette that cannot be tested using the testing methodology 
        referred to in paragraph (2) because of unique or 
        nontraditional characteristics, the Commission shall accept a 
        testing methodology and acceptance criterion that are proposed 
        by the manufacturer or manufacturers of the cigarette if the 
        Commission, after review of the application of the proposed 
        testing methodology and acceptance criterion, determines that 
        the cigarette has an ignition propensity equivalent to or less 
        than cigarettes that pass the acceptance criterion referred to 
        in paragraph (2).
            (4) Cigarette paper.--In addition to establishing standards 
        under paragraph (1), the Commission may also regulate the 
        ignition propensity of cigarette paper for roll-your-own 
        tobacco products.
            (5) Exercise of authority.--If the Commission does not 
        prescribe the standard required by paragraph (1) within the 
time specified in that paragraph, paragraph (1) shall continue to 
apply, and the provisions of paragraph (2) shall be in effect as a 
consumer product safety standard under the Consumer Product Safety Act 
(15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.) until the Commission prescribes the standard 
under paragraph (1).
    (b) Stockpiling.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission shall include in the rule 
        prescribed under subsection (a) a prohibition on the 
        stockpiling of cigarettes to which the fire safety standards in 
        the rule will apply.
            (2) Stockpiling defined.--In this subsection, the term 
        ``stockpiling'', in the case of a cigarette to which a standard 
        under subsection (a) will apply, means the manufacturing or 
        importing of the cigarette, between the date the standard is 
        issued and the date the standard takes effect, at a rate 
        greater than the rate the cigarette was manufactured or 
        imported during the one-year period ending on the date the 
        standard is issued.
    (c) Procedure.--
            (1) In general.--The rule under subsection (a), and any 
        modification thereof, shall be prescribed in accordance with 
        the provisions of section 553 of title 5, United States Code.
            (2) Modifications.--
                    (A) Modification by sponsor.--If the sponsor of the 
                testing methodology under subsection (a)(2) modifies 
                the testing methodology in any material respect, the 
                sponsor shall notify the Commission of the 
                modification, and the Commission may incorporate the 
                modification in the rule prescribed under subsection 
                (a) if the Commission determines that the modification 
                will enhance a fire safety standard established under 
                subsection (a)(2).
                    (B) Modification by commission.--The Commission may 
                modify the rule prescribed under subsection (a), 
                including the test requirements specified in subsection 
                (a)(2), in whole or in part, if the Commission 
                determines that compliance with such modification is 
                technically feasible and will enhance a fire safety 
                standard established under that subsection. Any such 
                modification shall not take effect earlier than 3 years 
                after the date on which the rule is first issued.
            (3) Inapplicability of certain laws.--No Federal law, or 
        any Executive order, other than the rulemaking and review 
        provisions of title 5, United States Code, that are commonly 
        referred to as the Administrative Procedures Act, may be 
        construed to apply to the promulgation of the rule required by 
        subsection (a), or the modification of the rule under paragraph 
        (2), including the following:
                    (A) The Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2051 
                et seq.).
                    (B) Chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code.
                    (C) The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
                (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
                    (D) The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
                Fairness Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-121), and the 
                amendments made by that Act.
    (d) Effective Date.--The Commission shall specify in the rule 
prescribed under subsection (a) the effective date of the rule. The 
effective date may not be later than 30 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
    (e) Treatment of Standard.--
            (1) In general.--The fire safety standard promulgated under 
        subsection (a) shall be treated as a consumer product safety 
        standard promulgated under the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 
        U.S.C. 2051 et seq.).
            (2) Treatment of cigarettes.--A cigarette shall be treated 
        as a consumer product under section 3(a)(1)(B) of the Consumer 
        Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)(1)(B)) for purposes of 
        implementing and enforcing compliance with this Act and the 
        standard promulgated under this Act, including for purposes of 
        sections 17 and 18 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 
        U.S.C. 2066, 2067).

SEC. 4. PREEMPTION.

    (a) In General.--This Act, and any cigarette fire safety standard 
established under section 3, may not be construed to preempt or 
otherwise affect in any way any law or regulation of a State or 
political subdivision thereof which prescribes a fire safety standard 
for cigarettes which is more stringent than a fire safety standard 
established under section 3.
    (b) Private Remedies.--The provisions of section 25 of the Consumer 
Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2074) shall apply with respect to the 
fire safety standard promulgated under subsection (a).

SEC. 5. SCOPE OF JURISDICTION OF CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION.

    Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Commission shall have 
no jurisdiction over tobacco or tobacco products.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Consumer 
        Product Safety Commission.
            (2) Cigarette.--The term ``cigarette'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 3(1) of the Federal Cigarette 
        Labeling and Advertising Act (15 U.S.C. 1332(1)).

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is hereby authorized to 
be appropriated to the Consumer Product Safety Commission for fiscal 
year 2003, $2,000,000 for purposes of carrying out this Act.
    (b) Availability.--Amounts authorized to be appropriated by 
subsection (a) shall remain available until expended.
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